In 2013, Italian furniture designer Gianpiero Tessitore was unable to find a sustainable material to replace the use of animal leathers in his work. He partnered with an industrial chemist named Francesco Merlino to work on a solution and spent the next three years on research and development. They ultimately discovered that the grape skins, stalks and seeds that are left over from the wine making process contain multifunctional components that are perfect for converting into technical fabrics. In 2016 they formed Vegea Company to focus on the production of "Vegea" as a plant-based alternative to leather. The name VEGEA comes from the combination of VEG (Vegan) and GEA (Mother Earth). In 2017 they won the H&M Foundation's Change Maker Award and their innovative material has since been used across the globe by some of the world's leading brands.