Due Soler Food Imports delivers the taste of Italy to your doorstep. The company was founded in 2023 by sisters Lindsay Jeffries and Ashley Foster of Salem. Pictured is a mini-market set up by Due Soler at an event held at Birdfish Brewing in Columbia. (Photo provided)
LISBON — What started as a love of good food led to a partnership between two sisters and has blossomed into a thriving business offering customers a taste of Italy without ever leaving Columbiana County.
Due Sorelle Food Imports was founded in October 2023 by sisters Lindsay Jeffries and Ashley Foster to import quality European ingredients, food and wine directly to the region.
“The idea was to bring us together and bring our love of European food to the U.S.,” Foster explained. “Both Lindsay and I believe it’s really important to know what’s in your food and what you’re eating. We quickly realized that a lot of people now check labels and want pure food.”
Due Solelle means “two sisters” in Italian, and while sisterly ties and a shared love for Italy may have been the motivation behind the founding of this business, it took much more for it to thrive.
The sisters have it covered.
“I returned home last September from working in restaurants overseas and was tired of nine years in kitchens and wanted to try something new,” says Foster. “My sister Lindsay, who works as the Marketing Director for Global-Pak Inc., thought we should collaborate and bring both our backgrounds together – her in sales and marketing and mine in culinary and education. Lindsay is incredibly talented and business-minded; she still works for Global-Pak, is a mother to a one-year-old, and is the CEO of Due Sorelle.”
Foster said Due Sorelle’s first shipment will arrive at the U.S. border in January 2024, and the company imports high-quality, traditional Italian foods from across Italy, including olive oils from Lazio and Tuscany, balsamic vinegar from Modena, dried pasta from Pisa, salt from Sicily and mushroom products from Turin. In addition to sourcing the best ingredients, Due Sorelle prides itself on sourcing from vendors whose livelihoods depend on the quality of the products they provide.
“Many of the manufacturers we buy from are family-owned, two of them are fourth generation and have been in business for 100 years,” Foster said.
Due Solelle also plans to add hand-painted Italian ceramics to its Christmas inventory this winter, and will offer products to wholesalers as well as do special sourcing for restaurants.
Currently, all Due Sorelle products can be purchased online at duesorelle.com, but the sisters hope to eventually have a brick-and-mortar store.
“We don’t have a storefront yet,” Foster said. “Our goal is to have a retail store and culinary education center by the first quarter of 2026.”
In the meantime, residents who want to get a taste of what Due Sorelle has to offer in terms of inventory and culinary education can attend several events.
The sisters, originally from Salem, have partnered with the local Smucker House to offer cooking classes to students of all ages. Each class is different and focuses on the season and where the ingredients come from. Tickets can be purchased at www.duesorelle.com/education.
Due Sorel will be a featured vendor at Beresford’s Craft Meats and Deli collaboration “A Night at the Museum” at the Lou Holtz Museum in East Liverpool on Thursday, July 25 from 5 to 9 p.m.
Additionally, Due Sorelle will be featured at “A Taste of Italy: Cocktails from Birdfish Brewing Co. and Food from A Movable Feast,” which will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. July 26 at Birdfish, 104 E. Park Ave. in Columbiana.
Due Sorelle’s items will also be featured on the menu at The Vault, 200 E. Fifth St. in East Liverpool.
For a complete list of events and additional information, please visit the events tab at duesorelle.com.
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