Fumagalli started investing in values like food safety, sustainability and its controlled supply chain long before they became fashionable. Since these principles have now become the expectation for any business looking to stay viable long-term, Fumagalli’s forward-thinking ethos has led to considerable international success. They are now looking to position themselves on the domestic market as a company who can still make a difference in a complex sector that has been persistently weakened by the economic downturn. Fumagalli Industria Alimentari started developing its so-called ‘Fumagalli Supply Chain’ in the mid-1990s. This system allows the company to manage every stage of the manufacturing process, from genetic selection to the finished product. The family-run business with headquarters in Tavernerio (Co) comprises farms in Lombardy, the Veneto and Piedmont, in addition to its production and maturation centres in Langhirano (Pr).
“We are able to supply 80% of our own raw materials”, Francesco Pizzagalli, managing director of Fumagalli Industria Alimentari explains, “an advantage that has long allowed us to concentrate on product quality and make important economies of scale. Continued investment into research means we can count on the quality of our meat, which in turn underpins the nutritional and health value of our products. Furthermore, the entire process is founded upon the principles of sustainability, low environmental impact and animal welfare. These are all values that Italy has been playing catch-up on in comparison with international markets. Our ethos has therefore been a way in to a number of major European supermarket chains”. Exports currently account for 68% of the company’s turnover, equal to 40 million Euros (54 million if you look at the group as a whole). The company is moving forward with its line of pre-sliced hams in eco-friendly packaging, which were successfully launched internationally around a year ago in Carrefour in France, Waitrose in the Uk and Delhaize in Germany.
“Our objective” Pizzagalli continues “is to invest in innovation and research to offer the customer a product that’s safe and high quality, and at the same time retains its traditional identity. Fumagalli’s controlled supply chain is a system that few can lay claim to in Europe. The ensemble of our values, that include a strong connection to the land and the social considerations that go with it, are brought together in our Ethical Label. This concept encapsulates our business model, which we recently presented at Cibus”.
