A company was set up in Bologna over twenty years ago specializing in
analyses and forecasts for the agrifood sector. From Emilia, it has now even
reached Japan. The team includes economists, legal experts, agronomists,
technologists, statesmen, data scientists and IT experts. Different profiles
that, together, can see the problems from different angles to answer increasingly-complex
questions. For FARE INSIEME Giampaolo Colletti interviews Enrica Gentile,
founder and CEO of Areté
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
Can the flutter
of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas? A little over fifty years ago, in the spring of 1972, US
mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz astounded the academic
world with a report to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A small change to initial conditions can have a significant impact. But, today,
in a world dominated by interconnected markets and real-time information, how
much is knowledge worth? A lot. After all, knowledge - and intelligence, the area that studies it methodically - is the
research, collection, analysis and sharing of data and information. The story
we are about to tell has a pay-off that starts from all this and goes very far.
“The Agrifood Intelligence Company”. This
is how Areté defines itself, an independent company that specializes in the agricultural
and food sectors. Its beating heart is agrifood, but the winning combination
lies in the analysis of data, in the capability of generating intelligence, in
providing forecasts and building scenarios, ranging from the impact of policies
to forecasts on market trends and the prices of agricultural and food products.
Story of a vision. “Areté means
excellence. To become leaders, starting from scratch and with nobody knowing
us, we had to do things that were also completely new to us, and do them very
well. We have a team of economists, agronomists, statesmen, data scientists and
IT experts who develop highly-innovative products to forecast market - i.e.
prices, demand, production - and sector trends”, reports Enrica Gentile,
founder and CEO of Areté. Everything started in 2002 when we put into practice
years of studies. “We started from the desire to put into use what we had
studied and what we were passionate about i.e. economy and data applied to the
most beautiful sector in the world - agriculture and food. But also, and maybe
mainly, from the desire to build a place we were happy to work in every
morning. We have changed a lot since then, we discarded many ideas and acquired
new ones over time, but this remained a key point. We want Areté to continue
being the place where we are happy to work in every morning”, stresses Gentile.
“Not only do we look for skills in people, but mostly values: courage, passion
and loyalty”. Today, the company with its headquarters in Bologna boasts 22
employees and a turnover of €2.3 million in 2022, a +28% growth on the previous
year. The clients are leading companies from the Italian and foreign agrifood
sector: Barilla, Granarolo, Galbusera, Sammontana, Fabbri, Eridania, Lindt,
Morato, Colussi, Eurovo, Montenegro, Kimbo, Valsoia and many others. But the
team of analysts also work for leading European and international institutions,
for trade associations in Italy and abroad and for the main investment funds linked with the sector.
Human capital that
makes the difference. Governing complexity, simplifying it yet never
trivialising it. A huge challenge that implies great skill - the study related
to trend analysis - endless passion and cold bloodedness, meaning lucid
awareness of what is being done. “The sector we deal
with has become hugely complex. Agricultural markets are increasingly dynamic,
less predictable and more difficult to tackle because they are increasingly
correlated and exposed to volatility. Within this scenario, information tools
and the capability forecasting and providing visions of the future to
anticipate it become absolutely crucial in order to be competitive. Marketing
intelligence services and forecasts for agricultural commodity and
agro-industrial markets work on a global scale and are therefore “exportable”,
which is why we are investing to grow outside Italy as well. When it comes to
the analysis of sector policies, we are among the three leading players in
Europe, but we also extend to Canada, Japan and Africa. After all, up until a
few years ago, we were better known in Brussels than in Italy”, recalls
Gentile. Agriculture and the food sector are evolving tremendously and
returning to the centre of the economic scene. A highly dynamic sector where
the revolution driven by technology and data intertwines with the push towards
sustainability and the attention to food health and safety. A complex system in
which the challenge for Areté is managing to anticipate trends, helping
companies to get ready and grasp opportunities. “The future is made of a
combination of man and data, artificial intelligence and human knowledge of the
sector”. Gentile is certain of it. “This is the only way to provide more prompt
and centred answers to increasingly open and complex questions”.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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