Founded in 2016 in Milan, Vegea was created to promote the integration between chemistry and agriculture through the development of new eco-sustainable products. The architect Gianpiero Tessitore and the environmental chemist Francesco Merlino became business partners when they discovered that grape marc (the remains after pressing the grapes into wine) contains fibers and oils ideal for the development of a more sustainable material that resembles the mechanical, aesthetic, and sensory characteristics of a cow’s skin.