Vaia breathes new life into olive trees struck by Xylella We went to Salento to discover it

In a land deeply scarred by Xylella, where millions of olive trees have permanently transformed the landscape of Salento, a new chapter begins in the story of Vaia, the B Corp and benefit company bringing its regenerative model to Puglia, a model that has already led to the planting of more than 200,000 new trees in the Dolomites.

Olive Matter, Vaia's new biobased material, is born

The company is introducing Olive Matter, an innovative biobased material developed from olive wood fibers sourced from trees affected by Xylella. Its first concrete application is a 100% Made in Italy smartphone case. The launch marks the first result of Vaia's research and development journey aimed at restoring value to one of the most iconic resources of the Apulian territory.

The impact of Xylella and the transformation of waste

Since 2013, the Xylella bacterium has affected more than 20 million olive trees in Puglia and spread across over 8,000 square kilometers of land, leaving Salento with one of the greatest environmental, agricultural, and cultural traumas in recent Italian—and European—history. The removal of infected trees generates enormous quantities of wood, much of which is still abandoned or burned today. Vaia chose instead to start from this very point: transforming waste into a new material, preserving the identity and value of these trees through design and materials research.

The research behind Olive Matter

Olive Matter is a 100% recyclable biocomposite developed through research carried out together with the University of Trento's Department of Industrial Engineering. The project was supported by the creation of a Scientific Committee involving researchers from the National Research Council (CNR) in Bari and the University of Salento for the environmental regeneration activities that are fundamental to the Vaia model, as well as by a fully Italian production chain involving companies from Puglia, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, and Veneto. The research led to the development of a material that combines lightness, durability, a natural wood-like texture, and antibacterial properties, with a scent that immediately evokes the authentic identity of olive wood.

The first application: VaiaCover

The first application of the Olive Matter biocomposite is VaiaCover, a new product that allows the B Corp to bring its regeneration model directly into people's hands through one of the objects we interact with thousands of times every day: the smartphone. As always in Vaia's story, the purchase of every case supports a regeneration initiative: each product sold will help restore one square meter of Mediterranean scrubland in the municipality of Specchia (LE), contributing to the creation of the first Forest of Rebirth in Puglia.

Vaia's vision

"With Olive Matter, we want to demonstrate that applied research, design, and a deep connection with local territories can contribute to creating products capable of generating positive impact. The idea of placing in the hands of thousands of people around the world a case made from living material, with a traceable origin and capable of supporting the rebirth of a territory, is something that excites us and pushes us to imagine future applications without limits," says Federico Stefani, Founder & President of Vaia.

A design that tells the story of Puglia

The design of the cases was developed in collaboration with SID – Scuola Italiana Design in Padua and stems from a profound connection to the Apulian territory. The first element linking the product to nature is the bark texture: the surface reproduces the actual scan of the bark of real Apulian olive trees. The physical presence of the material itself tells the story of its origin. Seven different bark patterns for the seven available case models create a unique surface, just like the material being transformed, offering an authentic materiality that can be experienced through touch, sight, and smell, far removed from the aesthetics of conventional smartphone cases. The wood fibers remain visible and tangible on the surface, with natural grain patterns, a matte finish, and a texture that directly recalls the material's organic origin.

At the center of every case are the geographic coordinates of the Forest of Rebirth in Specchia, accompanied by an embossed olive tree silhouette: symbolic details that once again bring to the forefront the connection between material and territory, two inseparable elements of this object. Completing the design is a color palette inspired by the defining hues of the Apulian landscape: Olive Green, Earth Brown, Sea Blue, and Sand Beige, shades that evoke the olive groves of Salento and the soil that nourishes their roots, as well as the Adriatic Sea and its stunning beaches.