The South Tyrolean Apple Consortium has announced a protected geographical indicator (PGI) label for its fruit and total image rebranding.
Following a two-year application procedure with the EU the PGI brand name "Südtiroler Apfel" can be used for 11 of the 15 South Tyrolean apple varieties: Golden Delicious, red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, Braeburn, Elstar, Fuji, Jonagold, Idared, Morgenduft, and Winesap.
Having been the first quality symbol of its kind in Europe, the Südtirol trademark has a history of progressiveness, Matthias Josef Gamper, chairman of the consortium told delegates.
He said: "PGI is a response to the increasing interest in product origins. It provides a security that a product comes from a certain region and that this origin can guarantee a certain quality and has something specific to offer, and the product has a special association with the region."
Senator for Südtirol, Landesrat Werner Frick added: "With the PGI status we are hoping to put the brakes on the downward pressure on prices and I think in Südtirol what we are doing is not to harmonise everything across Europe. No, we are interested in something which differentiates us from the others."
The consortium also exploited the opportunity provided by the awarding of the PGI certification to develop its outlook, by redesigning its logo in accordance with the Südtirol umbrella brand, launched early last year.
The new apple brand incorporates the ladybird familiar to the umbrella brand Südtirol, as well as a colourful rendition of the distinctive outline of the Alps.
In addition, the colour green has been selected for the text, owing to its natural connotations, Gamper said.
Südtirol is responsible for around 12 per cent of Europe's apple harvest, and 50 per cent of Italy's total crop. Volumes were down five per cent last year to 917,000t due to a cool summer which resulted in a widespread reduction in fruit size.
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