How it all began - Yvonne & Ralph
A Swiss couple, Ralph, Swiss with a childhood in New Jersey. A chance discovery. And a phone call that changed everything.
Yvonne and Ralph W. Heinzelmann - Founders of Bongiovi Brand, Rheinfelden (Switzerland)
Ralph and Anthony Bongiovi - the start of the official Bongiovi license for Europe.
Ralph grew up in New Jersey - the Bongiovi family's home state. When his brother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, he traveled from Switzerland to the USA. A year earlier, his wife and business partner Yvonne had been battling cancer herself. He knew what this diagnosis meant.
In a grocery store in New Jersey, in the middle of an aisle full of pasta sauces, Ralph spotted a large jar labeled "Bongiovi Brand Pasta Sauce". His first thought: how funny - the family of the famous rock star makes tomato sauces. But then he read the label. No artificial additives. No sugar. Up to 93% fresh tomatoes straight from Italy. He bought some for his brother-in-law - and packed 24 bottles in his suitcase for Switzerland.
What could help his brother-in-law could also help Yvonne. That's what Ralph thought.
Back in Switzerland, the two of them tried the sauces - and were immediately convinced. Not just good. Exceptionally good. They looked for the sauce in Switzerland. Nothing. All over Europe. Nothing.
Ralph did some more research and came across JAMBCO Inc - Jon, Anthony, Matt Bongiovi Company. There was a phone number. Ralph called. Anthony Bongiovi himself answered. After a short, intensive conversation about the sauces and the question of whether they would ever be available in Europe, Anthony asked a simple counter-question: "Would you like to represent the sauces in Europe?"
We agreed immediately. That's how it all began.
Since then, we have become the official license holders of Bongiovi Brand Pasta Sauces for Switzerland, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. No large corporations, no middlemen — just the two of us, Yvonne and Ralph, from Switzerland.
We don’t know these sauces from a catalog. We know them from our own kitchen. From a suitcase. From that moment when you open a jar for the first time and realize: this is different.
Anthony Bongiovi did not create these sauces as a side project. He made them for his family — without artificial additives, without added sugar, and with up to 93% fresh tomatoes sourced directly from Italy. We are bringing exactly that to you.
When you order from us, you are not ordering from an online shop. You are ordering from two people who discovered these sauces themselves — and who have been convinced ever since that they belong in every kitchen.
Anthony Bongiovi visits Yvonne in Rheinfelden Switzerland