Italy's historical brands are progressively losing their domestic connotation as they are being acquired by multinationals.
Thankfully, there are still a few exceptions which managed to overcome the difficult periods and are still Italian and capable of employing people while remaining professional and promoting the territory and their productions.
This is the case for Yoga - a fruit juice brand celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
"Our company views Italian products as a strength. Over the years, we have continued to create jobs and opportunities for the fruit sector," explained Maurizio Gardini, president of Conserve Italia (who owns the brand since acquiring it in 1994).
Pier Franco Casadio, H&R sales manager for Conserve Italia, and president Maurizio Gardini while talking about the history of the brand.
A history dating back to the 1800s
The history of what became one of the leading brands in the fruit processing industry started in the late 1800s/early 1900s. It was then that farmers from Massa Lombarda started to grow peaches systematically. In 1911, local entrepreneur Adolfo Bonvicini bought a plot of land next to the train station and built the first processing warehouse. He was the first of the sector to own a thousand square metre facility.
The establishment of Massalombarda and of the Yoga brand
On 11th June 1926, Massalombarda S.A. was established - the first company in Italy dealing with processed fruit. Until the Second World War (1946), it produced only jams, marmalades, jellies and purées.
It took another 20 years to develop the product that would become famous all over Italy and abroad - fruit juice. The Yoga brand was created in 1946.
Advertisement is the soul of commerce
Maurizio Gardini recalled how Yoga was one of the first brands to invest in advertisement since the 1950s and to appear in TV commercials with Walter Chiari as a testimonial in the 1960s.
The fact that advertisement was the soul of commerce for Yoga is evident thanks to the exhibition showcasing the various posters used by the brand over the years.
Value in a bottle
70 years since its creation, the strength of Yoga still resides in its values - the quality of the fruit and the reliability of who produces it. In order to celebrate its anniversary, Conserve Italia decided to launch a new product for the H&R market.
Pier Franco Casadio with the director of Conserve Italia, Pier Paolo Rosetti.
This new product was presented by director Pier Paolo Rosetti: "It is a limited edition bottle available in the nectarine peach (50% fruit content) and William pear (60% fruit content) flavours".