Italian firms Besana and Noberasco, both leading names in the dried fruit and nut business, have formed a strategic partnership called the Italian Nut & Fruit Alliance, which they say will help both companies to increase their presence on international markets.
The move marks a major step forward for both companies: Besana, already well established as a major international supplier, now has the chance to offer a broader range of products; Noberasco, meanwhile, which is more focused as a brand on the Italian market, is poised to increase its business in the export arena.
The alliance, which is said to be based on the two companies’ mutual compatibility in terms of their “history, business models, strategic vision and cultural affinity”, has apparently been designed to achieve economies of scale in terms of sourcing, productivity and marketing.
Both companies are privately owned – Besana by the Calcagni family, Noberasco by the Noberasco family – and it is understood that the specific details of how such an alliance might work were hammered out relatively quickly during recent talks between the groups’ respective management teams.
The move sees the creation of a new corporate entity, with each partner taking a 50 per cent share and equal control over the alliance’s direction.
“The project’s primary goal is to realise industrial synergies made possible by the two companies’ complementary nature,” the partners commented in a statement, referring to the fact that Noberasco is focused more on soft fruits and Besana more on dried.
By integrating the two different product ranges at international level, they said they expected to be able to build sales in new markets.
