Nut day 2022 at the New Factor
Good, with a high health value, useful for environmental sustainability and with great market potential. Walnuts are increasingly protagonists in the choices of consumers of dried and dehydrated fruit and Romagna has conquered a place of reference for Italian nociculture. A constantly growing path also based on the successor of the In-Noce supply chain project characterized by the collaboration between Emilia-Romagna companies, united with the aim of producing a high quality product, and which has as leader New Factor, a historic Rimini company at constant search for the best raw materials which it transforms using innovative techniques. A journey that this year reaches the significant milestone of 25 years. The important anniversary was present on the occasion of the 18th day of the Noce, organized by New Factor and which was held on Friday 7 October at the San Martino di Forlì farm. An annual event which, as usual, saw the participation of authorities, entrepreneurs, operators in the sector and the press, gathered to take stock of sector and market trends. “The continuous development of the walnut market – explained Alessandro Annibali, CEO of New Factor – demonstrates the far-sightedness of the choice made years ago by New Factor with the start of the In-Noce supply chain project, together with the cooperative Agrintesa from Faenza. . New Factor has always believed in the great potential of Romagna, a land dedicated to nociculture. 23 farms in the area for 500 cultivated, together in a project that offers a path that goes from the field, to processing, up to the packaging and positioning of the walnuts on the shelf. The 2021 campaign ended with excellent results and volumes in the various months of the year, thus confirming the progressive seasonality of the product. This year, in fact, for the first time, we have almost succeeded in guaranteeing the joining of the harvests, with interesting sales results also in the summer period. Large-scale distribution is confirmed as the main target market, with a strong interest in the shell product, both in bulk and packaged in 500g paper. The shelled is gradually starting to show its potential, which I believe is still strongly expressed for the national product. “With reference to the 2022 campaign – commented Francesco Perego Sales Director of New Factor – we are now starting to pack and ship the first volumes, starting with the Lara and Howard varieties, waiting to finish the Chandler harvest. The current macro-economic situation undoubtedly confronts us with questions about the trend in consumption and forces us to confront the general increase in costs that cannot be ignored, neither on the agricultural nor on the industrial front. Given difficult premises, however, we maintain a strong confidence in the product and its potential, certain of the important work built in recent years, both on the trade and on the consumer. ” To take a picture of the market and understand the purchase and consumption levers of walnuts, New Factor has decided to carry out, with the support of SG Marketing, the study “Dried Fruit & Nuts of Romagna”, presented at the 2023 Walnut Day. report, which involved 800 purchasing managers and consumers in the category, shows that walnuts are the product with the highest frequency of purchase within the dried and dehydrated fruit category: 35% of customer-consumers buy at least 1 once a week. The reasons for purchasing are linked to the health value (67%) and the pleasure of taste (45%). The “well-being” factor, in particular, assumes greater importance for the senior consumer groups, resulting in a trigger factor for 82% of the over 55s. Among the selection criteria, the Italian origin is highlighted for 37% of the sample and the sustainability in production (29%). The positive role assigned to the certifications of origin (PDO and PGI) and to the traceability of the supply chain is central: 1 consumer out of 4 Stresses the importance of origin from suitable regions and therefore of the territory as a driver for the selection, purchase and consumption of the best product for himself and his loved ones. It is precisely territorial by focusing attention on the value that the study finds as Italians recognize 3.5 origins on average and that among the Italian regions suited to it, Romagna has an overall notoriety of 61%: almost 4 out of 10 respondents say they consume them. . The 2022 campaign also marks the year of the restyling of Noci di Romagna branded packaging. “Maintaining the fundamental elements that must achieve the recognition of the product by consumers – said Jasmina Annibali Head of Marketing New Factor – we worked on colors by combining natural and delicate tones on a material texture. By inserting information and clarity, we have tried in simple words the characterizing values of the product, a precious fruit that our land gives us, in its substance but rich in beneficial qualities. Furthermore, through the QR code found on the packages, the consumer will be able to directly access the “back stage” of the work done to create the package he is buying. From harvesting to processing up to the shelves of the points of sale “. On the occasion of the 2023 Walnut Day, the first issue of New Factor’s new “Journal of the Italian Walnut Supply Chain” was also presented, a useful tool for getting to know the “world of walnuts” in all its aspects. In this first issue, space in addition to the results of the report, ample to the health value of walnuts which are an important ally for the well-being of the body: an important acid for polyunsaturated fatty acids, in particular omega-3, vegetable proteins, fibers, folic and bioactive molecules and therefore play an anti-inflammatory role ensuring an antioxidant action, with beneficial effects on the immune system. Great attention is also paid to the issue of environmental sustainability: in the production of Romagna walnuts, sustainability is substantiated by saving water, energy and the adoption of good agricultural practices. One hectare of walnut grove, during its life cycle, avoids the emission of 32 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, a real lung for the environment that surrounds us. Without forgetting science and technology, with an in-depth study on new sustainable solutions to deal with walnut pathogens. Many interventions at the 18th edition, among them the mayor of Forlì Gian Luca Zattini, the deputy mayor of Forlì Daniele Mezzacapo, the president of Confagricoltura Forlì-Cesena and Rimini Carlo Carli and the director of Confagricoltura Forlì-Cesena and Rimini Luca Gasparini.
cs Roberta Silverio