“Radici nel Lazio” is the name of the new project resulting from the agreement with the CAR in Rome. What are the most important aspects of this initiative?
Our agreement with the CAR (Rome Agri-Food Centre) is not simply a procurement initiative. Through this project, we are seeking to adopt a model based on an extremely short supply chain, drastically reducing the time between harvest and display. Suffice it to say that in some cases we manage to get produce onto the shelves on the very morning it is harvested (*)
The benefit for the consumer is immediate: a visibly fresher product that retains its organoleptic properties, flavour and aroma intact. Better-tasting produce that lasts much longer, with the added benefit of reducing household waste. The produce from“Radici nel Lazio” travels a very short distance. No long journeys, no prolonged stays in cold storage: the fruit and vegetables are harvested in the fields of Lazio, transported by lorry and delivered directly to our shops. The agreement currently involves around fifteen producers, but we intend – not least in light of the results – to expand it in the coming months.
Finally, as our company is deeply rooted in this region, “Radici nel Lazio” embodies the aim of bringing the agricultural and food wealth of these areas to our shelves, whilst promoting the work of local producers. For Pewex, local sourcing is indeed a commercial decision, but it is also an ethical one and a choice made by those who produce and provide employment in our region…(says David Cetorelli, commercial director).
(*) Esselunga, for example, would receive its deliveries the following day (the lorries travelled overnight and the goods were received at dawn the next day, before being distributed across the network).
Below: courgettes, a private-label salad – Consilia – by Pewex on sale in Prati (Rome), and the report by Daniele Tirelli (Cx Store Research) showing that the chain ranks second in fruit and vegetable sales in Lazio, behind Lidl.
