June 6, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Italy’s Orsero SpA, a leading importer and distributor of fresh fruit and vegetables in Mediterranean Europe, has signed a strategic partnership with Cercchia Holding, represented by Matteo and Luca Molari, specialists in varietal selection and the propagation of berries, to form Frutti di Gil Srl, a joint venture in which Orsero will hold a 51 percent stake. 

Consumer demand for fresh berries is strong due to the combination of their health benefits, appealing taste, versatility, and their alignment with current dietary and culinary trends. And as consumers increasingly seek both convenience and nutrition in their food choices, fresh berries continue to be a popular and highly sought-after option.

Between 2022-2027, Technavio forecasts that the global fresh berry market will maintain a CAGR of 5.69 percent and increase in value by US$10.2 billion while the degree of fragmentation in the industry decreases over that time period.

And in Europe, the CBI notes that the blueberry market has experienced swift growth in recent years – growth that was not negatively affected by COVID. In the five years leading up to 2021, Europe’s blueberry trade jumped by €1 billion to reach a value of  €2.1 billion. 

Through this new venture, the partners will work to develop a key supply chain project fully dedicated to berries. To this partnership, Molari brings 20 years experience in varietal improvement and nursery propagation, and the Orsero Group brings its ability to deploy its commercial and distribution strengths supported by its widespread infrastructure network. 

Together, the partners will select cultivation areas and excellent producers across varying geographic areas that are capable of guaranteeing fresh, high-quality produce on a year-round basis. 

“The constant search for quality is certainly what Molari and Orsero have in common and is also one of the key objectives of this project,” said Luca Molari, co-CEO of Frutti di Gil and managing partner of G-Berries and Molari Società Agricola.

“…We are certain that with a lot of commitment and passion, combined with a variety choice and a distribution capacity that are unique in Italy, we will be able to achieve the goal, thanks also to a network of excellent national and international producers.”

The harvested berries will then be processed in dedicated facilities within Orsero Group’s warehouses, (with the group’s Verona-based warehouse acting as the central hub of the operation) to be distributed across Italy. 

Currently, a new 7,000 square-meter warehouse is under construction adjacent to its existing Verona site, of which 1,200 square-meters of space will be equipped with cutting-edge machinery calibrated for processing small fruits.

Orsero noted that the significant investment committed to the development of the Verona hub, which is already the group’s main distribution structure in Italy, signifies not only the company’s dedication to improve the efficiency of its facilities, but the strategic value of the I Frutti di Gil project as a whole. 

We are satisfied with this agreement which will allow us to focus on a range of products with great growth potential,” said Raffaella Orsero, VP and CEO, and Matteo Colombini, Co-CEO and CFO of the Orsero Group. 

“We live in a historical period in which the search for comfortable and practical solutions to consume healthy and fresh products is constant; berries, easy and quick to consume, fully respond to this need. To develop this path we could not have chosen a better ally than the Molari family, specialists in berries, who share our vision of growth and constant search for quality.”

“Frutti di Gil is a project born as a small local adventure to pay homage to the great work of our father Gilberto,” said Matteo Molari, co-CEO of Frutti di Gil and managing partner, G-Berries and Molari Società Agricola. “Then year after year we started to think it could be something more. With the Orsero Group the agreement on contents and strategies was strong right from the start: on the one hand those who know the field and base their roots there, on the other an impeccable distributive ability. We have important objectives and, by joining forces, we will work as best we can to offer a new high-level consumer experience.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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