He s quintessentially Italian but also travels widely to see what is happening in other markets. It was clear that unlike many small companies that are insular…he was always looking outside and bringing ideas back in. Shelman was curious about whether Mutti was encountering the same competitive troubles experienced by other food companies such as Barilla in the home country. Like many national brands in Italy.
Barilla was being squeezed by private label products—store brands that had been created in response to consumer demand for low prices in the face of a severe economic downturn. An Italian friend in the business kept saying this is horrible look what the retailers are doing to us says Shelman. But Francesco told Shelman that the company was doing quite Chinese Overseas America Number Data well. And I said you ve got a bad economy you ve got these supermarket chains that are getting stronger and coming in with their own brands and you re telling me you re growing. What am I not getting It became evident to her that Francesco had a quite sophisticated view not just of the category but also of the food industry. He was building his brand through investments in ideas unheard of in long running family agricultural businesses emphasizing high quality raw materials building close relationships with farmers and spending on vigorous marketing and advertising.
Born To Innovate Born in Francesco was full of energy and ideas from the start but the company he began to take over in the mid s had slowed. Most of the management team were from the same area were around the same age and had been hired around the same time. Polpa still a favorite among foodservice companies was processed on antiquated equipment. It was notes million company. He immediately began to shake things up. While Mutti did well in the retail arena with its tomato paste the market was small and getting smaller since fewer Italians were cooking from scratch. Other tomato processing companies weren t faring well. Given the growth of chain supermarkets over independent shops and the fact that processed tomatoes were considered a commodity fierce competition for miniscule profits was the norm.