Italian retailer Conad has opened its first stores under the name Sapori & Dintorni, a special banner offering high-quality, premium ranges of local produce and, in particular, products typical to the region in which the outlets are located.
The group cut the ribbon on two stores, both of them in the centre of Florence, offering a combined sales area of 400m2.
On sale in the stores are a total of 4,000 lines, including 210 typical Italian products under the Sapori & Dintorni Conad label, 500 local and regional items sourced from producers and suppliers in the surrounding area, 2,090 national brands and 1,200 items under the Conad, Conad qualità and Conad il biologico (organic) labels.
Fresh produce features prominently in the stores, with a number of EU-certified fruits and vegetables on show: Sicilian red oranges, Val Venosta apples, Val di Non Renetta apples, Emilia-Romagna pears, Pachino tomatoes, Altedo green asparagus, Etna prickly pears and Puglia grapes.
In both of the new outlets, there is a dedicated area for product tastings and to offer shoppers information on cultural events taking place in Florence.
'Conad is the only chain in Italy to have developed a serious strategy of support for the marketing of the Italian food industry in Italy and worldwide, thanks to the agreements it has with various regions,' said Francesco Pugliese, Conad's general director.
The company recently received the backing of Italy's Ministry of Agriculture for a number of initiatives designed to promote Italian food and drink on the domestic and international markets.
The company's export business was worth €30m at the end of 2009, up 15 per cent on the previous year, while turnover at Sapori & Dintorni reached €150m last year, Mr Pugliese revealed.
'This is our response to so-called zero-kilometre products,' Mr Pugliese added. 'We want the excellence of the Sapori & Dintorni brand's regional tradition to travel many kilometres because they are known, consumed and appreciated by an ever larger number of consumers, even in Europe.'
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