"Italian fennel is very much in demand and appreciated by the foreign market, especially between September and May, a period when the produce from northern and eastern Europe is lacking. We harvest, process and ship our fennel in a single day and it reaches its destination in max. 48 hours," explains Gennaro Napolitano, sales manager of the F.lli Napolitano Poggiomarino branch (Naples).
Fennel represents one of the main company's products and is produced all year round thanks to the fact crops are located in Calabria, Campania, Apulia, Basilicata and Abruzzo.
Fennel represents around 40% of the company turnover. The yearly production amounts to 16,000 tons grown on approximately 400 hectares. F.lli Napolitano can process 80 pallets a day.
"High quality is an essential characteristic for our products, so much so that we sort our fennel three times so as to guarantee its freshness. Specialized teams harvest the produce by hand and place it in 25 kg crates or bins for low-impact processing. After sorting in the fields, fennel is sorted again in the warehouse, then it is placed in units at a temperature of 5°C and loaded to be shipped."
F.lli Napolitano operates with Italian and foreign big retail chains (central, northern and eastern Europe) and supplies fresh produce markets all over Europe. The produce can be placed in the packaging that best suits client needs.
"When it comes to packaging, we favor wood and recycled plastic, though we also use cardboard solutions. To prevent fennel quality from being compromised, we use a little sponge so the produce does not come into contact with the packaging while, when we use cardboard, we prefer water-repellent solutions."
"We focus on guaranteeing the high-quality of our products so, for the future, we would like to work more with fennel and experiment liquid ozone washing to prolong shelf-life. In addition, we work to improve the freshness to shorten the time between harvesting and shipping."
Contacts:
Fratelli Napolitano
Via XXV Aprile, 105
80040- Poggiomarino (NA) – Italy
Tel. : (+39) 081 5285232
Cell: (+39) 338 9372614 sales manager Gennaro Napolitano
Contrada Cioffi, 114
84025-Eboli (SA) – Italy
Tel.: (+39) 0828 347395
Cell: (+39) 329 1608552 sales manager Francesco Napolitano
Email: info@fratellinapolitano.it
Website: www.fratellinapolitano.it