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OCT. NOV. 2016
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How is your business organized
and how does you logistics work?
The company covers a total area
of 2,000sqm, with warehouses,
refrigerating rooms (+4 C) and an
area for frozen food (-20 C). We
have several trucks with double
temperature compartments and our
staff is qualified and capable of
handling our products in all aspects,
from the packaging to the delivery”.
Mainardi Food has two strong
points: delivery times and
something liked to the way you do
business. Can you tell us about it?
The first strong point has to do with
the guarantee to deliver our products
within 24 hours from the order.
We have developed a sophisticated
computerized system to send invoices
and shipping bills by Certified Email,
avoiding a lot of paper work. Our
delivery trucks have printers on
board, so we can print documents
if necessary. The second strong
point is a dedicated area on our
premises that serves as a kitchen and
laboratory. Mainardi Food has been
the first company to try this idea, so
we can try out all our products. We
often welcome our customers with
their own chefs o pizza makers, for
practical courses or shows”.
What are your goals for the near
future?
We are already working hard! Last
September we started renovation
works on our premises, to add
about 700sqm space, especially for
the frozen foods compartment, that
proved very successful in 2016 by
growing 20%. We are also investing on
our staff: technicians, workers as well
as our salesforce. We strongly believe
in what we are doing, because the
market and the kitchen are constantly
changing and those who work in the
business must be very aware of it”.
Mainardi Food s.r.l.
Offices: Via del Lavoro Artigiano, 7/B
34077 Ronchi dei Legionari (Go)
Tel.: 39 0481 474846
Fax: 39 0481 776494
Area covered: North-East Italy,
Slovenia, Croatia
Employees: 45
AT PAGE 14
Go Veggies Go!
Neo-vegetarianism at the restaurant
– from a niche to a popular trend.
We can no longer ignore vegetables in
the menu
By Anna Muzio
Less meat, more greens and a
greater focus on health. This is
how food has changed on Italian
dinner tables over the last few years,
as data from the 2016 report by
Coop have confirmed. From 2010
to 2016, red and white meats have
gone down more than 13%. Fruit
and vegetables together make over
a third of all foods consumed. The
trend has, obviously, been reflected
on restaurant menus. Even if people
tend to indulge in richer dishes when
eating out, the connection between
food and health is too strong. The
economic crisis has given birth to
such a connection, which has later
been reinforced by food campaigns
and international organizations’
recommendations (such as the
no-meat and no-processed meat
campaign by WHO and the palm oil
scare by EFSA). Modern life styles
and hot topics on the web have
contributed too.
As it often happens, the first people
to foresee the rebirth of vegetables
have been starred chefs. Over the
last few years, they have given
veggies a new dignity, turning
them into centerpieces rather than
anonymous side dishes. Massimiliano
Alajmo and Enrico Crippa have
reduced animal proteins and
increased the amount of greens
in the menu. Alain Ducasse in his
luxury Paris restaurant Hotel Le
Meurice happily serves a dish of
simple seasonal vegetables cooked
en croute with sea salt.
NO EXTREMES. There are different
ways as to how a restaurant can
satisfy this new consumer interest.
More vegetarian and vegan
restaurants have opened, including a
few raw vegetarian restaurants. Still,
by now all food businesses should
offer at least a vegetarian option
to satisfy customers who wish to
go green and whose numbers are
on the rise. According to Eurispes
data, 7.1% of Italians is vegetarian
and 1% is vegan (i.e. they don’t eat
meat, fish and all products coming
from animals like honey, milk,
dairy products and eggs). This year
this mega trend scored +3% on the
previous year. Three are the reasons
behind it: 46.7% of Italians say they
want to adopt a healthier life style,
30% say they are against animal
cruelty and 12% say they do it for the
environment. In other words, eight
Italians out of ten (often grouped
under the label “omnivores”) have
a major say when choosing where
Mantra Raw
Crepapelle
Il Desco Bistrò
foto © Francesca Pagliai