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INTERVIEW
SpecchiaSol: For the paSt 40 yearS, a cloSe union between herbal tradition and ScientiFic reSearch The history of Specchiasol coincides with the personal and professional path of Giuseppe Maria Ricchiuto; back in 1973, thanks to his innovative mind and a great deal of courage, he started up a new business in a hardly known segment, close to herbal therapy and to the so-called ‘natural world’. 40 years later, Specchiasol is a reality made of two farms for the production of raw materials, a herbal factory, and two manufactory plants of more than 9000 sq m and 3200 sq m respectively. ‘The Professor’ - this is how he is called with affection by his fellow citizens when they meet around Verona - shows the very same enthusiasm he had when he took up his career. “We have new challenges ahead, and we are ready to meet the needs of an ever changing global market”, Giuseppe Maria Ricchiuto confidently asserts, proud to chair one of the leading European companies in the health and wellbeing industry.
EXPORT MAGAZINE: Dr Ricchiuto, how did you start your career? GIUSEPPE MARIA RICCHIUTO: I was a young and enthusiastic guy, full of dreams, and I lived the typical ‘70s mood, calling into question excessive consumerism, supporting the cultural excitement towards something new and different. My passion for herbal medicine was born in Sprea, a country village
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close to Verona, in the shop of a herbalist, nephew of a priest with the gift of healing. This herbalist prepared herbal remedies following his uncle’s recipes, and I spent afternoons and evenings with him, assimilating popular herbal traditions and knowledge. Curiosity drove me around Germany and Switzerland, where the inclination to natural medicine already
favored the marketing of some products. Therefore, I started a sales activity in Italy, taking my first steps with some uncertainty. My issue was unclear, and it wasn’t up until the second edition of Herbora, the show in Verona, that herbal industry took on its dimension. Journalists reported this new philosophy united to earth and natural, and I mention Benelli among the forerunners of this culture, founder of the magazine Erboristeria Domani, and whose qualities strongly contributed to the growth of this segment. This branch experienced a fast progress, it was a veritable exploit and, even if with some delay, the long awaited regulation about herbal
medicine was finally issued, boosting the market development. EM: How did you reach this leading position? GMR: Much water has flown under the bridge since I first borrowed a modest sum of money from my wife to purchase a corporate phone - Dr Ricchiuto smiles My wife and my daughter are still today my moral support, with their useful observations and remarks, if needed! The only reason why we got to have 750 preferences, 10 million pieces sold per year, 130 employees, two manufacturing plants, one in Bussolengo and the other in Settimo di Pescantina close to Verona, as well as two farms, one in Specchia close to Lecce and the other in Ferrara di Monte
Baldo close to Verona, is my personal commitment in pursuing quality, service and development. This is why back in 1980 I decided to work on plants and their derivatives following the same technological method reserved to drugs. I hired skilled professionals from the pharmaceutical industry, with key experts in biology, pharmacy, chemistry and clinical experimentation. We further enhanced our research lab, fundamental for those who, like us, run a manufacturing chain ranging from cultivation to final products. We perform stringent quality controls even on imported raw materials, and we carry out all the necessary checks to ensure the maximum functionality of formulations.