Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, Italian cured meat specialist Salumificio Fratelli Riva is stepping up plans to not only improve sourcing 100% natural raw materials, but cement its presence in the sector, revealed CEO Giuseppe Riva. Profile by Filomena Nardi and Andy Probert.
Located in Molteno, in Italy’s green heart of Brianza, at the foot of the Lombardian Prealps, the cured meat specialists at Salumificio Fratelli Riva have been quietly pioneering private label production for decades. Today, the company produces cooked hams to different types of cured sausages and salami, for important brands, retailers and wholesalers within Italy and abroad. The business was established in 1969 by brothers Umberto and Luciano Riva, who previously spent their formative years within their mother Maddalena’s deli shop. They set up a factory not only to sell but to independently produce meat and salami. The family business began processing meat – over 150 pigs per week – to produce all types of cured meat, including coppa (a typical
Italian salted, air-cured pork meat) pancetta, different types of salami, cured sausages and cooked ham.
The business increased, and cooked ham soon became the flagship product to resell via family shops in the area, and on request by other shops and wholesalers.
After over 40 years, 2010 saw Umberto and Luciano part ways, leaving Umberto in charge. Today, Umberto’s children are taking the lead in the business, with Giuseppe as CEO and Commercial Director; sisters, Letizia, heading quality management and food safety, and Chiara managing admin and marketing. Things have changed profoundly over the last 50 years, the first step being to abandon its slaughtering activities in the 1990s and focusing all efforts on the production of cooked ham, which was and still is a leader in the Italian market.
The business began supplying the GD (Great Distribution) and the GDO (Organised Great Distribution) in a continuous and dedicated way.
A new production plant was created in Molteno in 1996, and remains to this day. Production jumped from 11,000 to 30,000 legs of cooked ham per week.
The factory was later expanded, with a new area dedicated to the production of legs of cooked ham intended for slicing and new facilities devoted to portioning of the same. Current production has now reached 46,000 cooked hams per week.
“Our outstanding ‘prosciutto cotto’ (cooked ham) has allowed our business to grow and acquire an important position within the market,” commented Giuseppe Riva, adding the company’s three main production activities
were products for the slicing and delicatessen counter takeaway and free service, and the catering industry.
In recent years, a high percentage of its turnover has been made by the pre-packaged, already sliced and ready to eat products within the takeaway and free service activities. Indeed, production lines for slicing operations rose from two in 2005 to seven by 2019.
Turnover reached €95 million in 2018 compared to €92 million in 2017. Around 98% of production goes to the Italian market, the rest to Austria and Germany.
“We’re actively committed to expanding beyond our territories, and pursuing all necessary certification to reach new markets like Canada, USA and Japan,” Mr Riva declared.
The CEO said Salumificio Fratelli Riva had been a pioneer in private label production, and now supplied some of the most important brands, retailers and wholesalers within Italy and abroad. About 70% of production
is intended for GDO private labels, the remainder serving its brands.
“In June 2018, we launched the Maialino d’Oro brand, which is a wide range of cooked hams prepared with traditional Brianza recipes, and portrays our achievements over the past 50 years.”
Mr Riva continued: “The taste and smells of the ham are obtained with the infusion of herbs and spices. We choose our ingredients one-by-one. We care about every working process, and we cook hams in a steam oven to obtain the best taste.”
The Maialino d’Oro White is a product low in salt, obtained with legs of pigs born outdoors and reared without the use of antibiotics from birth.
“Such a high level of welfare means there is a consistent supply of healthy, natural pig meat from happy pigs,” assured Mr Riva.
“Only the best quality and selected legs are chosen for this brand and the entire range of our products.”
Since Maialino d’Oro’s launch, Mr Riva said the company has enjoyed a tremendous response from customers, to the point that sales have now reached 2,000 legs of pigs reared without antibiotics per week.
“To promote the concept of animal welfare, we intend to expand the Maialino d’Oro range without antibiotics to other products such as mortadella, pancetta and more.”
The decision to invest new resources in identifying and acquiring absolute quality raw material from the KDV-certified Dutch supply chain is down to Salumificio Fratelli Riva’s commitment to finding a product that can meet customers’ needs.
“Our company has always invested in research and development – not only for advanced production, slicing and packaging technologies, but in sourcing high-quality raw materials,” added Mr Riva. “Not all breeding systems allow us to guarantee the absence of antibiotics from birth. For this reason, we’ve invested in sourcing breeding farms that guarantee high-quality raw materials.”
Over the years, Mr Riva acknowledged that consumers’ needs had changed, with the takeaway and ready-to-eat products prevailing over the sausage and delicatessen counter.
“Our plans will seek to bring back customers to the deli counter by offering the best quality cured meat and ham,” he stated. “I’m sure customers, who are always
in a hurry, will be convinced to stop and queue for five minutes if they can find highquality products.”
The company is also investing in its logistics capabilities, environmentally-friendly packaging made of recyclable materials, and its business activities.
Mr Riva said: “The reasons for our success and growth is an unswerving focus on quality over quantity and the fact the family is very active within the business, guaranteeing quick service and immediate answers to requests.
“Over the years we have grown with our customers, and we’ve been able to establish a relationship of trust with them by guaranteeing quality and certified products. For them, Salumificio Fratelli Riva is synonymous with excellent produce at excellent prices.”
He added: “Salumificio Fratelli Riva has 127 employees who believe in the company and work hard to contribute to our success. Our
goal for the next few years is to continue investing in new products and new types of packaging.”
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the company plans to attend a series of trade events with the Maialino D’Oro brand, which will also benefit from a TV and social media promotional ad campaign.
Mr Riva added: “Our slogan is ‘passion for tradition and trust in innovation’, the latter considered an important part for business growth. We give a service at an appropriate price, but we must always invest in innovation and stay with the times.
“Our relationship with all our suppliers is excellent. From the label supplier to the meat supplier, there must always be a good collaboration, and this cooperation needs to result in high-quality products.”
He concluded: “Even if the cooked ham has been our flagship product, we intend to re-launch other products that exist in our portfolio, and show that we intend to be around for the next 50 years.” n
