It has cultivated 50 hectares of tropical fruit in Sicily and it will start marketing them in 2020/21
In 1927, ‘Cavalier’ Felice Gandolini undertook an adventure that is currently continuing the family saga. At that time, exotic fruits were very uncommon on the Italian markets and he decided to go to the African colonies to import produce such as plantains, establishing links with local farmers that have perpetuated to our days. Today, 92 years later, the Garletti family is now in its fourth generation and it can boast of having around one hundred references in fresh fruit ranging from star fruit to baby pineapples, passing through the ‘Combava’ (Kaffir lime) or red plantains, in addition to dried fruits, juices and other gourmet products. A world of exotic flavours that live alongside other, more common fruits from the Mediterranean, such as the bergamot or the Italian pomegranate.
All of this could be seen on its original ‘Exotic Garage’ stand during the latest edition of Macfrut. A meeting point where the company presented its most ambitious project of recent years: SS113 – Italian Tropico. The company wants to take advantage of Sicily’s climate to opt for growing its own subtropical fruit with the ‘Made in Italy’ stamp. Mangos, avocados, passion fruit and lychees are some of the fruit that they intend to add to their catalogue between 2020 and 2021.
Alessandro Belotti, the company’s Marketing and Communications manager explained to Fruit Today that, after a year and a half of tests, they have found the right varieties for the land and climate of their farms, such as Zutano (avocado), which they use with Hass rootstock to face up to the cold temperatures and boost pollination. The target is to have 50 hectares of surface area in 2020 and they are not ruling out successive expansions depending on the evolution of the demand.
“Spain is an important producer and we are aware that we cannot compete in volume. To differentiate our produce, we have opted for other varieties such as Glenn, a flavourful mango, with special quality, a delicate texture, without fibre…” explains Giuseppe Lembo, technical manager of Be Fruit, a company in the Mc Garlet group.
Taking advantage of Macfrut, the Italian company presented some of its latest developments, amongst which are the ‘Only Avocado’ avocado pulp, cold processed and without any additions, which is ideal for using as a base for all kinds of preparations. Another new development is the ‘Puro’ juice line, with 7 versions prepared exclusively with fruit, without any kind of preservatives or additives, using HPP technology, maintaining all their organoleptic properties intact. Finally, its fresh fruit preparations ‘Enjoy’ should be mentioned, perfect for eating anywhere, as they are presented ready to eat.
Using the slogan ‘pure, unadulterated quality and innovation’, almost a century later, Mc Garlet continues showing its passion for a job well done. It is passing this on to its customers both from Italy and from other countries. In the near future they could reach new markets. International expansion is among the company’s next challenges.
