The company known as "Ditta Individuale Benedetto Noberasco" was registered with the Chamber of Commerce of Savona. This was the birth of what is now considered to be the most important Italian company in the dried fruits and nuts sector. At the dawn of the 20th century, young Benedetto Noberasco recognised that progress, industrialisation and new transport methods would open up vast opportunities for national and international trade. With a capital investment of 2,000 liras, he started up a company that harvested, packaged and distributed local fruits and vegetables from the plains of Albenga, including peaches, apricots, asparagus, tomatoes and delicate artichokes. Through contacts abroad, he quickly began importing dried fruits, in particular dates and raisins.
Benedetto bought his first shipments of dates in Marseille, processed them in Albenga and shipped them to his German customers.
This was the birth of the oval "Marseillaise" package, the first ever "consumer pack" in the dried fruits sector, which is still a classic for date packaging.
Benedetto's son, Pier Luigi, joined the company at the end of World War One and remained at its helm until the start of the new millennium.
Noberasco was the first Italian company to import apricots from Spain.
Expansion into Europe inspired Benedetto to work with the Italian State Railroad on the creation of its first refrigerator railcar.
In this decade, dried fruits became more popular than fresh. The company's trade expanded to its maximum point with 48 warehouses scattered in every Region of Italy. In the late 1960s, the Noberasco company built and moved into a new 15,000-m2 plant in Albenga. The company name was changed to "Noberasco s.a.s. di Gian Benedetto Noberasco e F.lli", as the dynasty had grown and Pier Luigi had gradually brought his four children into the family business. From this point onwards, Noberasco began its specialisation in the dried fruits and nuts sector, becoming its leader in Italy and highly considered worldwide.
Pier Luigi Noberasco's ingenuity implemented a new technological processing system for prunes and other products that gave the fruit a very long shelf life. The move from selling their products in bulk to selling in packages took the company a giant step forward and helped it to grow immensely in the mid 1980s. This inspired an expansion into the southern Italian market and a plant was built in Mongrassano Scalo, in the province of Cosenza, in agreement with the local entrepreneurs who specialised in the processing of local produce through cold chain, freezing and precooking.
Benedetto Noberasco, a Knight of Labour, received an honorary university degree
New product lines were created based on original packages designed for special uses: "Ora Puoi" readymade ingredients for sauces; "Più Su" single portions of dried fruit for the sport and snack sectors; "Nuovo Millennio" three lines of "soft fruit" that Noberasco had been launching on the market over the years, completing a range of products with at least 150 different types of packages.
The launch of an organic product line, SOLELUNA, designed to guarantee quality of food while improving quality of life. At the launch, nine types of fruit were presented with state-of-the-art packaging and graphics. They are quickly becoming some of the most popular products on the organic market.
A new production plant, Agri Food srl, opened in Vado Ligure, allowing Noberasco to evolve technologically and increase its production lines, as it is the first and only plant worldwide that can process and package soft dried fruits without preservatives. The new plant has a total area of 13,000 sq. m, of which 7,000 sq. m. are dedicated to production and refrigerators and 6,000 to logistics. The plant in Vado allows the company to: triple its production capabilities and increase its expansion flexibility; quadruple its storage area for finished products; do research and development in direct contact with production; and enhance the development of international sales.
Noberasco opened the first dried fruit store in Italy - "Noberasco in Via dei Mille srl" - located in an art nouveau building in "Via dei Mille", a very central street of Albenga. The store, nicknamed the "dried fruit boutique", quickly became a great success and is also famous outside the Region of Liguria.
Noberasco will celebrate 100 YEARS of history, progress and commitment to the future.
