QUALITALY_136

September/October 2023 II MAGAZINE topical issues that are very much felt by consumers. Hence an increasing focus on the choice of suppliers, trying to select them from among the most virtuous in the market. All eyes are therefore on the origin of the food, which must not present a risk to human health, which must be produced in state-of-the-art factories, in full compliance with hygiene and health regulations, and for which we at CIC ensure product conformity. And then there is our anti-waste packaging. Our ethical commitment is declared in every Qualitaly package in the portioning and yield indications. Last, and by no means least, is Quality: our buyers perform careful audits, check company processes, certifications, product analyses and data sheets of each foodstuff. All this makes us the ideal partner for the professional catering sector, and the feedback we keep receiving confirms that we are on the right track! By Massimo Sassi, Councilor of Cooperativa Italiana Catering AT PAGE 6 #CICMEUP QUALITALY BETWEEN BUSINESS AND CULTURE ON 6 OCTOBER, THE QUALITALY PRODUCT FAIR WAS HELD IN PORTOROSE. AN EVENT THAT WAS WELL ATTENDED BY MEMBERS A major convention held a few weeks ago in Slovenia, over the border from Trieste, which closed an important two-year period for our Cooperative and which showed a clear change of pace for CIC with an acceleration of internal dynamics in response to a rapidly changing market. Scarcity of raw materials with consequent price increases, concentration of distribution, socio-cultural change in demand. Doing the honours was the Mainardi family and its staff, who chose an enchanting seafront location for the occasion that welcomed us with sunshine. Alessandro, a valuable guide, vividly illustrated the history and culture of the place. The occasion was propitious to illustrate to members the new project for the Food Service channel. A project around the Cooperative’s historic brand, Qualitaly, redesigned to spread the company mission: to combine quality and service in the products offered to customers. Designed not just to satisfy their needs (definition of quality). OUR VISION The choice of the meeting’s theme, , is not random. What spreads the project, infinitely, is communication and sharing. Thus, corporate events are extended to employees to let them participate in the vision. Born under the sign of cooperation and strengthened by the reading of a market, the agri-food market, which no longer has local logic, but international, worldwide. Hence the need to strengthen the union between companies in order to become a significant player in the market, so as not to be subjected to its dynamics, but to direct them towards added value. A company, a history, a strong and shared culture. Entrepreneurs who have realised that it is no longer time for self-centredness, but to enhance active participation. That companies are made up of people and that their involvement in the company strengthens the company itself. That from the well-being of their employees necessarily derives that of the company. A common commitment to creating quality work. A convention with difficult themes, such as the lack of personnel. A shortage that has cost Italy over 38 million in added value, but which is a phenomenon shared at European level. The Financial Times points out that more than a quarter of European companies complain about the lack of personnel as a limitation to company growth. In the pre-Covid period of mass resignations, the numbers were exactly half. According to an estimate by Confartigianato in July 2023, the shortage of personnel was 47%. This phenomenon threatens to call Made in Italy into question. The causes are numerous. The migratory flow of young Italians abroad in search of an offer to which the Italian entrepreneurship does not know how to respond exceeds the flow of incoming professionalism. But among the primary causes is undoubtedly the environment factor. The quality/price ratio is no longer just a commercial factor, but a social one. Employees are the company’s first customers. And if the definition of quality is ‘satisfying needs’, then a successful entrepreneur is one who orients his business not only to turnover, but to the needs of his customers, employees first and foremost. A worker who does not recognise himself or herself in corporate values is a dissatisfied worker and will work badly. This has been established by no less a fact than studies conducted at Harvard. The companies that achieve long-term business are those that know how to involve and empower their employees, orienting them towards objectives. It is the internal and external communication of employees that is the main success factor of a company. Staff who feel fulfilled determine a positive impact on work inside and outside the company itself. C.I.C. is aware of this epochal socio- cultural change and is therefore promoting the dissemination of the Qualitaly project and brand values, in an escalation of involvement extended from members to buyers and soon to all collaborators. Because Qualitaly is much more than a brand, it is not just quality, but a project that is the spokesperson for a common interest in the supply chain, the needs