If you talk about organic broccoli you can only think of Prima Bio, the Apulian cooperative company founded in 1998 on the impetus of the Terrenzio family and other farms in the province of Foggia. From late September to May the company cultivates broccoli on about 300 hectares and over the years brassica has become the cooperative’s flagship product, one of the realities of the Bia Consortium. Broccoli but not only: asparagus and tomatoes, all strictly organic, are other references that are gaining importance, as is the line of processed products, a segment started two years ago and which represents the diversification strategy of the company basket, with a premium proposal craftsmanship sign.

“With broccoli we are one of the main organic producers at a national level – president Giovanni Terrenzio explains to Italiafruit News – We serve the main European distribution chains, from Edeka to Rewe, from the Spar group to the Scandinavian ones. the best agronomic techniques and, as is the case for all company references, we take care of every phase: we have a company nursery where we multiply the plants, which we then grow in our best land, we collect the vegetables and work them in our warehouses. vegetables are the same with which we try to present products, giving an important level of service to our customers: just think that broccoli is packaged in 16 different formats: from the 300 gram filmato, to the single piece with ribbon, from the wooden case to the cardboard one, from the IFCO to the CPR … For us there are many costs, but the response to the customer also passes by this flexibility à, if you want to be competitive on the market, it is not enough to produce well, with constancy and quality, but also to satisfy the customer with the type of packaging that requires “.

Speaking of the market, the broccoli campaign was not easy. “The unusually wet autumn in Puglia has caused problems with the broccoli, lots of goods could not be commercialized – the entrepreneur continues – We had a terrible time, then in April there was the classic production hole and now the market is recovering: the customers are harassing us with requests, the weather pause has delayed the start of the asparagus campaign, which Prima Bio cultivates on more than 50 hectares. The first shoots were cut in early April, before Easter there it was a lively situation, good demand and attractive prices … Then a vertical collapse, the market literally collapsed, for organic asparagus we need to create new commercial outlets, but it is not easy, because I do not see many markets still ready for this proposal: the production costs are high and the margins we have are reduced “.

Prima Bio is a closed chain, a dream that started 30 years ago that, brick by brick, has become a reality. The cooperative is also an example of a circular economy, vegetable waste, for example, is used to feed the farm, 750 sheep that give the milk needed for the small dairy company that produces pecorino cheeses and the soft cheese from the Gargano, a soft cheese that in the territory is having success. “It takes time to do good things”, is Giovanni Terrenzio’s motto. And the path of Prima Bio has crossed with that of the Bia Consortium. “A project of only producers, a vertical chain that can reach the distribution from the field, a single sales office that interfaces with the partners: these are the aspects that convinced us to join Bia – underlines Terrenzio – I think that in this model we it is an important potential and not yet fully expressed: for the large-scale distribution it can be interesting and convenient to interface with a reality of this kind, also because for every single product cultivated by our companies it can find a complete supply chain, knowing who cultivates, who collects, who it packages … All within the same grouping. All this is synonymous with guarantee and traceability “.

From fresh to processed. From the nursery to the jar. Always with the same logic, Prima Bio started the tomato processing plant in 2015. And, after two years of testing, he developed a proposal for puree, ready-made sauces, pickles … “Starting from the local red gold we have recovered the authentic flavors that our territory has always given us – says Luisa Terrenzio, conservative sales manager of Prima Bio – We have 3-4 hectares of land that we dedicate to the cultivation of vegetables to be processed, we collect the product at the right stage of ripeness, we work according to seasonality and this allows us to have a high quality and to propose a gourmet product. we started at a commercial level with our processed products, we serve 70% of the Italian market and 30% of the foreign market, especially France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland and Scandinavian countries.In Italy we turn to small retailers and specialized stores. For the red line and that of the evo pickles we have a special pack: a minimal 580 ml cylindrical jar on which we apply a vertically developed label, much the llustration, which is based on a handmade design and invites a reading from a different and original point of view “.

The processed is a trait common to many Bia partners, who knows that in the future the consortium, in addition to the fresh, does not open to the marketing of sauces and preserves.