The KÖLLA Group was able to start the season with Italian strawberries earlier than usual, so that the first significant quantities could already be marketed in Germany at the end of February. Benefiting from the unusually mild climate in Germany and the weak delivery from Spain, there was a correspondingly good demand.

KÖLLA’s sweet strawberries grow in southern Italy’s Basilicata and Campania, right at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. The flagship «Kandonga» is certainly still one of the most popular varieties, but in the meantime great innovative alternatives are coming to the fore: above all the newly developed variety «Rossetta». This convinces above all with its particularly sweet taste, a uniform shape and homogeneous colouring.

The KÖLLA Group is pleased that the demand for sustainable packaging continues to prevail and has therefore replaced the classic plastic tray predominantly with cardboard trays and groundwood trays.

The contact persons for the sweet fruits work from the KÖLLA branch in Bolzano. The young team, led by Category Manager Felix Negri, is responsible not only for marketing the Italian premium strawberries in Germany, but as well for supplying the Italian market 365 days a year with berries from all over the world. «We are in the fortunate position of being able to draw on the KÖLLA Group’s established network of producers in the countries of origin, as well as being able to guarantee the marketing of northern and southern Italian producers thanks to our regional location,» says Felix Negri.

March 2021