A modern company, a modern vision, with strong roots in cooperation ready to get involved. With the power of connections. This is the history, but also the future, of the Alegra Group and its businesses (Alegra, Valfrutta Fresco and Brio).

We talked about this just over a year ago in an wide-ranging interview with Cristian Moretti and we got fair confirmation at the trade fair in Berlin for Fruit Logistica.

It is the people who make and will increasingly make the difference. On those the group has invested-not just management front-to accompany a transformation that affects everyone and that cannot be pretended not to see.

Qualified people and productions

The meeting with general manager Mauro Laghi, Agrintesa general manager Cristian Moretti, Valfrutta Fresco general manager Enrico Bucchi and Claudia Iannarella, marketing manager of Alegra, is not celebratory, rather very operational. They talk about things done and to be done, numbers in hand. But, we said, with people at the center.

Because more and more expertise is needed to manage process and product innovations. In a changing environment and giving more and more guarantees: of taste, wholesomeness, sustainability, ethics.

It started with a sequence of snapshots taken by Laghi, who framed the group (” A strong and structured reality that can access innovation and development“), (“Although difficult from the production point of view, it gave us discrete satisfactions, we returned to conquer market spaces and managed to satisfy our producers“), recalled the weight of exports (“Worth 50% of the turnover of the commercial. Well the EU, overseas remains open with strategic partners but with the goal of repositioning as soon as geopolitical conditions exist”) and focused attention on the next promising campaign of Ondine, Dulcis and Cornelio thanks to important investments that will ensure further development and consolidation.

Then, the focus goes straight to the new Alegra of connections.

360-degree innovations

It all starts from there, with Cristian Moretti stressing the importance of that“varietal innovation to give answers to our producers and access to large-scale European distribution.”

An innovation that is part of Agrintesa’s history: “We were among the first to invest in nectarines, green kiwifruit and, later, yellow kiwifruit. And we will continue to invest and bet on the fruit growing of tomorrow to ensure a solid future for our producers.”

And here are the numbers of growth: “This year we recorded 45 percent more volumes, we still have apples, pears and kiwis in plants” Moretti reports. “And thanks also to the incorporation of the Castrovillari Osas cooperative, Cosenza, we have reached 9,000 hectares of orchards.

Orchards that extend not only to Emilia Romagna, but also to Calabria, Piedmont, and Latina, and that are home to major varietal innovations, the primary tool for competitiveness in the hands of producers.

“We have invested millions in varietal innovation, starting with Ondine flat nectarines, Dulcis kiwifruit and yellow kiwifruit, and ending with apricots and persimmons. And not forgetting minor species, such as walnuts(250 hectares together with New Factor) and blueberries(6 hectares thanks to the Sekoya project with SanLuca). Our producers are very innovative, so it is an obligation to transfer new products to them.”

Then a reference to technological innovation, with investments in optical sorting in the Castrovillari plant and the renovation of the Castel Bolognese (Ravenna) plants, ready to handle the increased volumes of yellow kiwifruit in the coming years.

We were there, we are there, we will be there

And, again, a reference to people: “We renewed Alegra’s sales office and included new young talent in the Agrintesa team as well to be more dynamic, efficient and competitive. That’s the way we are; we were there, we are there, and we will be there,” Moretti concludes.

“The capacity for design innovation and attractiveness comes from an internal path of renewal that generates vision and interest from large international groups and clubs,” points out Enrico Bucchi, Alegra’s Italy sales director, who focuses precisely on the group’s special projects.

“The Cornelio project is the smallest, but the oldest, and is undergoing a major revival. With him we started a new category and genetically it is still the best horn bell pepper on the market. Now we are resuming production(now on about 30 hectares) to cover 12 months of the year. Dulcis, on the other hand, has concluded its first real commercial campaign (with 600 tons) and 2025 will see us accelerate significantly, goal to reach 2,000 tons.”

And on flat nectarines Ondine: “The weight in Europe is around 10,000 tons between Spain and Italy (2,000 for Allegra). The tests are positive and the large-scale retail partners believe the category deserves further space so off to organization and planning”

Connections, and synergies

To sum up: the strengths that have always distinguished the group-from its ability to create supply chain projects to its focus on innovation and its vocation for “doing together” in synergy-are now further enhanced, thanks in part to its new identity image.

“Another key element that sets us apart is building strong relationships with distribution partners, stakeholders, as well as producers and suppliers,” adds Claudia Iannarella. “It is precisely with them that we now want to take a further step forward. We want to confront each other to discuss supply chains, visions and market strategies. And, to do this, we have commissioned NielsenIQ to conduct a consumer survey that will allow us to offer our clients data tailored to our needs to find specific answers for our sector. We want to chart the course, design the path.”

Thus was born the idea for Connections, an event (at the Teatro Verdi in Cesena on May 6) which celebrates supply chain relationships and will also be an opportunity to stimulate dialogue and analysis about the future precisely in the logic of partnerships.

Source: MyFruit

Author: Raffaella Quadretti