Q: What does the term Maia mean?

A: “MAIA is a figure from Roman mythology. The goddess of fertility and the awakening of nature in spring. MAIA is earth and mother at the same time. A perfect term to describe this new business model”.

Q: What is Maia?

A: “To give the most concrete answer possible, I would say that Maia is a complex made up of three containers assembled in a single functional environment. Inside, in addition to the cold rooms for food storage, there is a laboratory for preparation and an area dedicated to the display of long-life products. Maia thus becomes a space in which producers who decide to buy the module or join the project can sell their products directly”.

Q: How did the idea come about?

A: “I have always perceived the difficulty for small producers to emerge in a world dominated by the large-scale distribution system.

Sometimes hard work and respect for the consumer are not enough to ensure a dignified life. I have met producers who are crushed by market policies and forced to give up their principles in order to make ends meet.

About ten years ago, I presented this project at an important meeting and a major coffee entrepreneur was as astonished as he was sceptical about the audacity of the project. He bet on its feasibility: I should have warned him once I had managed to realise it. I’m looking for his number”.  

Q: Who is this business model dedicated to?

A: “To breeders, farmers, family farms, traders and/or young entrepreneurs who want to produce, transform and sell the products of their land in an autonomous, direct and eco-sustainable way. In addition to them, I’m also thinking of consumers, who more than ever feel the need to know who produces the food they decide to put on their table. With Maia they can do that”.

Q: Who is the owner?

A: “He who buys the physical asset (container) and the complete Brand package (management rules, operator training)”.

Q: Does the buyer of MAIA necessarily have to be a producer?

A: “Let’s say that the idea behind Maia is to give visibility to producers. However, Maia can also be purchased by private individuals, public bodies, farmers’ cooperatives… The fundamental element is respect for our standards and values”.

Q: What does Self Globe earn from the sale of a MAIA?

A: “Royalties for using the brand and for being part of the network. In addition, a percentage on online sales of MAIA products”.

Q: What does joining the MAIA circuit mean?                                            

A: “It means being able to sell your products without the need for intermediaries, all while being part of a circuit that offers international visibility. In this way, the producer will finally have the opportunity to enhance the value of the excellence it produces”.

Q: Application prospects? Could they change?

A: “We are now making an operational and concrete assessment through the reality in Monte San Martino (MC) with the Mela Rosa Shop. It is an existing building in a small village that aims to enhance local products but focuses on the online system. This could allow us to disseminate our market model more quickly”.

Q: Afraid of competition?

A: “No, with Self Globe I protect the innovative system. We don’t just sell a container, but an entire concept with the Made in Italy guarantee (2000 years of history on how we process and preserve food products). The product, as an end in itself, is not enough… it is the added value behind it that makes its history and makes it of quality”.

When experience, foresight and sharing come together, the result can only be interesting. MAIA is an example of this.