Zappalà: Sicilian typicality

Zappalà: the Sicilian typicality in the dairy world

“In Italy and in the world, we want to represent the Sicilian typicality and the quality of Sicilian food. What we bring to consumers’ tables must speak about us. The cultural values of our land, our being together.” Zappalà S.p.A. wants to represent Sicilian food in Italy and around the world, producing it in an environmentally intact territory and combining technology and attention to production quality.

The history of Zappalà S.p.A. originates in Sicily, on the slopes of Etna, almost 50 years ago. Over the years, the Zappalà family has transformed the small artisan workshop into an important food industry for the production of fresh and typical cheeses of the Sicilian dairy tradition.

At the beginning of the Eighties, with the intuition of the progressive affirmation of the large-scale retail trade and the consequent need for vacuum packaging of products, small sizes, the need for an industrial and logistic organization of a higher level, the laboratory became a factory and the small family-run business definitively assumed the traits of a real food industry. Since 1986, the management has been taken over by the second entrepreneurial generation Zappalà. In a short time, Zappalà S.p.A. manages to establish itself as a supplier of all the main distribution chains in Southern Italy, developing a strong commercial presence in this area.

In 1999, the production specialization activity began with which Zappalà set himself, before the others, the goal of developing a production of typical regional and national cheeses. Today, it is the transition between the second and third generations of the Zappalà family that allows the family brand to be strengthened and projected towards international markets. In addition to the headquarters in Zafferana Etnea (CT), Zappalà products are made at the Caltanissetta site, dedicated to the packaging of milk and cream and the slicing of cheeses, and at the Ragusa site specializing in spun pasta, and typical and canestrati cheeses.

The Zappalà assortment is wide and varied both for retail and for the ho.re.ca channel:

MOZZARELLA – It is produced in all formats and packages that meet the specific needs of consumers for retail or catering: in the coming weeks, the brand new 130-grams Foglia Di Mozzarella made with 100% Sicilian milk will debut.

SICILIAN RICOTTA – Offers the best quality characteristics thanks to traditional processing: in addition to fresh Sicilian sheep and cow ricotta and sweet and savory ricotta specialties, we will debut in the coming months in the Ricotta-based ready meals segment.

TYPICAL CHEESES – belonging to the best Sicilian tradition: Sicilian pecorino and canestrati, with different Typical Sicilian fillings (classic example the Pepato), and PDO cheeses – Sicilian Pecorino PDO, Provola dei Nebrodi PDO, Ragusano PDO.

Export is a keyword in the strategic vision of the Zappalà brand. To date, about 11% of the Company’s turnover is achieved abroad, in 30 countries: in particular, the Company exports its products weekly to almost all European countries; with reference to the rest of the world, the Company has a consolidated partnership with a Japanese importer who today is the main reference in the East. The company has also managed to enter the market of the Gulf countries (with weekly shipments by air) and South Korea; moreover, our ricotta cakes are highly appreciated by American consumers.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW TO ALFIO MARIA ZAPPALÀ
(Export Manager – Zappalà s.p.a.)

Environmental sustainability, as well as animal welfare, will be the cornerstones on which we will continue to build our positioning and our system of relationships within the agro-industrial chain.

The new products planned for 2021, both in terms of private labels and Zappalà branded products, will reflect the company’s attention to the environment – even in the choice of packaging – and to healthy eating, through reduction or the definitive elimination of the use of plastic in almost all of the current assortment.

Furthermore, the year in which the company will free itself 100% from fossil fuels has been set for 2023 through an ambitious program that will provide for the supply of energy from renewable sources.

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