About us

Discover our world

Activities aimed at science and the future

Sphera Encapsulation is the first Italian company dedicated 100% to research and development in encapsulation technologies, inspired by our strong background in the materials chemistry and food chemistry sectors.

Our founding values are:

  • the extreme attention to the environment, which translates into the total sustainability of the formulas developed

  • attention to people through customer satisfaction, giving value to the ethical choices of the consumer, and offering products that are truly capable of improving the person's well-being.

Our core business is encapsulation, i.e., a set of approaches aimed at incorporating a substance within another that acts as a protective barrier, obtaining particles or capsules characterized by a diameter of approximately 1-1000 microns in the case of microencapsulation or less than 1000 microns when talking about nanoencapsulation

The idea behind the project was born from the desire to respond to the strong demands of the encapsulation market through the research and development of unique solutions that allow the creation of innovative and competitive products while respecting the environment.

The idea behind the project was born from the desire to respond to the strong demands of the encapsulation market through the research and development of unique solutions that allow the creation of innovative and competitive products while respecting the environment.

Sphera is one of the rare companies characterized by extreme flexibility, which, in the field of encapsulation, translates into a vast knowledge of different types of technologies:

  • spray dry, 

  • fluid bed, 

  • ionotropic gelation, 

  • emulsions,

  • coacervation and much more. 

Also, we are the only company that has decided to explore combining multiple technologies, thus creating a new generation of encapsulated products.


Our history

A story of collaboration and success

Sphera Encapsulation was born as an innovative start-up at the end of 2016, thanks to the support of the University of Verona as an incubator for companies of this type. In particular, the underlying idea was born in the Food Chemistry laboratory of the University of Biotechnology of Verona, where Professor Gianni Zoccatelli 2012 began to be interested in the multiple advantages encapsulation technologies can offer in the food and nutraceutical field.

A little later, an engineer joined the group. Martina Vakarelova began her PhD in 2014, specializing in microencapsulation techniques of microalgae extracts for the development of functional foods under the careful supervision of Prof. Zoccatelli. During her doctorate, she participated in various workshops and courses focused on encapsulation and encountering different realities because of her frequent travel. Among these is the laboratory of the ONIRIS Institute in France of Professor Denis Poncelet, a leading expert in microencapsulation.

Having returned from this experience, she met the company's third co-founder, Dr. Francesca Zanoni, who had recently started carrying out her master's thesis at Prof. Zoccatelli's laboratory. Dr. Zanoni initially turned her attention to studying nanoencapsulation technologies for carotenoid mixtures. Given the results obtained from her studies, she decided to extend her stay in the research group by also carrying out her doctorate, which led her to develop an innovative technology for the nanoencapsulation of lipophilic compounds.

Having returned from this experience, she met the company's third co-founder, Dr. Francesca Zanoni, who had recently started carrying out her master's thesis at Prof. Zoccatelli's laboratory. Dr. Zanoni initially turned her attention to studying nanoencapsulation technologies for carotenoid mixtures. Given the results obtained from her studies, she decided to extend her stay in the research group by also carrying out her doctorate, which led her to develop an innovative technology for the nanoencapsulation of lipophilic compounds.

Gianni, Martina, and Francesca then began to give shape to the idea of Sphera as a company offering encapsulation services. Thanks to their participation in the Start Cup Veneto 2016 and the PNI - the National Innovation Award, where they received important recognition, they realized their idea's potential and the public's enthusiastic response.

Hence, the company's opening at the Verona Chamber of Commerce in the spring of 2017 and, after a few months, the arrival of the first customers.

For information, contact us