AN ITALIAN food entrepreneur has delighted his workforce by gifting them £1 million and a trip to the Maldives for Christmas.
The generous boss is Tommaso Mazzanti, founder and CEO of All’Antico Vinaio – a global chain of sandwich shops based out of Florence, Italy.
Tomasso’s wildly popular sandwiches are schiacciate, a type of Sicilian stuffed flatbread, and get exported all over the world.
The Tuscan businessman made the announcement on social media that he would split a million between his workers, amounting to roughly £2,500 each.
He said the Christmas windfall was to recognise the value and commitment of his workers who contribute every day to the growth of the brand.
He said: “I always remember when I was behind a counter making schiacciate, and I wanted to take advantage of my good fortune and to make all my employees and collaborators as happy as possible.”
Mazzanti announced he was also giving out five free week-long holidays at a five-star Maldives resort.
These bumper prizes will be awarded randomly through a lottery involving the company’s entire workforce.
Tommasso chose the Maldives because after he earned his first pay cheque as a young man, he took his wife on a trip to the islands.
He said that felt like a “small victory”, and that he wants his workers “to experience the same emotion, to stimulate that desire for perseverance and ambition”.
Every single worker will also get an extra week’s holiday above the legal minimum.
As if the bundle of gifts for his workers wasn’t enough, Tommaso is also gifting one lucky customer a trip to New York through a competition on his Instagram page.
All’Antico Vinaio’s employees benefitted from their boss’s generosity last December as well, but have been handed £400 more this time.
The CEO said: “This year I decided to raise the bar even higher.
“At least 1 million euros will be provided for and used by our employees in 2025.
“It’s a small gesture, but I hope it’ll be appreciated.”
All’Antico Vinaio has 40 stores worldwide, including in Italy, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, with almost 600 employees.
Their turnover for 2024 was around £60 million.
The day after announcing the gifts, Tommaso took to social media again to reflect on the positive reaction to the news and explain his thinking.
“I am happy because I know I’ve done something right,” he said.
“It’s not a gift, it’s an acknowledgement, it’s a recognition.”
He said the bonuses were to recognise his employees sticking to his company’s “fundamental values” of “work, family and meritocracy”.
Tommaso is clearly grateful to have overseen the “marvellous Italian story of a small company that is now becoming a giant,” and said he “owes it to [his] workers that collaborate with us every day”.
“I hope that next year we can reach thousands of collaborators and raise the bar even higher.”
