OP Frutthera Growers, the company from Scanzano Jonico (Matera) owner of the Nicofruit brand and the famous Fragola Matera® brand, does not compromise when it comes to respecting and satisfying consumers.
In Fragola Matera®, the three requirements that the consumer values most – taste, salubrity and sustainability – are enhanced to the nth degree. While strawberries from Basilicata are a Made in Italy excellence in the world, Fragola Matera® wants to be an excellence within excellence.
Francesco Nicodemo, president of the OP and owner of the brand says: “Good things take time, and Fragola Matera® is the result of 30 years of experience and research in the Ionian area”.
The OP Frutthera Growers, which carefully coordinates the cultivation, harvesting, packaging and marketing of Fragola Matera ®, became the first company in Italy to obtain the ISCC PLUS certification for fresh fruit and vegetable products, an international standard focused on the concept of circular economy that guarantees the respect of sustainability along the entire supply chain.
The manager states “We like to say that it is a certification of our pact with nature”.
The company has always been committed to evolving towards techniques that aim at the greatest respect for the product and the ecosystem: use of organic fertilisers and pheromones for sexual confusion; pollination with bees and bumblebees; use of predatory insects to control pathogens; irrigation system with microprobes that detect the humidity in the soil and ensure that the dripline system only delivers water when it is needed;
packaging that minimise the impact of the production cycle on atmospheric emissions, such as ‘Ezy Split’, which encloses the Matera ® Strawberries in a 100% recycled and easily recyclable R-Pet plastic package, and ‘Nicofriendly’, a fully compostable basket.
Harvesting is done manually and processing takes place in a high-tech plant, which allows the organoleptic properties of the product to remain intact: sweet and intense taste, firm and juicy flesh and bright red colour.
The product is then sold through a capillary network, which allows Fragola Matera ® to be distributed throughout Italy, where it is gaining numerous awards and gaining wide consensus among consumers.
