Simone Weithers is American designer, business coach and brand strategist. After a journey into design, he built his career by helping startups and companies launch new products and consolidate their business. Simone works mainly with founder and innovative realities, with particular attention to the themes of diversity and representation. Today it is the creative mind of Cazzimma and takes care of the strategic direction of the project, combining skills of branding, design and business development.
Roberto Longo, born and raised in Turin but with Neapolitan origins, moved the first steps in the world of hospitality working up to 22 years in the family business, the Antico Caffè in Piazza Bodoni, in Turin. He then moved to England to perfect English and deepen the knowledge of wine, working in different restaurants and comparing with professionals who influenced his path. Today he lives in New York and works as sommelier, carrying out parallel business projects like Cazzimma.
You were born in Piedmont, a land deeply linked to the culture of wine. How much did the territory affect your professional path?
Roberto: Very much. I worked until 22 years in Italy, at my father’s place. There I began to confront the world of hospitality. Working in family business gave me a very concrete basis: contact with people, rhythm of service, discipline. At some point, however, I felt the need to go further. I moved to England to improve English and deepen my knowledge of wine. I worked in several premises and met mentor who radically changed my way of thinking and working. Since then I have continued on this road.
You started working very early with your father. What do you remember from those years?
Roberto: I started during the summers, as happens in many Italian families: first work, then go on holiday. I was 15 or 16 when I started helping out. After high school, I was in the evening, so I could work at lunch. In practice I stayed there from 16 to 22 years.
What is the most important teaching that still brings you back from that experience?
Roberto: Probably the idea of always keeping the smile, even when things get complicated or change suddenly. You must always give the most, be present and try to have fun with customers and colleagues. You work a lot, so you can do it lightly.
Are you talking about smile as a professional tool or as a general attitude?
Roberto: In life in general. It’s not just about work. We live in New York, in a fast and competitive city, but the smile helps in relationships, in the way you face the days and even in the opportunities that arise. Positive people attract positive energy.
Is being Italian in the United States still an advantage in the wine & hospitality industry?
Roberto: Surely, especially when it comes to wine. The Italian being is still perceived as an added value. That said, I’ve always tried to learn mostly from other cultures. Many of my things I already knew about them, so I was interested in understanding how others work: their approach to organization, management, customer relationship. When I return to Italy I always visit producers and companies in the sector, but my goal has always been to confront me with international environments. This is also what led me to leave Italy. Today is not just a professional choice, but a lifestyle.
At some point, he arrived in New York, 2015. Why the Big Apple? Was it a choice, a natural consequence of your path or an opportunity not to be missed?
Roberto: It was an opportunity sought. I had already interviewed for a restaurant in New York, but it didn’t go well for visa issues. At some point I was almost moving to Asia when a manager I worked with in Italy called me proposing New York. Everything started from there. It was an opportunity I couldn’t let go.
So you were chasing the American dream, too?
Roberto: More than dreaming, I’d say curiosity. I really wanted to understand what it meant to live in America, and especially in New York.
Today you and Simone are engaged in a new project, Cazzimma. You are partners but also companions of life: how did you meet?
Simone: Yeah, we’re partners in life. Since the first meeting a solid personal understanding has been created, accompanied by genuine mutual interest. What has united us right away has been the solidity of our alignment as people, even before in the professional sphere.
One of the things that struck me by Roberto was his ambition: he already had his work, but at the same time he cultivated many projects and ideas. I work helping people achieve their goals, so seeing someone so determined hit me a lot. By attending, we were also in tune on the creative and entrepreneurial level.
How is Cazzimma born? What were you inspired by?
Roberto: Cazzimma is also born from our family stories. We both had fathers with difficulties related to alcohol, and we wanted to leave right from there. The soft drinks market is growing a lot, but often the products are perceived as niche. We wanted to create something different: modern, elegant, accessible to all, without gender labels or style. A product of which our fathers could also be proud.
Simone: It was important for us to create something that would speak to everyone and tell an authentic story. Ours is a personal story, but at the same time universal.
There is also a very strong emotional component behind the brand.
Roberto: Yes. We couldn’t present the product to my father on time. It took almost two years to perfect the recipe. But this does not value the project: if it can help other people or offer a different alternative, then it already makes sense.
The name “Cazzimma” is strong, direct, difficult to ignore. How did you choose it?
Simon: We wanted a name with personality, something that also represented the character of our fathers. The message is clear: choosing a non-alcoholic drink does not mean giving up anything, but making a conscious and positive choice.
Roberto: There is also a very Italian reference, and in part Neapolitan: to live their own choices with character, without compromise.
Simone: New York has taught us a lot also in this sense: here freedom of choice is lived naturally, without need for justification.
Does New York have something to teach Italy, or vice versa, in this area?
Simone: New York represents diversity, creativity and freedom of expression. People here don’t apologize for what they are. This mentality is also reflected in the brand: you should not have to justify what you drink or not drink. You should simply have beautiful, inclusive and quality alternatives.
Is there any future project you can mention?
Simone: We are working on new recipes for Cazzimma: zero calorie products, with natural ingredients and without artificial dyes. The goal is to continue to improve the product and make it not only a healthy choice, but a quality experience.
Roberto: Maybe we can launch the product by next summer.
What are the drinks currently available and where can we find them?
Simone: Dry: produced with Pinot Grigio and Glera, inspired by the famous Sparkling wine of Veneto, 0% alcohol.
Spritz: a botanical infusion inspired by the iconic Venetian Spritz, 0% alcohol
What makes Cazzimma different is the process. Unlike most of the treated wines, where alcohol is removed by heating the wine, resulting in loss of aroma and taste, with Cazzimma we remove sugar directly from the must, before fermentation. In this way we preserve the territory, the scents and the complete aromatic profile of the grapes. Quality remains intact.
Roberto: We have just created our website where we send free of charge throughout America www.drinkcazzimma.com for restaurateurs, can contact us directly at Ciao@drinkcazzimma.com, ilnewyorkese code for 15% OFF.
Article Cazzimma: “The non-alcoholic drink that transforms renunciation into a conscious choice” comes from IlNewyorkese.
