It all started with a
cooperative society back in 1978, under the banner of teamwork. The symbol
depicts Black Elk, the medicine man of the Oglala Sioux tribe, as he rides,
carrying his message to far-away lands. This is because new and innovative
visions are always possible After all, this is the key to understanding the
success of Alce Nero, a leading company in the organic sector and in a specific
way of doing business. For FARE INSIEME Giampaolo Colletti interviews Massimo
Monti, CEO of the Alce Nero
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
In the town of Gravina in
Puglia, Maria Desiante grows ancient variety of wheat, including the precious
Cappelli variety, which is delicate and boasts long roots. In the Abruzzo
region, Piero Iacovanelli is a beekeeper in a family that has been doing this
work for four generations. Together with his brother Fabio, he produces honey
for a companythat dates back to 1858. He monitors thousands of hives during
transhumance, a practice that takes him travelling, almost flying, between
Apulia, Basilicata, Molise, Campania and Lazio. In Monterenzio, on the Emilian
hills of the Bologna province, agrotechnician Andrea Morara grows organic
spelt, wheat and chickpeas. He does so with passion, as part of a family
business that dates back centuries. His commitment and attention are given over
to those who will eat his food, which is good and nourishing, fruit of a direct
relationship with the land. Together with thousands of
producers, Maria, Piero and Andrea are part of Alce Nero, a gem envied by the
whole world. It is a joint-stock company whose partners are the growers and
processers who believe in organic production, “the only way possible to produce
food that is good for the land, those who cultivate it and those who eat its
produce,”as written in its manifesto.
Teamwork. Do business,
do it well and do it together. And so, for over forty years, a group of private
and cooperative agricultural and agroindustrial entrepreneurs decided to work
as a team. The raw materials are grown by farmers and processed by partners:
seven facilities in Italy, one in Switzerland dedicated to the processing of
cocoa and one in Peru for the production of raw cane sugar. Roots linked with
the territory and an integrated, organised and sustainable network. A network
that contains many others. Because choice rests on alliances i.e. on integrated
production chains. After all, Alce Nero is itself a production chain. But, to
understand this organic leader, active since 1978 and located in Castel San
Pietro Terme (Bologna), we need to start from the element that characterises it
- the land. Because these producers are committed to producing good food fruit
from agricultural methods that respect the fertility of the land. The network
currently includes over 1,000 growers in Italy and over 10,000 small family
businesses in central and south-America, while the company employs 97 people.
“Our DNA is organic and branded agriculture. The meaning of organic products
lies in the production chain. We are convinced that the only way for
agriculture to be sustainable starts with organic production. We have always
chosen organic agriculture, taking care of the delicate balance between our
planet and the people who live on it: this is why we have decided to focus on
products generated from raw materials grown without synthetic chemicals thanks
to state-of-the-art agronomy. The products are processed with techniques that
safeguard and exalt the characteristics of our raw materials, also thanks to
ingredient lists that are always short and essential, free from preservatives
and additives”, explains Massimo Monti, CEO at Alce Nero. The choice was made
by companies that decided to come together opting for the strong connection
granted by the cooperative model. “Because joining up means being worth more.
But gathering around an idea implies governance that is complex to manage,”
stresses Monti. In 2021, the company registered a turnover of €86 million and a
4.1% share of total organic products, confirming itself as the reference brand.
After all, in Italy there are 4.1 million families consuming Alce Nero
products.
The history.
But let's take a step back in time. Or several. Everything started with a
crucial meeting between Conapi (the National Beekeeper Consortium) and the Alce
Nero Cooperative. The story began when there were still no laws regulating
organic production. “When we started, organic production had not yet been
regulated and was entirely new. After all, we were born with a mission that is
as relevant today as ever: farming without chemicals and repopulating the
countryside that was abandoned in the 1970s.” Thus
Alce Nero became a distinct unconventional voice on the market. The symbol
itself reflects this: Black Elk, the medicine man of the Oglala Sioux
community, rides in the opposite direction taking his forceful message beyond
the border, because new and innovative visions are always possible. “We
are not the typical Emilian company, but we have a strong connection with this
land even if we look beyond, meaning anywhere in the world. We want to be the
channel that introduced new foods to the market, in line with the needs imposed
by greater consumer awareness and by what measures mitigating environmental
impact envisaged.” Nowadays, organic food is no longer a niche product, bigger
companies are involved and 93% of families have bought at least one product a
year. “The concept has become more widespread, it has lost some of its value
and we must try to give it a broader social scope. We, therefore, need to avoid
making the concept banal and make people understand the idea that, in order to
make agriculture sustainable, organic methods are the way to go,” stresses
Monti, who still remembers the gatherings of many groups of beekeepers at the
very start. After all, confrontation always lies at the basis of success in
order to be a truly plural company.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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