"Not only it is expanding in its range of Patea-branded products, Amaro Cardus is also garnering appreciation beyond all expectations. This shows how important it is to pursue healthy choices to intercept a consumer increasingly fascinated by content more than merely aesthetics," said Fabio Trunfio, owner and sales manager of the Calabrian brand of processed bergamot citrus.
Amaro Cardus protagonist at l'Artigiano in FieraIn photo, Fabio Trunfio, owner and commercial manager of the Calabrian brand of citrus-based processed products.
"As a matter of fact, Cristina and Abramo, on the occasion of their wedding, gave their guests a bottle of Amaro Cardus. It is a bitter with an authentic taste and strong digestive power, enriched with three healthy products with traceable supply chain: wild thistle, blueberry and aromatic bergamot peels from Reggio Calabria."
In photo Cristina Stelitano and Abraham Chelucci
Patea, based in Brancaleone (RC), is traditionally specialized in the processing of essential oils, extracted from the citrus fruit bergamot. In addition to the production of the fresh product, it markets a wide range of processed products including juices, jams and candied bergamot. The company's promotional activities are constant and intensive in order to raise international awareness and appreciation of the countless properties of the citrus fruit, which fructifies only in a portion of the Ionian coast of Reggio Calabria.
"The real protagonist of this hot summer," explains Fabio Trunfio, "is represented by orange, bergamot and almond milk juices, in addition to Tris Energy Juice, a superfood obtained with mixed juices of pomegranate, bergamot and Italian Goji berries. We have doubled the production of almond milk, a product that is doing very well and whose processing lines we are also expanding for greater production capacity. We process fine almonds from local native varieties, which we destine for processing. We use few ingredients, in fact only two, precisely the almonds and small amounts of sugar whose transformation processes are calibrated, so as to avoid thermal stress of the raw material."
Almond milk is a natural, 100 percent vegetable and gluten-free beverage. Because of its characteristics, it can also be consumed by those who are lactose intolerant and those who are allergic to milk proteins. For years, nuts were mistakenly considered too caloric, and not recommended for people with overweight problems. Recently, this paradigm has been disproved even by dietitians, who recommend measured amounts every day. Although high in calories, they only provide the body with unsaturated fatty acids, which have beneficial effects on health.
"Cardus - available in sizes 50 / 70 /100 cl. - is sought after not only in Italy, but also abroad, in various formats. Despite the restrictions of the pandemic, this extraordinary product has led to a 50,000-bottle sale in just six months."
The bitter was also recently branded for the soccer players of 'Reggina Calcio 1914,' in a limited edition. There are more surprises in the pipeline.
"The idea of Cardus was conceived to value our local identity productions, which are the bergamot of Reggio Calabria, the wild wild thistle, which is abundant throughout the Grecanica area, local herbs and the blueberry of Locrida. In October 2021 we also won the gold medal America Awards for the bitters section. The award gave us hope and confirmed that we were on the right path. And then, in March this year, the unexpected gold medal award from WSA, whose judges selected us among 125 companies from 25 countries and out of 450 alcohol products that were also very well-known."
Patea commercializes in the large-scale retail channel about 30 percent of its fresh bergamot and the remainder in specialized channels as a processed product. This is a production derived from about 100 hectares of land, the fruits of which are placed in different commercial channels, with the processed product trumping the fresh product in terms of profitability, both in Italy and abroad.
Contact:
Azienda Agricola Patea
Contrada Caldara s.n.
89036 Brancaleone (RC) - Italy
Cell.: (+39) 338 6311477
Email: info@essenzabergamotto.com
Web: www.essenzabergamotto.com