Italian pasta and sauces producer Granoro is investing €13 million in a new production and packaging line to meet increasing demand from Asia and South America, according to daily La Repubblica.
Marina Mastromauro, the managing director of Granoro, told the publication that the new investments will enable the company to meet rising demand, as exports have increased by 10% in the last five years.
While exports accounted for 30% of Granoro’s total turnover in 2012, they now equal 40%. This is due to countries such as Japan, Indonesia and The Philippines that are slowly introducing pasta in their diet.
The remaining 60% of the turnover of €71 million (+2.5% compared to 2015) is achieved in Italy, thanks to agreements with large supermarket chains.
However, according to Mastromauro, Italy has seen a decline in recent years in the consumption of durum wheat pasta, due to changing tastes and the growing interest in integral and functional pasta.
In collaboration with the Sant’Anna Institute of Pisa, Granoro has developed Cuore Mio Bio, a pasta which promises 'to reduce cholesterol'.
Another project the company has been working on since 2012 is that of the Dedicato line, which brings together 140 small producers of Apulian grain that provide the raw material for about 40,000 tonnes of pasta. To support the work of farmers, the company offers a guaranteed minimum price that covers agricultural production costs.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
