Shaggy hair, round glasses, “me and my bacteria have a plan” look.

We left off like at the end of a Stranger Things episode.

Recap: it’s almost Christmas 2021. A fermentation course in Bologna with the legendary Flavio Sacco. Front row, there he is. A focused-looking guy who seems to know everything about the micro-organisms living in a Kombucha SCOBY. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out the difference between pH and acidity (I still struggle today). The break comes. I follow him. Messy hair, round glasses, the kind of look that says “me and my bacteria have a plan.” He talks about yeasts like they’re close relatives and does logarithmic math in his head. He studied microbiology. Was doing a PhD on pathogens in Germany. Then he decided to switch sides — to the good bacteria.

I ask him: “Where are you from?” TREN-TI-NO. No way!!! Guys, there are like 33 of us in Trentino, everyone knows that in Italy. Finding two of us at a fermentation course in Bologna is as rare as unicorns.

So I ask the question: “Are you busy tomorrow?” (It’s my personal version of the red pill from The Matrix — and yes, I keep using it.)

From that moment on, everything changes. Sebastiano, our first hero.

He bottled, developed recipes, mopped floors, and dealt with 122 problems a day. Little did he know that this one question would lead him, just months later, straight into the Feral tornado.

Our first recipes? We dreamed them up together with another scientist, friend and ally: Floris. He’s Flemish, also wears big glasses, and has fermentation running through his veins. Together we defined our greatest allies: lactic acid bacteria.

Yep, because the real issue with most non-alcoholic drinks is... they lack acidity. The real kind. Elegant, refreshing. The kind that keeps you coming back for another glass.

And then—she arrived: the beetroot. Earthy, humble, underrated.

We decided to rescue her from oblivion. She became our first champion. That’s when our mission took shape: to challenge conventions and clichés by uplifting forgotten, marginal, underground plants. Confession time: I never liked that “earth and iron” taste of beets. But with the right fermentation, and maceration with herbs, flowers, and berries… everything changes.

We even wrote it on the door: “Who has ever found joy in a beet?” (Well. We did. And soon, so will you 😊)

That’s how our first official recipe was born: Feral N1 (we know, not exactly a creative name).
White – hop – Sichuan pepper. (OB-SESSION, for friends.) 
Yes, we know it’s unpronounceable. Sorry. Let us break it down:

• White beetroot → yes, it exists. It’s the most humble of all beets — once fed to pigs. The juice is naturally sweet; we ferment it to develop a round, fresh acidity, with hints of honey and elderflower.
• Maceration with hops and Sichuan pepper → brings citrusy notes of pink grapefruit, white peach and lychee
• A touch of chili → teases the palate and extends the finish
• Residual sugar? Very little. One glass leads to another. 

Our sommelier Andrea — when he’s in a good mood — might describe it as: “A botanical rave party in a zen garden.”

One day, I gathered the courage and knocked on the door of Joia, Pietro Leemann’s restaurant in Milan — the first Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant in Europe. Naturally, I expected the door to be gently but firmly closed in my face.

Instead… the sommelier Antonio greeted me. He listened, nodded, and then told me something I’ll never forget: “Here at Joia, we’ve been pioneers of non-alcoholic pairings for a long time. I’m curious to taste it.” 

He tasted it. Silence. Eyes closed. Another sip. Then he looked at me and said:

“Extraordinary.”

He wanted to place an order right away. Too bad I didn’t have a company, a brand — or even bottles. But that conversation will always be one of the most meaningful. There’s a moment in the life of every startup when you truly feel that your idea might matter — not just to you. That your intuition speaks to others too. That out there, in the world of curious, high-level, exploratory gastronomy, there’s a real unmet need. And that maybe you’re the one who can answer it. That day was ours.

Thank you Joia. Thank you Antonio and Pietro. For giving us that extra dose of courage — and helping transform a passionate hobby into a real startup. At that moment, I felt like I was touching the sky. I thought: "We made it. It’s all downhill from here."

Of course, what awaited us was the real topography of any startup journey: steep climbs, blind curves, false flats and sudden vertigo.

Still, the N1 recipe that made Antonio fall in love back in 2022 is the one we produce the most today. Chefs, sommeliers, and friends can’t get enough. We keep making it — and we keep running out. Yes, it’s 👉 this one. 

(Just a reminder of how we pay Seba’s salary (and if you’d like to contribute, just click there).

See you next time,
Madda