QUALITALY

APR. MAY. 2017

How is the Gelo Mare range now

organized?

Starting from the “historical” nucleus

represented by fish, we have gradually

widened our range of activities to

other products. Today our range

encompasses vegetables and meat,

including also desserts. And for those

who can visit the shop created on our

company premises, the range also

includes bread and pizza. But that’s

not all. Always from the wholesale

perspective, we have also given room

to fresh produce, introducing cold

meats, cheeses and vacuum-packed

meat. Everything without forgetting

the dry products: we offer, in fact, a

vast assortment of canned products -

from Borlotti beans to products in oil,

complemented by staple goods such

as flour. In essence, except for the

freshest products, such as fruit and

vegetables, we cover the entire range

of products required by HORECA.

Which are your main customers?

We cater mainly to restaurants in

the area of Rieti and the province

of Rome, particularly the northern

area of the capital. We serve both the

most sought-after and the simplest

premises.

How can you win their trust?

By operating primarily at the

local level. Gelo Mare can boast a

distinctive feature: the ability to be

a locally-sourced provider. A plus

that allows us to be very swift with

deliveries. And we all know how

much this factor counts for local

managers.

Other aces up your sleeve?

Attention to the consulting aspect.

We have always been well-voted at

customer service. A service rendered,

as said, both on the speed of

deliveries, and on the quality of all

the range we deal with.

How is Gelo Mare organized?

The company structure, the

warehouses, the staff, the

distribution...

We can count on a warehouse of

about 1,200 square meters and four

refrigerated rooms dedicated to the

preservation of frozen products.

The company employs 8 members

of staff, including administration,

representatives, warehouse staff and

drivers.

Is the product distribution then

handled internally?

Absolutely. And also here we return

to the logic of service: the choice

to directly handle deliveries, in

fact, represents another element of

reassurance for customers on the high

standard of our business.

Let’s talk about reliability. An

important part of Gelo Mare’s

range is represented by fish. What

procedures have been taken to

ensure adequate controls on the

freshness and genuineness of

products?

We control the entire production

process, taking care not to stop the

cold chain: we use boats used for

processing and direct freezing; We

then employ refrigerated trucks that

guarantee a temperature of -20 °;

and last but not least, we maintain

a constant rotation of the products

in the refrigerated rooms, organized

according to the expiration date.

Finally, a topical note: The

earthquake of central Italy has also

affected Rieti. How did you cope

with such a critical situation?

Our region has been hit hard. And

the economy has stopped: tourism

has undergone a significant slowdown

and more than a few premises,

especially in the oldest historical

centres, had to interrupt their activity

due to closure. That said, even in the

course of a difficult 2016, Gelo Mare

has managed not only to maintain the

level of turnover recorded in previous

years, but to increase it, even growing

by a two-digit percentage.

How was this done?

I think that an important contribution

to the achievement of this result has

come from the decision to further

broaden the range of our products.

We have mainly focused on fresh

meat and drinks. And the latter,

in particular, has allowed us to

strengthen the business made with

bars and restaurants, including the

entry of grappa and Prosecco on the

list of our range of products here.

But that’s not all. The product range

extension of drinks allowed us to

oversee an entirely new area for Gelo

Mare: nightclubs.

AT PAGE 14

Monothematic

restaurants: The New

Wave

They perfectly embody the habit

to search for dishes on impulse,

simplify the choice, and are a way

to differentiate and emerge in the

sea of the gastronomic range of the

moment

By Anna Muzio

Less is more, is the saying attributed

to the great rationalist architect Mies

van der Rohe. But it also fits the

monothematic restaurants, those who

decided to propose a single dish in the

menu. Protagonists of that 80s fashion

of “Teche or “ Rie “, have massively

returned, appearing everywhere and

covering a wide range of typologies,

from Street Food to gourmet

delicacies. The most successful case

is definitely the Hamburgherie,

which has now become part of the

landscape and the urban gastronomic

range along with the doyen of the

monoproduct: the pizzeria. But where

did this renewed taste for a genre that

was thought consigned to the attic of

history along with the sandwich, the

padded shoulders and the vodka and

salmon pennette?