In recent years, interest in aromatic and medicinal herbs has increased dramatically. It is a market that offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs. This is what Salvatore Corrado, who has always been passionate about horticulture, realized. He owns a 25-hectare company in Italy that grows, processes, and markets aromatic and medicinal herbs in Italy and Europe.
The medicinal herbs are dried
Our typical customers are both the brew and herbal tea industries and well-known buyers who then supply to processors and packagers. We are also approached by small businesses that want to have references in their catalog that they cannot grow. Our flagship product is basil, but we also dry thyme, rosemary, verbena, marjoram, passionflower, and olive leaves. We are also trying our hand at fruit dryings, such as oranges and kiwis."
"We started this activity because we know that the fresh product often ends up in the hands of a merchant who does not value it properly."
Salvatore Corrado
Corrado's cultivation and processing plant is located in southern Italian Basilicata, a few kilometers from the Ionian Sea, a region where the cultivation and use of medicinal plants is a tradition.
"Sales of the dried product take place year-round, but the busiest period is from May to September when most of our plants are rampant in outdoor cultivation. Cultivation is organic," the manager continued. "Harvesting is done mechanically, mainly because of the severe shortage of seasonal workers."
Mechanized harvesting
Corrado explained that in the current context of economic crisis and uncertainty, the sector is not having an easy time. "While we took record numbers of orders during the pandemic because of the health benefits of herbs, we have unfortunately noticed a slowdown in sales in recent months. But we remain optimistic because, with the arrival of February, sales tend to become livelier again."
For more information:
Azienda Agricola Corrado Salvatore
C.da Bivio Franchi snc
75015 Pisticci (MT)
+ 39 333 7841066