With a shared love for food, design and messing with their grandmothers, Grga Calic and Lachlan Philp have reinvented an Italian staple.
Based in Australia, Calic is an advertising creative in Sydney, and Philp is a graphic designer in Melbourne. Calic said that Sorry Nonna had started as a joke.
“I had an idea for a video of nonnas tasting a pasta sauce and absolutely hating it because it’s not like theirs. I joked about it with Lach, and we realised you could make that into a brand. Then Sorry Nonna was born,” said Calic.
“We love our nonna, and we love pasta, but both have become boring. So we stole nonna’s recipe and spiced it up.”
The first product launched by the start-up was a small batch of Aussie-made pasta sauce with a twist of spice. The Gochujang Arrabbiata, aka Spicy Lil’ Nonna, has been the duo’s take on a classic Arrabbiata sauce.
“Just like Nonna, it’s the perfect mix of sweet and spicy—but with a twist: a hit of Gochujang for added heat and umami flavour.”
When Calic and Philp started looking into it, they noticed that, much like their grandmothers’ living rooms, pasta sauce had not changed much since the 1980s. They love Italian food almost as much as they love their grandmothers, but they wanted to change things up.
Italian food had a fantastic base to fuse with other cuisines. It had become stale and uninspired, with the same old aesthetics, lacking any unique flavours, and all wrapped up in boring plastic with stories about the old country.
“And that’s fine, but it’s not for us. So we looked at how we could put a twist on the classics, and Gochujang Arrabbiata just made sense. People act like there are a thousand unbreakable rules about Italian cooking and that it was blasphemy to stray from the classic. But it’s so much tastier to break the rules.”
Although it had been tricky to source Gochujang, they managed to source a great organic, vegan, gluten-free and GMO-free product.
Calic added that it was hard to keep everyone happy, but they had tried and utilised Australian ingredients as much as possible. He also mentioned that time and money had been other significant challenges.
They had also done extensive testing to balance the flavours, and Calic suggested that even when they thought they were right, they had to do it again.
His tips for a perfect home-cooked pasta were to not overcook it and use good ingredients, like bronze die durum wheat pasta and a jar of Sorry Nonna.
“Honestly, just have fun with it. If you think it’ll be tasty, try it out.”
As creatives in the field, the two wanted something nostalgic and charming, like those in old supermarkets, in terms of packaging, design, and marketing. They made Sorry Nonna loud and shiny so the brand would unapologetically stand out, and customers would have to pick it up.
Sorry Nonna’s future plans include pushing the flavours by raiding the liquor cabinet, fusing unique ingredients from around the world, and mixing them with the classics. Calic said it was also essential for them not to take themselves too seriously along the way. At the same time, seeing people support and appreciate their passion project was incredible.
“It’s rewarding to put a passion project into the world and see people dig and eat it. The support and brand love has been epic. Also, making our silly video with nonnas has been fun.”
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