"The artisanal preserve market has grown a lot over the past few years thanks to tourism, the festivities and spending capacity. It's difficult to make a forecast for the next few years, but the trend is growing also due to skyrocketing sales in the gift segment, especially at Christmas. The situation is more stable and with limited growth in the H&R sector, as restaurant chains tend to create their own preserves, which are then integrated with external products. That is why we started producing larger 1 or 3 kg sizes, so as to reduce costs," explained Andrea Baraldo, production manager at La Dispensa di Patrizia.
The company is a historic one from the Veneto plain and specializes in the intensive production of white and green asparagus. It created La Dispensa di Patrizia in 2017, a premium brand that was awarded a special mention in the preserve category at the Veneto Food Awards in 2023.
"The undisputed protagonist is sweet and sour asparagus, the idea that led to the setting up of an internal processing laboratory. Demand for 'saor' products, i.e. vegetables in oil, white onion, pine nuts and raisins as in the Venetian tradition, has also been increasing over the past two years. This line was also awarded in the "Reinterpretation of an ancient traditional recipe" category at the Cucinare fair in Pordenone."
"The main sales channels in Italy are stores, which we reach mainly through agents. Then there are fairs and online marketing campaigns. Abroad we work mainly in Asia (South Korea, Chine and Hong Kong) with clients who want asparagus in various formats and recipes. In Europe, our clients are located in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria and they are mainly fellow Italians (chefs or exporters) looking for non-industrial Italian products."
"Processed products are usually eaten alongside fresh vegetables and, in fact, in the case of asparagus, 40% of sales occur between mid-March and mid-May. Preserves have become a niche and they are no longer a humble product as they were perceived in the 1980s. Another aspect concerns sizes: the choice to create the small 300 g format for sweet and sour products and the 200 gram format for products in oil proved perfect for us, as current families consist of no more than 2/3 people."
"Are processed products more profitable and less risky than fresh ones? Well, there are substantial differences. First of all, fresh produce is based on market price while, when it comes to preserves, companies decide quotations based on costs, market position and competitors. This helps balance profits, maybe by increasing the prices of products with a higher rotation and maintain those that rotate less at lower prices to avoid excess inventory." 
"As for environmental sustainability, we are trying to act on more fronts. When it comes to the production of raw material, we voluntarily implement integrated control to reduce the use of plant protection products, while at the same time employing means that help reduce doses while maintaining their effectiveness. In the laboratory, we use electricity that comes almost entirely from the photovoltaic plant on the company roof, plus we use modern and technological equipment that helps us reduce the use of water and emissions. Finally, our packaging is fully recyclable."
For further information:
La Dispensa di Patrizia
Andrea Baraldo
Via Arzerdimezzo, 9/B
35020 Pernumia (PD) - Italy
+39 346 4910118
[email protected]
www.laispensadipatrizia.it