From winning the Special Mention for Female Entrepreneurship at Expo 2025 Osaka: Glutensens aims to revolutionize food safety with a rapid, portable gluten test.
One year after receiving an award at StartCup Lombardia, Glutensens, the innovative food safety startup founded by Associate Professor Chiara Di Lorenzo of the University of Milan, hasn’t stopped since its Special Mention for Female Entrepreneurship at Start Cup Lombardia 2024. The current goal is to bring an electrochemical device to market that can detect the presence of gluten in food in real-time. This tool is designed to significantly improve the lives of people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
We asked Professor Di Lorenzo to tell us how Glutensens is evolving and what milestones are on the horizon. “We incorporated as a company in October 2024,” explains Di Lorenzo, “and we raised one million euros from investors, which allowed us to cover initial costs, especially those related to marketing and the startup’s internal organization, thanks also to the work of our CEO Andrea Zanella.”
The core of their work has focused on technological refinement. “We’ve worked to resolve critical issues, strengthen the team, and find new professionals. We are now looking for a project manager, and by September, we expect to have a prototype ready for initial testing.” Glutensens now aims for commercialization in 2026.
Meanwhile, the startup has already taken its first steps in intellectual property, with a patent also extended to a European level, and is now firmly targeting the US and Asian markets. “We will be present at Expo 2025 in Osaka in October,” says the founder, “to introduce ourselves to the Asian market and build new connections.”
If Glutensens can now ambitiously look towards global horizons, part of the credit goes to StartCup Lombardia, which served as their first real springboard. “It was an extremely useful experience,” emphasizes Di Lorenzo, “not only for the visibility it gave us but also for the opportunity to connect with other innovators and potential investors. Invitalia also noticed us and wanted us as testimonials at ‘We Make Future,’ the international fair on digital innovation, AI, and tech in Bologna. This opportunity opened even more doors for us.”
There’s another area yielding significant results: the relationship with patients, a true lifeline for any socially oriented innovation. “We initiated a dialogue with the Italian Celiac Association (AIC), which allowed us to make ourselves known directly to those interested in the device: celiacs, families, restaurateurs, pharmacists. Social media is also helping us in this listening and relationship-building phase. Many have written to us to share their daily difficulties, the limitations in choosing restaurants, or in food safety. Our goal is to offer a practical, reliable, and fast tool to give back freedom,” concluded Di Lorenzo.
