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“We need to export minimum quantity for the logistics to work out”
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Monday, 03 September, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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fiogf49gjkf0d  Parma, the food hub of Italy, is world-famous for authentic Parmesan cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano, a PDO (protected designation of origin) product, as also its numerous cheese farms and manufacturers.
While most of these cheese entities operate as small companies or family-run businesses, they are represented by gourm.it, a consortium of cheese farms and manufacturers, formed in 2000 with the sole aim of selling products directly to the final customer.
Eleonora Borgonovi, executive, gourm.it, in an exclusive interaction with
Manjushree Naik delves deeper into the challenges that the industry is facing – dealing with the May earthquake, improving exports to countries like India and so on. Excerpts:
The May earthquake is said to have caused heavy damage to the cheese industry in Italy. Comment.
Concerning the earthquake, we would like to stress the concept that our dairies do not ask for refunds after the quake. Too much rumors about "support" are going around, some of them are honest, but many are just speculations. The only thing that could really, concretely help in this moment is promoting the quality of our cheese and keeping on buying Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO.
Tell us about the history of gourm.it.
Selling products directly to the final customer was the idea of some young farmers of the province of Mantua, when farmers’ markets had not still been invented. At the beginning, it was a small stand, prepared in the main square of villages of 6,000 people, and the profits were barely enough to pay a pizza for all the volunteers; but today we have a staff with brilliant collaborators, commercial contracts with big companies in the whole world and dozens of members in all of Italy.
As a matter of fact these young people gathered together to sell the Parmigiano-Reggiano produced with the milk of their farms. Together these farmers faced a deep crisis such as the dispute over milk quotas that around mid 90s forced everyone to reinvent their future. They chose to abandon the inertia with which producers had left their product at the mercy of the market until that moment and they got the process and the distribution tools, without, for this reason, ceasing to be farmers. They continued to produce, but they chose how and where the products were going.
gourm.it is the brand created by Consorzio Export 3-P.it to develop communication projects which enhance products, the associated companies and their area of origin.
Starting from the local experience, in time various companies rooted on the whole national territory have become members.
gourm.it is not only a trading partner, but it deals with “preparing the soil” for consumers by disseminating the culture and the knowledge underlying the products of the associates to the consumers.
What are the broad outlines of the association’s mission?
Respect for the traditions, for the history that each company and each product bring along as an added value. Reinventing one’s product to adapt it to the market needs, to get graphic design and the new media involved to make oneself visible and never tightening up one’s extremist defence of irretrievable past. Also the fact that behind each taste lies a culture, and only an aware customer can be a responsible and satisfied customer.
There are manufacturers of varieties of cheese… give us details…
It is mainly produced in the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia, although the production extends to Mantua and Modena. It is an intense cheese permeated and nourished by the tastes and the traditions of the place which creates it, and the fact that there are as many different Parmigiano Reggiano as the dairy farmers producing it.
Many different dairy farms have joined gourm.it, each one of them bringing a different experience. They include Agrizoo; Antica Corte Pallavicina; Arrigonni Formaggi Spa; Azienda Agrituristica Senga; Casa Madaio; Caseificio Agricolo del Milanello; Caseificio Bertagni; Caseificio Lavialattea; Caseificio Pier Luigi Rosso; Caseificio sociale Santa Rita; Cooperativa San Lorenzo; Fondo Barilla; Galli srl; Grana d’Oro; La Marchesa; Latteria Perenzin; Latteria San Sebastiano; Latteria Santo Stefano; Latteria Sociale Gonfo; and Latteria Vo Grande.
How does the association help in bringing about synergies?
Trade coordination and identification of the right customer for each company; logistics, groupage and transport of goods; bank guarantee on shipping; law consultancy; support to internationalisation; consultancy and planning for the enterprise development; participation to the most important fairs; educational tours for customers and opinion makers; market analysis; communication consultancy.
In five years of activity, 2004 to 2009, the consortium faced important growth and saw turnover, employees, and customers increase tenfold. At the same time, the reference markets of the consortium are still evolving and being defined. The first and strongest customer of the consortium is always the British market that covers almost half of our exports; also the continental markets like Switzerland and Germany are fundamental; among the new markets Japan has been important for some years.
Do you have any plans for the Indian market?
Our key markets are Japan, China, North America, all European countries but especially northern Europe. But almost nil in India as we need to export minimum quantity for the logistics to work out - the quantity, shelf life, refrigerated transport and air and sea transport cost.
2012: New oxygen, new life
Alfonso Minardi, sales director, Agrizoo, a Parma-based manufacturer of organic Parmigiano-eggiano, stated that his company Agrizoo was born in 1972.
 He observes, “In 2001, the farm took an important decision, to go for organic production.”
“We use only animal rennet hence with India it is difficult as in your country a vegetarian product is preferred, though some quantities go to India. Most of these products are of cow, sheep, horse and vegetable origin,” explains Minardi.
He adds, this year has been, “New oxygen, new life for our market. The normal market suffered a lot. Especially prices fell in 2007, 08, 09, but now better than last year. However, we simply produce organic, which is 1 Euro costlier than normal price.”
Interestingly, Minardi states, “We believe only in legal production and hence produce very little quantity. Only six forms per day, while normal Parmesan cheese is in the zone of 100-120 forms per day. One form is equal to 57 kg. Every phase of production is paid lot of attention.”
He further, explains, “There is a type of casein, more fine in the milk of the herd of Agrizoo, the KBB type. It is present 50 per cent in red and white cows and 20 per cent in black and white cows. A correct mix of these two types of milk generates what is used for production of organic Parmesan cheese and its seasoning. The animals are nursed with homoeopathic medicine. With this milk, we can have long seasoning - seven years, while the normal one is two years old. It is strong but not hard, as for colour, searing golden brown, golden white, a mix of milk.”
“Ironically, consumers in
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