The Riberella Winter Food Festival (Agrigento) ended a few days ago. It started as a very local fair but today it is a very important event, especially because the PDO Ribera Orange has grown to become the principal source of income for the entire area.
For the occasion, we contacted Paolo Parlapiano, marketing and sales manager of the Parlapiano Fruit company, which works 70% of the produce with the brand “Arancia di Ribera DOP”.
The young manager told us a bit about the trend of the current citrus fruit season, “The expectations are very positive from a size standpoint as well as from an aesthetic and organoleptic perspective. We are also expecting a good price trend for this widely renowned quality citrus fruit, both at the production and at the sales.”
Paolo Parlapiano
Parlapiano explained, “Once again, the plan we developed together with our marketing partners showed how the PDO Ribera Orange is particularly appreciated by Italian consumers as this is a produce with a protected origin and with a history and tradition behind”.
The guarantee of the produce origin and the food safety – which are imposed by the regulations for the production of the PDO Ribera Orange – prevail over those products which can be identified by their label only.
The manager continued, “The PDO Ribera Orange is able to stand out because of its qualitative characteristics, which the consumers are very aware of. The orange’s main aspects are its taste, its sweetness and its mild sourness.”
According to the Parlapiano Fruit, this orange is taking over ever more space within the Italian MMRs – which are the principal markets for the Ribera Orange.
Parlapiano concluded, “In the Italian supermarkets, the Ribera product is placed in a ‘high-quality’ segment. The European PDO label is crucial and the consumers' expectations are always met. That is why they purchase it again. As of today, the export does not provide us with a significant revenue. However, we hope that we can increase this by focusing on good communication and marketing strategies which will help us to promote, even abroad, the characteristics of this excellent citrus fruit”.
Last year, the company marketed 4.691.870 kg of produce, with a 40% increase compared to the last season. The company was able to achieve this result thanks to the new plants that went into production. Also for this year, an increase in volumes is expected.
Info:
Parlapiano Fruit Srl
C.da Donna Vanna SP 57
92016 Ribera (AG)
Tel. +39 0925 545947
Fax +39 0925 545947
Email: info@parlapianofruit.com
Web: www.parlapianofruit.com