Fourth Generation Sauce Business Ilvento's Featured on Good Morning America and Oprah's Favorite Things

Santa Barbara, CA, November 6, 2015 (Newswire.com) - ​Santa Barbara based family owned company, Ilvento's Proprio Italiano has been selected for the Oprah's Favorite Things of 2015 and was additionally featured on Good Morning America "Deals and Steals" on November 5th. The company was able to sell over 12,000 jars of sauce in a single day through both Good Morning America's "Shopify" platform and the Oprah's Favorite Things shop on Amazon.com.

Ilvento's recipes are based on an 80+ year family tradition that started with the opening of Ilvento's restaurant by Joseph Ilvento Sr. (an immigrant from Grassano, Italy), in Jersey City at the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.  Joe Sr.'s son, Pete Ilvento, became known for his wonderful tomato sauces and famous for his hospitality. While Pete's recipes used meat, his son Joe (a Santa Barbara based Cardiologist) & granddaughter Juliana (an Oakland based Attorney) re-developed the recipes with all vegan ingredients for a wider, health conscious appeal. The sauces are available in a classic tomato basil "Marinara", an earthy mushroom and thyme "Mushroom Boscaiolo", a spicy garden vegetable medley "Arrabbiata", and the family's unique and savory Sunday Gravy "Dal Pietro" ("According to Pete") made using Pete Ilvento's secret spice mix and named in his honor.

Ms. Winfrey has been a neighbor of the Ilvento family for over a decade, during which she came to know and love their authentic, slow-cooked sauces and welcoming, family-style entertaining. "We are truly honored by Oprah's recognition. She's discovered many great food products from small companies and I'm thrilled that she likes our sauces," said Joe Ilvento. Juliana adds: "Oprah is not only a media icon, but also an inspiration to young businesswomen."

Juliana Ilvento Fitzpatrick, COO, Ilvento's Proprio Italiano

The item featured in O Magazine was Ilvento's "Doppio Delizioso" basket which features two sauces, a pound of cold extruded gourmet pasta, two heirloom family recipe cards, and a logo flour sack towel all held in a functional colander. Juliana has sourced all the company's gift baskets to be as close to zero waste as possible by using oven mitts, pot holders, grocery baskets and colanders to hold their luxury food products instead of disposable containers. The company packages each gift with recycled materials whenever possible.

Ilvento's is available in selected retailers on the Central Coast and the Bay Area of California. The company is seeking national distribution for 2016. Please visit www.ilventos.com for more information.