Villafrut – 85 years of experience

Villafrut, located in Verona (northern Italy), winner of the “Noah’s Ark” prize in 2012 dedicated to Italian companies of excellence, is one of the Iseppi companies:  Villafrut, Iseppi Frutta (Switzerland) and Villagrow (Spain).  The group’s joint sales in the European market reached 135,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, achieving a turnover of approximately €198 million euros. The company handles the entire chain from production to delivery, in line with the requirements of retail chains and with a view to eco-sustainability. Next year marks 85 years since the Iseppi family began its activity in the fruit and vegetable business. The company’s origins date back to the 1930s, when the Iseppi family began importing fruit and vegetables into Switzerland. From the outset, the firm has worked together, side by side, with its customers. In the 1970s, together with Swiss retailers it developed the first national programme of integrated pest management in production. Since then, their collaboration with retailers involves all aspects of the supply chain: planning the production according to the specific quality requirements of the customers, optimisation of logistics or the development of new products and packaging. Villafrut remains strongly focused on the final customer’s needs and has developed its own brand, Jolife. The new feature is that on Jolife products there is a QR code, a specific QR code for each individual product. Consumers can consult the specific information related to the specific product, such as recipes, nutritional benefits and information on its cultivation.