Bubble Goods - Five Minutes with the Founder of L'Isolina

Meet Dylan, the founder of L'Isolina, who started the pasta business during the early weeks of the pandemic. Combining his love for pasta with the sustainable agricultural practices of Eastern Long Island's farms, Dylan created L'Isolina. In this interview, Dylan shares insights on product development, unique packaging, and their commitment to quality and sustainability.

Q: How did L'Isolina Pasta come about?

A: During the pandemic, I needed something to do. L'Isolina spun out of those initial weeks of the pandemic, figuring out what to do and how to stay busy. I love pasta, so that's how it began. My home in Eastern Long Island has beautiful farms focused on regenerative agricultural practices and farming for soil health, similar to the Stone Barn Center. This approach builds nutrition and flavor.

Q: How did you develop the product? Did you work with a food developer?

A: We didn’t use a food developer. It was a lot of trial and error. We worked with Amber Waves Farm and Balsam Farms in Amagansett, New York, which grow incredibly flavorful wheat. My brother Sean and I spent countless hours perfecting the recipe, with help from our grandmother, Nonna.

Q: Your packaging is unique, especially for products like Spaghetti Dust. How did you approach the design?

A: We worked with my best friend, Joe Formica, a phenomenal designer. We aimed for eco-friendly packaging—paper-based, compostable, or recyclable. The design reflects the product’s origin and farming practices, while Spaghetti Dust’s packaging is more playful and personal.

Q: Can you tell us about your production process?

A: We recently found a co-packer that aligns with our production methods. Initially, we used a food incubator at the East End Food Institute in Southampton. It’s a great place to start a food business and build a local food system.

Q: How did you fund the business?

A: We bootstrapped it from the beginning. We started small with a tabletop pasta extruder, just to prove the concept. Now, we're looking for growth capital to expand.

Q: What’s your take on your product going viral and Trader Joe's creating a similar product?

A: did not know that they had a SKU very similar to ours. This is new information to me, but I'm trying to approach it as validation that people really like this product. Our approach is different from Trader Joe's. We are intentional about using paper packaging and sourcing from regenerative farms. We prioritize flavor over industrialization. While I haven't tasted their product, I noticed it contains safflower oil. We adhere to our ethos and wouldn't produce our product any other way, despite having limited knowledge of their process.