Brand and value are concepts the international fresh produce sector cannot ignore, however different markets may have different approaches when it comes to consumers, who actually mostly purchase produce coming from roughly the same production area.
FreshPlaza talked about this with Federico Baraldi, CEO at Isolagrande, a company exporting considerable volumes of top-level vegetables to Great Britain.
Federico Baraldi
"The Italian agricultural and food heritage is one of the points of strength of our country. Table tomatoes are the product with the most value and are appreciated on a global level. Premium varieties do particularly well especially thanks to their capability of meeting expectations when it comes to taste, typicality and reputation."
Isolagrande high-tech greenhouses
The Italian case
"The problem is that, due to commercial logic, focusing on price and special offers, essential elements such as quality and stable positioning are often considered of secondary importance, meaning it has been difficult for high-end products to find their place on the Italian market. We hope domestic dynamics will shift, as they have started doing, towards high quality and standardized flavor."
By focusing only on price, the risk is to confuse consumers and distort the concept of quality. In the meantime, it is confusing because commodities often cannot be overlapped due to their organoleptic qualities, while varieties keep alternating very quickly on the shelves.
The company's production calendar
"In England, for example, supermarkets guarantee the concept of brand with their own name, which inspires confidence in consumers who are certain they can always find the same quality levels, so they are willing to pay the requested price. This price is not always low but, provided that the quality offered is the same, consumers reciprocate the guarantees granted by the big retail chain by always shopping there."
Isolagrande keeps its promise
"As a company, we work hard so that our products respect the excellent Italian culinary culture and tradition. We hope a strategy will be adopted on a large scale, also by the big retail chains, to guarantee the supply of top-quality products not bound by price but recognizable and easily found on the shelves. A strategy oriented towards products that are guaranteed and ascribable to a single identity when it comes to color, grade and, mostly, flavor."
For further information:
Isolagrande S.r.l Società Agricola 
Registered office
Via Achille Zezon 4,
20124 Milano (MI) - Italy
Operating office
C.da Alcerito, snc
97019 Vittoria (RG)
+39 340 3481913
commerciale@isolagrande.com
www.isolagrande.com