Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 10, 2025 15 The West Haven plant now employs around 100 people. "This is the largest truffle manufac- turing plant in the world," Balestra said. Product diversification Balestra has set a company goal of reaching $100 million in sales within three years, and he believes the new warehouse is a big step in making that happen. The company also just opened a flagship store in the Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, its first ever U.S. retail location. Sabatino's original operation in Italy is still the biggest hub of its global export business, with customers in 70 countries. The U.S. operation focuses on domestic sales, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. But one of the reasons Balestra believes the U.S. operation has been so key to their success is innovation. In the past, he says, truffles were for high-end restaurants, "not for everybody. Now, the truffle is much more democratic. I think, we as a company, we've been the pioneer of that." This democratization of an extremely expensive natural fungus has been achieved through a wide array of products that now contain truffle and truffle flavor. The biggest seller is truffle-flavored olive oil. From there, the company has branched out into truffle salt, truffle honey and beyond. "The big step was done in 2016 when we invented truffle zest," Balestra said. "Truffle zest is truffle seasoning. It's easy. People ask me how you use truffle zest? My answer is, do you know how to use black pepper? It's that simple." There's even a truffle hot sauce and truffle chili crisp for the Asian-Amer- ican segment, things that would have never been made in the conservative Italian market. "We are servicing the whole industry with all sorts of products," said Sabatino Marketing Manager Pauline Charles. "Whereas in Italy, it's a little more limited in terms of the types of products that we're producing. Obvi- ously, we're not speaking to Italians. We would never speak to Italians with truffle hot sauce!" The advantage of this diversifica- tion is cost — there's very little of the expensive truffle itself in the condi- ment products, so they can address a wider market. In fact, whole truffles now only account for about 8% of Sabatino's sales — the rest is made up of manufactured truffle products. Domestic production Meanwhile, most truffles are no longer sourced in the wild. Instead, the industry has planted truffle orchards, deliberately infecting tree roots with the fungus to yield a consistent and more accessible crop. Sabatino has expanded far beyond Italy, with truffle orchards around the world. So well has the U.S. market taken to the democratization of the truffle, that Sabatino now wants to grow truffles here. The company has purchased 143 acres in Kentucky, which has a productive climate for the fungus. Sabatino has planted a hazelnut-tree orchard and hopes it will start to yield truffles by 2029. "In the past it was high-end restau- rants. That's it. Now we went from the high ends to the fast casual, the pizzerias," Balestra said. "In Asia we have (customers) like McDonald Burgers — they have a truffle option, and that will happen in the U.S., I believe. Because culturally, my generation met the truffle at an adult age. My kids' generation — my son will say, 'why don't they have truffle fries?'" Truffle-flavored olive oil is Sabatino's biggest seller, while it also makes specialty condiments like Truffle Crunch Hot. LIBERTY BANK JOANNE BERGER-SWEENEY President, Trinity College Join Junior Achievement of Southwest New England for an inspiring evening honoring the 2025 JA Business Hall of Fame honorees. Celebrate their remarkable leadership, business success, and dedication to shaping Connecticut's future. H A R T F O R D M A R R I O T T D O W N T O W N 2 0 0 C O L U M B U S B L V D , H A R T F O R D , C T 0 6 1 0 3 APRIL 1, 2025 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM DR. KHALILAH BROWN-DEAN HON. ERIC D. DANIELS Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court HALL FAME JA BUSINESS of Executive Director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, Wesleyan University FRANK PEPE PIZZERIA NAPOLETANA LEARN MORE: TICKETS AND SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE VIA JACONN.ORG LAUREATE LAUREATE SPIRIT OF HOPE AWARD ENTREPRENEUR AWARD COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD BOB OLSEN Founder, Olsen Construction ENTREPRENEUR AWARD PRESENTING SPONSORS RECEPTION SPONSOR DIAMOND SPONSORS

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