Someone in Italy jokes from time to time saying that “Molise does not exist”. Abroad, on the other hand, they demonstrate that they are perfectly aware of its existence and location, given that La Molisana, one of the top Italian pasta brands, doubled its exports last year. Perhaps the most striking result in a very positive year for the Campobasso-based company which saw its turnover grow by 15.7% with a further increase of 11.2% for the new line of wholemeal pasta, not a niche but a segment that now covers over 10% of the company’s turnover.
A turnover that last year increased in double figures which also in June 2021 recorded a further + 10.7% (in contrast to the trend of pasta in general: -8.3%) and that above all in ten years it has gone from 16 million in 2011 to over 185 million today.
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Numbers that really outline a great success achieved thanks to investments (which in six years exceeded 42 million euros between the two new production lines, packaging plant and automatic warehouse), on product innovation (wholemeal pasta but also the launch of new formats), production with 100% Italian wheat (the result of specific supply chain agreements with Italian farmers) and finally sustainability.
«The investments are certainly not completed – explains the managing director of La Molisana, Giuseppe Ferro – we have acquired a new distribution center of 20 thousand square meters covered. Pasta requires large stock availability. In addition, we are building the third production line which will be dedicated to long pasta ».
From a strategic point of view, the bet on the production of pasta with 100% Italian wheat has paid off in these years of tumultuous growth. A bet that has its pivot in the supply chain agreements signed with farmers in Molise, Puglia, Marche, Lazio and Abruzzo to obtain a raw material of the highest quality and a protein level of up to 17%. But above all they are a tool to create a stable link with over 1,400 farmers who are granted a minimum price and reward models are introduced that encourage quality. With this system, La Molisana has converted all direct production to the internal market to 100% Italian wheat. «And it is a choice that the national market has paid for – adds Ferro -, less abroad where the pasta of Italian brands is perceived as made in Italy regardless of the raw material used. The supply chain agreements have allowed us to greatly increase the average quality of the raw material thanks to the use of certified seeds and good agricultural practices ».