Damiano Messineo opened the first Loopini outlet, Pop Up Grocer, in January 2025 and then rode a Citi Bike around Manhattan, pitching the pizza to independent shops and handing out samples himself—an unconventional guerrilla launch that drew 50 retailers in just a few months.
The product’s DNA came from a spreadsheet: Messineo mapped out a nutritional label that crammed nine essential amino acids into a thin crust, then sifted through global ingredients until lupini beans—low‑glycemic, protein‑rich staples from southern Italy—floated to the top. The beans’ fiber and mineral profile gave the pizza a health‑first edge that appealed to fitness‑savvy shoppers.
In January 2026 Loopini slipped into Whole Foods, followed by a month‑long roll‑out across every Wegmans store and a March debut in Target’s Northeast region before a nationwide launch. That same month the founders closed a pre‑seed round that would fund higher‑volume production, while revenue climbed from $100,000 in 2025 to $700,000 by April 2026, confirming the brand’s commercial momentum.
Messineo himself tested the pizza’s performance by eating it for 100 consecutive days while training for an Ironman, dropping four pounds of fat, adding six of muscle, and raising his biomarker score from 81 to 89. The experiment, coupled with the brand’s rapid retail penetration, keeps larger chains on standby and the founders focused on scaling quality without sacrificing the product’s unique nutritional promise.