Among the
first to introduce American potato chips in Italy and today they are the
custodians of the original recipe of the Chiacchiere Salate (Salted Waffles), a
product of the Bolognese and Ferrara tradition. A greedy story at Toscanella di
Dozza from Twists Products. Giampaolo Colletti interviews Rita Carmonini, co-owner of Twists
Products for FARE INSIEME
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
Come to
think of it, The United States are closer than you might think. At least it was
like this for two young people who in the 1950s decided to create a company
from scratch taking inspiration from the world with stars and stripes, while
maintaining a strong bond with the beloved land of Emilia. Taking inspiration
from the potato chips sold in plastic packets in the States, the two began to
sell chips in Italy as well. And it soon became an overwhelming success. That
company took a name that recalled the States. Thus, Twists Products was
established in 1965. «My dad and my uncle, founders of the company, decided
not to stop at that American idea. So they inherited the recipe for the
chiacchiere salate (salted waffles), a product of the Emilia-Romagna tradition
of the early 1900s, from a baker in Ferrara, and began to distribute them as if
they were snacks. At the time the Chiacchiere
Salate were only found in
bakeries and were sold by weight. From there the entrepreneurial history of our
family began»,
says Rita
Carmonini, who joined the company after her studies and is now co-owner of Twists
Products,
the only producer of
Chiacchiere Salate throughout the country. The company, which still has
craftsmanship, is led by the second generation of the Carmonini family: other than
Rita, it is also led by her two brothers, Alessandro and Lorenzo. At work they
do everything and at their best: they are mixers, fryers, commercials, baggers
and, above all, heirs of a long-standing tradition. A secret recipe handed down
over the centuries. «After all, the waffles of the Bolognese and Ferrara
tradition would no longer exist, except perhaps for some old baker. The recipe
is still simple today, made of
genuine ingredients, based on bread dough and free of preservatives, dyes
and additives. That's why we don't have a lot of stock. If an order arrives, we
turn off the computers and start the production with very short delivery
times», explains Carmonini. The result is a product that is healthy, genuine
and delicious.
Along the via Emilia. We are in Toscanella, four thousand souls in the only hamlet of Dozza,
a medieval village in the Bologna metropolitan belt, considered one of the most
beautiful in Italy, six kilometres from Imola, on the crest of a hill
overlooking the valley of the Sellustra river and gently descending towards the
via Emilia. Here, the Via Emilia is the commercial crossroads that characterise
Dozza and its Toscanella hamlet. The territory of the Chiacchiere Salate
embraces the provinces of Bologna and Ferrara: this product was made in bakeries with the leftover bread dough. In short,
it was made with what was left there, it was left to rise until it reached
twenty hours of leavening. At that point the pasta was cut into small pieces
and fried. This is how the Chiacchiere Salate were born, not to be confused
with the Carnival dessert and not just because they are available all year
round. «Over
time, the ancient recipe has remained unchanged: our artisan production method
continues to respect the natural leavening times of the dough, without
additives or preservatives. We firmly believe in what we do and over the years
we have invested in our business», explains Carmonini. On the production front, the
company has equipped itself with new plants and in 2021 also purchased a new
packaging machine. Then there is the investment in marketing, with a new
packaging to communicate the characteristics of the product to customers, but
also the values of the company. «We have also created an Internet site to let people
know of our history and to learn more about the products. We have entered
social networks and we are trying to develop a commercial network», says
Carmonini. Twists is present in central and northern Italy in the large
distribution channels and HORECA.
The arrival of the fantapiada. In the Twists
kitchen, new ideas pop up, which then become products to be marketed. In the
last year the Fantapiada was born, which inevitably reminds you of the piada,
the icon par excellence of Romagna, but it actually isn't a piadina
(flatbread). «It
was born from an idea we had, it entered the market in September 2021 and is
already giving us a lot of satisfaction. It is a novelty in the world of
snacks: in terms of originality, there is no similar product on the market», says
Carmonini with pride. The interpretation of the traditional Romagna piada lives
under the banner of food craftsmanship and quality. The Fantapiada has the
fragrance of a cracker, the round shape of flatbread and the pleasure of a
potato chip. The product is presented as a snack in crunchy slices, baked and
fried, without dyes and palm oil. The product is available in the 120 gramme
format and extends the snack family. For the future, we look to new products,
which however must reflect the company's philosophy, in the name of local
products. «There
have been years in which sales have fallen, but we always believed in our
product, we invested and started again. Today in the general uncertainty it is
difficult to make predictions, but we believe that consumers are orienting
their preferences towards artisanal and quality products. The time of the
mediated relationship with the end customer is over. With the website and
social networks we can communicate directly with the consumer and thus the
relationship is strengthened», Carmonini concludes. Now we have just started
exporting to some countries, especially Germany. As the old saying goes, all
the "chiacchiere" (chattering) of your thoughts stops (while the
chiacchiere salate fly everywhere in the world).
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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