La Cooperativa L’Ortofrutticola in Albenga, the largest agricultural Cooperative in Liguria with about 600 member farms and more than 60 per cent of the cultivable area of the Albenga Plain, will participate in IPM 2025 (Hall 2, Stand A28), scheduled to be held in Essen, Germany, Jan. 28-31, 2025, and in MyPlant & Garden, (Hall 16, Stand C39) the fair to be held in Milan, Italy, Feb. 19, 20 and 21, 2025.
On both occasions, the cooperative will display the full variety of potted, fruit, floral and aromatic plants (the latter also packaged cut) and an important novelty from the fruit and vegetable department: a wide assortment of jams, sauces and preserves, all under the TipicoSì brand, made from products contributed by the Cooperative’s member farms. All the products on display at IPM come from the cultivations of the Albenga Plain, a true natural forge of excellence in this area of western Liguria.
This year’s great novelty, the processed vegetables, herbs and fruits, clearly represent the extreme breadth of the crops grown by the members of Cooperativa L’Ortofrutticola: a wealth of crops that make it possible to offer the market numerous natural products of the highest quality and, from now on, their derivatives, capable of lending unique flavours to dishes on tables around the world.
Visitors to the booth will find flowers, potted plants, jars of sauces, preserves, jams, and a team of specialists who can answer any questions.
Another important innovation that was presented to the Cooperative’s visitors and clients was the introduction of a new system for tracking incoming goods to the warehouse. This system will be managed through software custom-developed for the Cooperative.
This new system will reduce the inaccuracies of manual processes by implementing many administrative steps of goods management, from quality verification to proper labelling and packaging. This will significantly reduce the waiting time for goods preparation, speed up order processing, and optimise workflow within the warehouse. As always, the ultimate goal is to increase customer satisfaction.
“Our presence at the IPM 2025 and MyPlant & Garden editions”, says Emanuele Barbieri, president of L’Ortofrutticola in Albenga,” is a renewed signal of the role we play vis-à-vis the market and our members: to enhance, through a commercial activity that finds outlets throughout Europe, the productions of our members, typically small and almost always family-run companies. This year our commitment was further conconcretisedth the launch of packaged products.”
“What distinguishes the productions of the Plain”, adds Simone Moroni, director of L’Ortofrutticola in Albenga,” is the remarkable biodiversity of the productions that find a particularly favorable soil and climate here. Faced with this natural evidence, we decided to take a further step to bring our excellence to international markets, through sauces, jams and preserves made with the fruits, herbs and vegetables grown by our members and packaged under one of our identifying brands: TipicoSì.”
About a year ago, the B2B eCommerce platform dedicated to The Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative customers was launched. This is now implemented and deployed on a daily base with successful feedback from users.
“The year 2025 will also be marked by the continuity of the digital transition path undertaken by L’Ortofrutticola. After the launch of the B2B eCommerce portal in 2024, we renewed our digital identity with the publication of a new dynamic and comprehensive website, full of useful information for both our direct customers and end users.”
The Potted Plants of Cooperativa L’Ortofrutticola in Albenga
The potted plants (aromatic and flowering) in the spotlight at the fair are local productions contributed to the Cooperative from member farms in the Albenga Plain. All plants are grown according to low environmental impact regulations, and some are certified by BIO and GlobalGAP (Good Agricultural Practice).
Every year, the Cooperative moves about 5,000,000 plants of various types in its warehouse; here, they are packaged in trolleys, pallets or cartons (every day, the Cooperative processes an average of 600 trolleys of potted plants), depending on the demands and needs of its customers, represented by distributors, wholesalers, large-scale retail trade and large gardens with retail sales.
The aromatic herbs of this specific territory (rosemary, thyme, marjoram, sage, as well as PDO basil) are renowned everywhere, in Italy and abroad: productive excellence obtained thanks to the special environmental conditions (climate and subsoil) that allow their cultivation with minimum use of pesticides and, last but not least, to the great know-how of local companies historically devoted to their production. All this translates into exclusive cultivation, which is identified and in demand in the national and international markets.
