PICCOLA CUCINA
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Piccola Cucina specializes in gluten-free, dairy-free, allergy-friendly Italian indulgences. Photos by Darcy Finley
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and winning an Awesome Achieve- ment Award in 2021. However, the greatest achieve- ment, according to Pina, is real- izing how far they’ve come. “That doesn’t come until you help others,” she says. “As an en- trepreneur, there’s not a tendency to look back and reflect. When I’ve had the opportunity of men- toring other entrepreneurs, it’s moments like that that are so mo- tivating and empowering.” Pina’s hopes for the business in the near future include growing their distribution network and becoming a household name syn- onymous with wholesome, mini- mally processed products. “I hope we will become a brand that families can trust for genera- tions to come.” ■
While Anita still has a hand in production, she is working to- wards retirement and Pina now handles the majority of business matters accompanied by their all- female team. “We didn’t try to be an all-female team. That’s just kind of how it’s happened, but certainly we’re liv- ing the value of supplier diversity and inclusion — and being an inclu- sive team means that everybody’s voice is important,” Pina says. “And, in this case, raising the profile and empowering women is part of that journey.” Piccola Cucina has enjoyed many accomplishments along the entre- preneurial path — securing distri- bution deals across provincial and international borders, being part of Arlene Dickinson’s District Ven- tures Capital business accelerator
Proud to support our small businesses in Manitoba
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SUMMER 2022
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