Made in Italy: US  Discovers   Tuna  and Ice-cream from Calabria

Catanzaro - A revenue of just over 48 million Euro at the end of the 2016 business year, approximately 320 employees and six companies operating in preserves, which is the core business of the company. Callipo is one of the spearheads of entrepreneurship in Calabria. The parent company of the group led by former president of the regional chapter of the General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria) Filippo Callipo boasts over 100 years of history (it was established in 1913 by Giacinto Callipo). It extended the original focus on canned tuna and fish preserves to other sectors over the decades. Callipo Conserve Alimentari has been joined today by Callipo Group Srl Holding, which provides consultancy and service to subsidiaries, Callipo Gelateria, which makes traditional Pizzo ice-creams, including the famous 'Tartufo', the four-star Popilia Country Resort, Callipo Sport and the men's Volleyball team, which is playing in the Superlega A1 championship, and Callipo Turismo, for hotel-related business. The head and the heart of these companies is firmly rooted in Calabria. The production plant is located in Maierato (Vibo Valentia) on a 34,000-square-meter area, of which 9,000 square meters are indoor. Exports, which currently account for 11% of the market, drove the positive revenue trend at the end of the 2016 business year up, which was up 5% with respect to 2015. Canada, the United States, Australia, Lithuania, Great Britain, Switzerland, Libya, Austria, Germania, Israel, North Africa and South America are the countries where consumers can find Callipo Conserve Alimentari branded products.The success is mainly the result of a consolidation process operated on traditional channel sales and to the launch of new products in the "non-fish" segment with the "Dalla Nostra Terra" brand, offering a selection of preserves made using typical local produce, such as 'nduja from Spilinga or organic bergamot marmalade. The new products feature Bottarga Callipo in organic extra virgin olive oil, organic local citrus marmalades (made with oranges, clementines and bergamots from Calabria) and organic hot pepper spread. Gelateria Callipo also crossed national borders focusing on natural, gluten-free products made without hydrogenated fats, emulsifiers or stabilizers. Callipo branded ice-creams now proudly represent the handmade gelato tradition for which the city of Pizzo is famous and the best of Italian-made food in the world. Sixty percent of the revenue results from exports to Europe, South America, North Africa, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. But Callipo has the USA firmly in the sights for exports. The product portfolio of the group counts no fewer than 200 items distributed through supermarkets (57%), wholesale and catering (20%), deli counters (8%) and other (4%) channels.Giacinto Callipo, son of the owner Filippo, is the fifth generation of the family. "The United States market is an interesting one, despite the very high import taxes", he explained to AGI. "Some consumers, particularly upper class, demand high quality tuna. We have recently sealed distribution agreements with local partners and as a result our products, which were once mainly distributed on the East Coast, are now also found in California. We are counting on being present in other states soon". The outlook is interesting also for ice-creams. "We are partnering up with a major broker for distributing ice-creams in the USA with our brand on the retail channel, while another customer, who operates exclusive in food service, has added our Pizzo Tartufo which its own brand to its specialty catalog", explained Giacinto Callipo. The news was presented last May at "TuttoFood", the international agrifood show at Fiera Milano, and will be showcased at the Food Fair of Anuga, in Germany, from October 7 to 11, where the group will be present with Callipo preserves and ice-cream to consolidate the company presence on international markets. Callipo is looking forwards to the next two appointments in the USA with Fancy Food Show in San Francisco in January, which will be repeated in New York in June.