After two years of fruitful collaboration, the’O.P. Joinfruit of Verzuolo and the Consorzio Ramassin del Monviso – Valle Bronda have just signed the new trade agreement for the promotion and marketing of ramassin, small blue-violet plum Slow Food Presidium and excellence of the Saluzzo area.
The first collaboration agreement started in 2021 with a dual objective: expand the market of this characteristic cultivation in the Bronda and Po Valleys, activating new channels in the large-scale retail trade, e protect the producers of the Consortium With their work, they safeguard a unique product, the peculiarity of which is an expression of the territory in which it is born.
The new trade agreement goes to confirm these two fundamental objectives: Joinfruit undertakes to pay producers a guaranteed minimum price and to ensure a commercial and pricing policy that guarantees a remunerative threshold, as well as to pursue a targeted promotion, which can promote the ramassin not only in Piedmont but also in other regions of Italy. In fact, many people are still unaware of this plum with its intense aroma and very high Brix levels when ripe, excellent when eaten fresh as a snack, but also ideal for preparing desserts and pastries or for making jam, syrups, ice creams, and chocolates.
La collecting ramassin This season started a little early and production, although not abundant, is looking like Excellent quality, because the hardiness of the variety meant that it was not particularly affected by the adverse climatic conditions that occurred in spring.
Joinfruit will be responsible for marketing, working the product in the warehouses of one of the OP's partners, the Ponso Agricultural Cooperative of Saluzzo, using ad hoc packaging that makes it recognisable and identifiable with its region of origin: “We started marketing ramassin about ten days ago - comment Stefania Mana, Joinfruit Sales Manager – and expectations are good, despite this being a generally difficult season for fruit, both due to the consumption crisis and the increased stress on the fruits caused by the crazy climatic fluctuations of this recent period. The agreement with the Consorzio Ramassin del Monviso – Valle Bronda it aims to bring added value to the product, combining the valuable work of the Consortium's producers with the experience of our OP: we are joining forces to add value to the product along the large-scale retail chains. It is precisely with the large-scale retail sector, which has supported us over the last two years, that we are working on very interesting alternative packaging solutions, such as the baskets (250, 300 and 500 grams) of wood pulp closed by a corn film (also totally compostable) and made recognisable by a narrative label with the logos of the Slow Food Presidium, of the Consorzio Ramassin del Monviso – Valle Bronda, of Joinfruit and of Terres Monviso (a brand created to promote the products of the Saluzzo district), therefore with significant traceability that tells the story of what we've been doing in recent years to enhance the territory. The main target markets are Northern Italy, especially Piedmont, Liguria, and Lombardy: in the Milan and Verona markets, where ramassin is less known, we are also conducting small tests to make the product known to a wider audience of consumers.”
The development work The ramassin range began in 2005 with the establishment of the Consortium, and today (after a series of important milestones including the recognition of ramassin as a Slow Food Presidium in 2006, its inclusion in the basket of PAT-branded products of the Piedmont Region, and those branded Terres Monviso), the outlook for Ramassin del Monviso – Valle Bronda is that of the PGI recognition.
“The IGP project is very ambitious Explain Dario Morello, President of the Consortium collects the producers from the municipalities of Brondello, Castellar, Pagno, and the hilly part of Saluzzo – However, we trust in the tenacity of the producers and in the synergy with associations and public bodies to bring it to completion in a short time, because it would represent an important milestone for the producers of this traditional crop as well as a recognition for the Saluzzo territory, a goal that we share with the OP Joinfruit, always attentive to initiatives that can support and enhance our territory.”
Concludes Bruno Sacchi, Director of Joinfruit: “The ramassin is an excellence that deserves to be valued, known and appreciated by an ever-wider audience, and the renewed synergy with the Consortium will allow us to give this delicious plum the visibility it deserves, through all possible commercial and marketing initiatives. Furthermore, as an OP, we have committed to supporting and assisting the member companies of the Consortium who wish to obtain Global G.A.P. certification, a path that is absolutely necessary today for producers who wish to expand the marketing of their product.“
English 
Italian