Mediterranean Bio Ltd, the natural and organic sugars company founded by Patricia de Middel Puch, has launched, SWICILY; an organic sugar substitute with unique flavour, grown ethically by the local farmers of the island of Sicily.
SWICILY is currently available in a 250ml bottle, at a price of £9.00, and sold alongside limited-edition “222 boxes”, priced at £222. Inside each limited-edition box will be a bottle of SWICILY, along with a numbered and signed 17 x 17 print of museum-quality art, produced by Cristina de Middel, whose work can be found in such museums as the Tate Modern in London and the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York City.
Grown ethically by local Sicilian farmers, SWICILY is a natural sugar made with heritage organic grapes, with methods originating in ancient Mediterranean traditions. As an unprocessed liquid sweetener, with natural nectar extracted from 2kg of Sicilian grapes per bottle, SWICILY is uniquely able to retain its nutrients and vitamins, lowering its glycemic load and thus reducing calories without sacrificing taste.
“I wanted to put my years of experience in growing and developing businesses into showing how an ethical food company could become successful. In launching SWICILY, we aim to end the love/hate relationship with sugar and encourage the world to enjoy a healthier, more luxurious experience of food.” said Patricia de Middel Puch
An artisan product of high quality, SWICILY has already been praised by Italian and International cooks alike and has been adopted by such chefs as private cook Miguel Jensen in Denmark, as well as Sindy Lazo, winner of the first US MasterChef Latina. Not only supported by chefs around the world, SWICILY has also found success with the most high-standard customer of them all: the homes of Sicily themselves, and is currently sold on Amazon, as well as gourmet boutiques in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and France.
Along with being recognised as an exquisite alternative to sugar by world-leading chefs, SWICILY also provides empirically proven health benefits as an alternative to sugar. As Nutritionist Dr S. Castronovo explains, “SWICILY is a sugar with fewer calories per portion, as it is presented in liquid form. It maintains the naturally high sweetening power of grapes, allowing to obtain a sweetener with lower glycemic load … an unprocessed and unrefined sugar, produced without any chemicals, and therefore safe”.
With its elegant flavour, lower calories, deep historical roots, and a focus on ethical, natural growth, SWICILY is the perfect option for a wide variety of customers. The health-conscious family, searching for a natural, organic, and simple alternative to regular sugar. The sportspeople, searching for a low-calorie, nutritious addition to their drinks. And the cooks, who in SWICILY can discover a new sweetening experience, softly enhancing original flavours and smoothing over and bitter tones, avoiding the overpowering taste of sweetness that sugar all too often gives.
Sold as a liquid sweetener, SWICILY has a vast array of possible applications in the kitchen with just a single artisan bottle. Whether it be as a sugary addition to drinks, glazing over vegetables, a sweetening to baked goods or even cocktail preparations, the possibilities are endless. How to use it? Easy, SWICILY is around 30% sweeter than traditional sugar and acts as a flavour enhancer. Just reduce the traditional sugar dose of the recipe with 30% less weight ( IE: 100g of white sugar = 70g of SWICILY) This serves not only as a more flavourful, nutritious sugar substitute but also a more cost-effective delivery of sweet taste.
With a focus on ethical production and protecting the environment, the public can rest assured that Mediterranean Bio Ltd is committed to constantly reviewing and ensuring its positive impact across as many sectors as possible. These include Mediterranean Bio Ltd.’s support for the “Euridice Mission”, which aims to clean the Mediterranean Sea and halt the destruction of unique marine habitats, as well as sponsoring the “Home Sweet Home” project to combat the Mediterranean Immigration crisis, running in collaboration with the African Artists Foundation.
As well as protecting the environment and aiding the local community of Sicily, Mediterranean Bio Ltd also hopes to help bridge skill gaps and build talent pipelines in their collaboration with Workfinder, an award-winning service endorsed by DCMS, BEIS, CBI and the Cabinet Office.
Under an ethical, sustainable, positive company, the SWICILY product launch aims to create a healthy, flavoursome and artisan substitute to sugar, bringing the ancient Mediterranean traditions of grape sweeteners from the local Sicilian farmers to the wider world. With just a single bottle of premium SWICILY sweetener, an entire diet can be changed for the better, bringing both new and exciting taste, as well as a nutritious alternative to traditional sugar options.
Mediterranean Bio was selected to hold a stand at CogX this year. The world´s largest gathering of CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Academics, Artists, Activists and Policy Makers working to realise the biggest transformational opportunity of our time and how we address the challenges along the way.
This year, the question addressed is “ How do we get the next 10 years right”
Amazon launchpad innovation awards
SWICILY is amongst 50 European finalists for the most innovative products built by the brightest emerging start-ups
SWICILY is a member of
Organic Food Federation
Made in Italy
Member of the Ethically Sourced Network
And in the process of a B Certification
Patricia de Middel Puch Biography
Patricia de Middel Puch is a business woman (or social entrepreneur? ), Art patron, disruptive talents coach and mother of four. Her positive curiosity and social engagement has led to a breadth of challenging life projects – from setting-up the first international social media in West Africa, totally managed by local talents, to heading client relations at JPMorgans or coaching start-ups at the most renowned universities. Patricia sees her life as a cross-disciplinary random curation of experiences and encounters that continue to shape her reality to this day.
Patricia is half Spanish and half Belgian. Having lived across the globe since childhood she considers herself a Londoner-citizen of the world.
After studying Economics, Sociology and Politics, followed by a Master in business management Patricia started working next to her father as an agent for small factories across Europe and Asia. A few years later, some shape of surreal positive fate brought her to joining JPMorgan. There, for over 16 years, she learned about excellence, financial markets and sales. Her career and life abruptly changed when mental health entered into the equation. Totally unexpectedly, she was diagnosed with chronic severe depression, incompatible with her career in banking.
With hindsight, this is probably the best that could have been as it forced her to take time for introspective search. With the help of a strong and supportive network she bit the odds by Patricia slowly rebuilding her confidence, first as a coach to both entrepreneurs and artists. She then joined Konbini, a groundbreaking digital Media house, promoting creative journalism across younger generations. As global COO, she opened editorial teams worldwide, including Mexico DC, New York, London and Lagos whilst overseeing the company’s structural change.
For the last three years Patricia has redirected her energy to reinforce her social engagement. She is the first white woman to enter the board of the Arfrican Artists Foundation and has intensified her fight against the taboos surrounding mental health, women and art.
She founded Mediterranean Bio in her quest for disruptive solutions to global problems. Putting into profit her eclectic career, she is now experimenting with ways to encompass the inevitable changes in the social tissue with the beauty of small companies. Inspired by the concept of Mindful consumerism, Patricia had decided to tackle one of the products with the biggest negative impact: Sugar.
This is why SWICILY was born, a global launch of the most sustainable, trustworthy and natural of sugar choices. Real quality food with nutrients, brought back from Ancient History reinvested in a version in line with our values . Against consumerism, this is a multi-purpose product appealing to a vast array of consumers, from the chef to the sportsman.
Her intention is to lead by example, both at personal level, showing that it is never too late, or that you are never too small to launch a project. At business level she is demonstrating that it does make business sense to run a green business that shares its profits with its close community…because at the end, this is what it’s all about, Love and understanding as the ultimate source of mental peace.!
She finds spare time to feed her instagram wall, review photo books and enjoy her kids.
For more information on Patricia visit:
Instagram: pdemiddel
Facebook: patricia de Middel
Twitter: pdemiddel