Burrata, the Gioia del Colle plant becomes strategic for Granarolo
20 million invested: the production site will move away from processing drinking milk to focus on the Apulian speciality now exported all over the world
2' min read
2' min read
A combipack with a ceramic cup combining fresh burrata with bread crumble and 'nduja in a bag: this is one of the proposals launched for Christmas 2024 by Mark&Spencer, which has ordered more than 80,000 pieces from Granarolo.
"It is a novelty that goes along with the British habit of consuming warmed burrata and confirms how this cheese can be interpreted in the kitchen in very different ways," explains Filippo Marchi, General Manager of Granarolo Spa, who, as a major exporter of Italian cheeses (today exports account for 42% of turnover, in 2011 it was 3%), is well acquainted with the diversity of consumption styles of our dairy products. And it is precisely its promotion in the menus of restaurants and pizzerias that is making burrata known to foreign consumers and driving its success on international markets.
"While dairy is at a standstill in Italy, on foreign markets we see a strong growth in the demand for cheese, in particular for dairy specialities," adds Marchi. "In order to develop the premium cheese market, where we already develop a significant turnover, we have decided to bring the entire burrata production in-house, investing 20 million in the Gioia del Colle (Bari) plant, to convert it from drinking milk to Apulian dairy specialities.
This intervention, which is part of the specialisation of the 23 production sites (of which 14 in Italy) included in the industrial plan 2024-2027, is strategic for the leading role that Granarolo has in Puglia, where it is the largest producer of milk (over 60 thousand tonnes per year) and also the only one of fresh cream, fundamental for burrata (representing 25-30% of its weight) and which it supplies to local dairies. The renovated Gioia del Colle plant, fully automated and with high hygienic-quality standards, has a production capacity of 5 thousand tonnes of fresh cheese, more than 50% of which is burrata. By mid-2025 it will be increased to 10 thousand tonnes, 60% of which will be burrata, reaching a turnover of 90 million euro. With very high quality standards.
"We are very satisfied with the quality of the products, confirmed both by the blind tests with market leaders and by the audits of the French and British customers who came to the plant and confirmed their willingness to work with us from January 2025," emphasises Marchi.
