Company says new production in Catania adds to its Sicilian volumes and will eventually supply market from October to March
Italian fresh produce company Brio says it plans to supply its retail customers with domestically grown, organic avocados from October to the end of March, starting next year.
The Alegra group subsidiary revealed this week that it will start to supply commercial volumes of the fruit from Catania, in the south of the country.
Alongside product from Sicily too, it will sell from mid-November until the end of February them under the renowned Italian organic brand Alce Nero.
The move follows a number of test consignments in 2023 which were used to gauge the response of buyers and consumers.
“Last year, the available volumes allowed us to carry out targeted commercial tests, but for 2024/25 we intend to ensure a continuous presence in our customers’ fruit and vegetable departments,” explains commercial director Mauro Laghi.
For this first marketing campaign, Hass variety fruits will be available, but in 2025, Laghi said the company expected a significant increase in volumes of early variety Bacon.
Brio’s goal ultimately is to expand the availability of Italian avocados from October to the end of March.
“The development plan is already mapped out: we are working to ensure growing spaces and opportunities for Italian avocados,” he adds. “In fact, starting this year, we will be offering different purchasing solutions: from trays with two fruits to single fruits.”
Brio has pioneered the sale of organic avocados in Italy since the early 2000s. “Avocado is a fast-growing product, increasingly in demand by consumers for its unique nutritional characteristics, and has always been a distinctive feature of Brio’s offering,” Laghi notes.
“Our goal, right from the start, was to guarantee the consumer a high-quality and certified product for 12 months a year.”
In the past, that objective was achieved by sourcing primarily from Spain and Peru, although more recently the group was able to source a small amount of fruit grown in Sicily.
Now, says Laghi, growers in Catania are ready to boost that local supply. “At our side there is a small initial core of producers, who over the years have decided to allocate increasing planted area to the cultivation of organic avocados.
“That experience and expertise, combined with the typical soil and climate conditions of the production area, are ideal for the development of a premium-quality fruit that meets the Alce Nero brand’s high standards.”
