Italian bagged salads supplier La Linea Verde and local organic produce grower Brio have joined forces to develop fresh convenience lines for the farmer-owned organic brand Alce Nero.
The new range, which will be unveiled at the Santa trade exhibition in Bologna in September, will be branded Alce Nero Fresco. The line will include six types of bagged, ready-to-eat salad, three salad meals and four varieties of fresh soup.
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The Alce Nero brand was established in the 1970s by a group of farmers and producers. It is established in the Italian market as an upmarket organic food brand.
In recent years, the Alce Nero has been taken into other categories, notably baby foods. “With Alce Nero Fresco, we’re starting a new chapter in our history, and we are extremely happy that La Linea Verde will be our companion on that journey,” Alce Nero managing director Massimo Monti.
“We are really proud to have an undisputed leader – on quality, efficiency and capacity for innovation – at our side. With Brio, which has been part of our group since 2011, and La Linea Verde we have built an exceptional partnership with prospects and potential, one that confirms and enhances both our confidence in the future of organic food as well as our conviction in the strength of the Alce Nero project.”
Brio will provide the raw products that La Linea Verde then develops and processes to create the various branded products in the Alce Nero Fresco range.
Tom Fusato, Brio’s commercial director, said: “We firmly believe that this collaboration can bring strong results for the fresh produce world and in particular for our member producers. We are confident that a commercial outlet for our production in the fresh-prepared food business will help to encourage new companies to switch to organics, which is ultimately our company’s mission.”
