Granarolo invests 25 million in Gioia del Colle and hires

Granarolo begins the specialization of its production sites in Italy and for the historic milk production plant in Gioia del Colle, built in 1962 with the Perla brand and taken over by the Bolognese in 1998, the gradual conversion from a dairy to a cheese factory, therefore fresh cheeses, has begun - thanks to an investment of 25 million euros. Starting with burrata, a typical dairy product from Puglia, with the ambition of exporting it above all in Europe, first and foremost in France, and in the other countries - over 70 in the world - in which the group is present, markets that generate 40% of the turnover which in 2024 reached 1.719 billion euros.

The choice to focus on burrata also for export is closely linked to the technological innovation introduced, tailor-made, on the machines present in the plant and which directly form the burrata, without manual manipulation, thus improving its microbiological quality and extending its shelf life up to 25 days. It is in fact the longest life cycle that allows it to be marketed even in the most distant markets, in 125 gram packages under the Perla brand. For the gradual reconversion of the site towards dairy products - milk production will however continue until the deadline scheduled for 2027 - Granarolo has invested, starting from 2023, 25 million euros, all planned in the project called Gran Masseria, to make it a dairy that already today, together with burrata, produces other Apulian specialties such as stracciatella, mozzarella and ricotta, aimed at the national and international market. The processing of the site is fueled by the Apulian (69) and Lucanian (29) members of the Granlatte supply chain, the Scarl (limited liability cooperative company) which controls 63% of Granarolo spa, members who supply milk and cream, guaranteeing a controlled supply chain (428 thousand analyses were carried out on the milk supplied by all the Italian members and obtained in 470 certified stables) guaranteeing maximum animal welfare and traceability.

"Burrata - said the president of Granarolo spa, Gianpiero Calzolari, during the inauguration of the new plants - has become an iconic product of our Made in Italy and this explains our investments, both in technology and in the training of our people who, now, must become masters in the production of one of the most envied Italian specialties".

Along with the gradual conversion from the dairy to the cheese factory - which will process 60,000 tons of raw material from the supply chain, to obtain 10,000 tons of finished product - the number of employees, currently 80, is also expected to increase by another 39 by 2027. The executive vice-president of the EU Commission, Raffaele Fitto, spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, underlining "the new vision of agriculture launched by the Commission, with the farmer not as a problem, but as an actor in solving the sector's problems. And this with a view to simplification. In the coming days - anticipated Fitto, who in his role coordinates the commissioners who deal with agriculture, the blue economy, and fisheries - together with the Commissioner for Agriculture, Hansen, and for Economy, Dombrovskis, we will present a package of some simplification measures in agriculture, because simplification is one of the areas of greatest commitment of the EU Commission". In addition to Fitto, the inauguration was also attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, the Undersecretary of Health, Marcello Gemmato and the President of the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano.