Naturitalia member says it has identified growing market demand for pre-prepared products within Italy’s catering sector
Italian cooperative Patfrut says it sees good potential to grow sales of locally sourced, pre-prepared vegetables to customers in the hotel, restaurant and catering trade.
The company, which is a member of one of Italy’s largest fresh produce marketers Naturitalia and already a major supplier of vegetables, opened a brand new processing facility in Medicina near Bologna this week.
The 1,500m2 centre is equipped with the latest peeling and cutting machines and will be used to supply fresh-cut items including potatoes, carrots and squash to customers across the country.
“As well as offering high-quality products, we also want them to be versatile and ready to use, to simplify the work of catering professionals and guarantee an increasingly rich and tasty culinary experience,” explained Gabriele Ferri, Naturitalia’s general manager.
“In that regard, fresh-cut products represent an increasingly important strategic resource for the sector, and an opportunity to offer something innovative, respond to new market needs, and create value for our agricultural companies.”
The facility’s output will focus initially on supplying 5kg and 10kg bags of product suitable for customers in the catering business.
Equipped with two dedicated processing lines for potatoes and one for carrots and pumpkins, the plant can apparently process 12 tonnes of potatoes and three tonnes of carrots per hour.
In the near future, another line for onions is expected to be up and running.
“This plant not only represents an important milestone for the cooperative but also a significant investment for the development of the territory,” commented Patfrut’s president Aldo Rizzoglio. “We have chosen to focus on a strategic area from a production and logistics point of view, with the certainty that the new plant will significantly contribute to promoting the local agri-food heritage.”
