When BioFruit Italy was founded in 2001 it was a company specialized in the production of Sicilian citrus fruit of the varieties Navelina and Washington Navel. The company marketed their fruit to the biggest Italian grocery chain, however only nationally. The expansion began with a newly built 2000 square meter packhouse, built in order to be more competitive and reach a high organizational level throughout the company. The first step to international expansion was the opening of their Berlin office in 2006, from where the international trade is being organized. Today, BioFruit Trading is an international company, specialized on the trade of organic citrus fruit from Sicily, produced in the companies' plantations or by their partners.
Nicoló Sparacino, CEO von BioFruit Trading
The CEO, Nicoló Sparacino, explains: "BioFruit Germany is still part of our Italian parent-company. We offer the Washington Navel as our main product. The citrus is grown in Ribera and marketed as part of the brand Riberella. Further, we have a private brand for our organic citrus, called TerraVerde." He continues: "This is also the only P.D.O. orange worldwide, approved by the EU. BioFruit Trading is the main distributor of this brand on the international market." Asides from citrus fruit, BioFruit also trades other fruits and vegetables from Sicily. The company provides products for supermarkets, wholesale markets and subscription-box suppliers in different European countries (Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, England, Sweden and the Czech Republic).
Terra Verde Shop
Terra Verde Shop in Berlin
"In January 2017 we opened a Sicilian store in Berlin. This is the first and only grocery store with only products of Sicilian origin in Berlin. We wanted to create the feeling of a farmers market, with fresh fruit and vegetables, but also other products such as oil, pasta and wine", says Sparacino. The goal is to help consumers to get in touch with the producers and shorten the supply chain. "We don't want to be part of the supply chain, we want to handle every aspect of it ourselves. This has many advantages: shorter transit times, it reduces the costs and makes our product fully traceable." A concept the company prides itself with: "At our store, you're not just grocery shopping. It's an experience with high quality foodstuffs, service and good prices. Everything is imported directly from Sicily." According to the CEO, this is a project they would like to expand further. "We produce the fruit ourselves, sell our products B2B as a wholesaler, and we have a retail outlet – all in one company, which is very unique."
The future of Sicilian citrus
The trader has high hopes for the upcoming season for citrus from Italy. "We start the harvest of Navelina in late November, the first arrivals of Washington navels are expected in mid-December and the season will continue until April. The season will be good in terms of quantity. Although there wasn't much rain we were well prepared to avoid losses. We have a good water supply and irrigation system and are able to guarantee our good production." Starting on the 20th of October, the company will furthermore import clementines from Calabria. "We are able to offer lemons almost all year around, except for a short summer break." Another important organic product for BioFruit Trading are blood oranges.
Italy's main competitor on the European market is Spain – a country with a large organic sector. "The quality of the Spanish fruit is getting better every year, so we will have to be at the top of our game." Still, Sparacino believes that there is still room for growth on the market for organic citrus fruit from Sicily. "Even if we suffered a little with the Spanish competition in the last years, I don't see a limit on the market yet because we trust in the quality of our product."
Storage facility in Sicily
For further Information:
Inh. Nicoló Sparacino
Biofruit Trading
Handjerystrasse 48
12161 Berlin
Tel: +49 30 49805194
export@biofruit-trading.com
www.biofruit-trading.com/