Alessandro Sita heads Sita Food Inc, a company specializing in the import and distribution of Italian cheeses and Salumi in the United States. But behind the entrepreneurial success is a story that has its roots in the hills of Calabria, passes through the mines of Belgium and comes to fruition today, in New York City. Speaking on the Portraits podcast of ilNewyorkese, Sita retraced his family’s journey, offering a profound reflection on Italian identity and the responsibility – cultural before commercial – to promote Made in Italy abroad with authenticity and vision.
“I am a child of emigration. My grandfather, a Calabrian shepherd from Mammola, emigrated to Belgium after the war. He worked in the mines, but he carried with him the memory of his land. He bought a sheep and started making cottage cheese for himself and his companions. It was a way to find home again.”
From that act of nostalgia and ingenuity came the family’s dairy tradition, which over the decades has grown into a business, first in Europe and then in the United States. “After eleven years of mining, my grandfather opened a small dairy and began selling door-to-door. Then came my father and his brothers, and finally us grandchildren, who grew up with that same spirit.”
Sita came to New York out of love and vocation, and after years of experience in Italian companies in Europe, he decided to strike out on his own. “There was this legend that Americans didn’t understand our food. Instead I found a curious, open market, especially in New York. But you have to explain, let people taste, educate.”
Meeting his wife Luisa, a second-generation Italian born in the United States, was one more piece in a life of bridging cultures: “My father told me. ‘You have traveled the world and found an Italian’…But in life we associate with what completes us.”
Sita also reflects on the meaning of Italic identity, that feeling that unites those who are Italian by birth, culture or descent. “As a boy it was difficult to position myself: in Italy I was a foreigner, abroad as well. But then I realized that Italy has enormous symbolic value. We are dynamic, brilliant. And abroad maybe we perceive it better. I met two communities: those who feel Italian even without speaking the language anymore, and those who are proudly rediscovering their roots. It is a beautiful phenomenon: it is memory, it is shared heritage.”
The company he runs today, Sita Food, is based on a clear vision: to promote excellence without compromise. “Often, in exports, people look for shortcuts. Instead, we want to tell the value of the products, their origin. Today, consumers want to know what they are eating. Social media has helped raise awareness.”
That is why Sita works with small Italian producers, often family-owned, who would not have the means to export on their own. “We create partnerships. Educating the American market is our mission.”
Local production, for Sita, can also be authentically Italian: “We have shown that you can make quality here, meeting the standard: Italian know-how, Italian ingredients. It’s like Neapolitan pizza: if you have the right ingredients and the right technique, the result is the same, even outside of Italy.”
His approach is one of consistency and foresight, as evidenced by the logistical choice-expensive but symbolic-of having sheep’s milk ricotta flown in from Italy every other day. “It’s complicated, it’s short-lived, but it can be done. And it works. There is demand for it. Twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable.”
Sita dedicates a thought to the generations of emigrants before him, “We owe so much to them. They paved the way. They integrated without losing their values. Today we see them in politics, culture, entrepreneurship. It is a beautiful example for everyone.”
His dream is now to inspire the next generation. “You have to have courage. Especially abroad, you find an extra push. And New York makes you feel that anything is possible. We hope to continue to promote our roots, because even though we are far away, we remain deeply proud to be Italian.” Finally, as a father, he looks to the future with realism and confidence. “I have three children. The oldest, Salvatore, is 21 and is already gaining experience abroad. But in the family business you enter later. First you have to know the world. There is no absolute truth; there are many. And you have to deal with all of them.”
