Tomatoes made in Italy – still a promising business idea?

For Francesco Mutti, tomatoes are a family matter: he is the fourth generation to run Mutti Tomatoes, a Parma-based company founded in 1899. When he took over from his father in 1994, Mutti made high quality and sustainable production a basic requirement of his work. And he set a goal to make the Mutti name known.

"I decided to go in a completely different direction from my father and focus on building a brand on tomatoes,” Mutti said. “Everyone told me it was an absolutely crazy idea. In the beginning, I didn't sleep so well".

He did not choose the easy route. The tomato market - with sales of around 190 billion U.S. dollars at last count - has always been competitive. In the 1990s, farmers and harvest workers suffered from the price pressure exerted by discounters. Today, cheap goods from China are flooding the market. Around ten times as many tomatoes are produced there as in southern Europe – and their deceptive packaging means they often end up on our plates. "Made in Italy" does not necessarily mean that the tomato was grown there, but perhaps only packaged.

At Mutti, the route from field to factory is no more than 100 kilometers. This saves CO2 and ensures more flavor: the less time there is between harvesting and further processing, the fresher the taste of the tomatoes, even in the can.

This quality comes at a price. "Our costs are 13 percent higher than that of standard production in northern Italy," says Francesco Godani, who is responsible for research and development at Mutti.

Sustainability is the big element of transition. Francesco Godani, R&D Manager at Mutti

In total, the family-owned company has invested 32 million Euros in better infrastructure and better pay for its employees. The consistent course toward quality has paid off. Mutti has won the trust of its customers. Increased awareness of regional, high-quality products and the trend toward sustainability have also fueled its success. The company not only sells 580,000 tons of tomatoes annually, but has also been able to increase its sales by 23 percent. In 2020, Mutti generated 465 million euros, demonstrating that quality and sustainability can be economically successful.

The key for having a fresh product is to reduce the time from harvesting to transformation. Francesco Godani, R&D Manager at Mutti

Francesco Mutti has long recognised the importance of sustainability – for society as a whole and for companies in particular. "It’s the engine of change,” he says. So it was on his initiative that the company developed its own research and development department. There Mutti is working on plans to save water on the fields and in further processing – also cooperating with farmers and the World Wildlife Federation (WWF).

But it is also clear to the entrepreneur that more needs to happen to effect long-term change: "As a community we need to act in a completely different way."