Granarolo has announced the acquisition of Mario Costa, a historic Novara producer of Gorgonzola Dop with more than 100 years of history. The operation involves the full purchase of 100% of the shares (now owned by the two Fileppo Zop brothers).
One third of the turnover across borders
Mario Costa develops a turnover of about 15 million euros (2020 figure) and processes about 20,000 tons of Lombard milk every year from the area defined by the PDO. Just outside Novara there is a technologically advanced dairy conceived according to sustainability criteria. Turnover is mainly developed on the Italian market, exports represent 31% of turnover and the main countries reached today are in Europe (Great Britain) and overseas (in particular Japan and the United States).
Strengthen the brand abroad
“We are particularly satisfied with the acquisition of Mario Costa”, commented the president of Granarolo Gianpiero Calzolari. «It represents the first acquisition of the group since the beginning of the pandemic and the implementation of the important strategic plan 2021-2025 which will mainly focus on the enhancement of Italian excellence in our country and abroad. The acquisition allows Granarolo to process more Italian milk, enter the gorgonzola market with a historic brand, a high quality product and a state-of-the-art plant. Gorgonzola is present in the catalogs of the main world retailers and we are confident that we can contribute to strengthening the presence of the Mario Costa brand in the countries in which it operates and to be able to expand the range of action in those countries where Granarolo has been operating for the longest time or which it has identified as target countries. At our side will remain the Fileppo Zop brothers and the 32 historical employees of the dairy ».
Premium positioning
«We believe that the conditions for a premium positioning of our gorgonzola can arise from this agreement with Granarolo. A supply chain company close to the territories, with a strong vocation for quality and internationalization like Granarolo, on the one hand, will be able to safeguard the tradition and excellence of our PDO and, on the other, find new admirers in Italy and abroad ” , commented Federica and Davide Fileppo Zop.