«We innovate, starting from love for the earth»

Taste the flavors of the past, breathe the values ​​of all time, with an insatiable hunger for change. This is how the philosophy of the Carioni family can be summarized, which over the years has built a leading company in the agri-food sector, starting from the earth. Because, as often happens, large companies arise from small things and from the humblest people, those who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty, of sacrificing themselves for the work they love. Those who are not afraid to put their heart. Thomas Carioni knows well, heir, together with his brother Mario and his sister Tiziana, of the family business, which, when he speaks of his grandfather, his namesake, still gets excited: «The activity started in 1920, when my grandfather Tommaso, a passionate farmer and a man of integrity, gave birth to a small farm, which could count on little cattle, but on an immeasurable love for the land ". Passed down from generation to generation, this allowed the breakthrough only in 2001, when Tommaso, just 23 years old, broadened his horizons, placing himself in the dairy sector, and created his own brand, able to express the values ​​that for years had animated the activity of family.

The Carioni farm currently has more than 1800 animals, more than 800 hectares of land located in Lombardy and is a protagonist, both in the processing of land and in the breeding of dairy cows, as in dairy processing and sale. "If today I have built all this, it is thanks to the passion that my grandfather and my father have handed down to me and that I try every day to pass on to my children Francesco, Mattia and Riccardo. On my own I would never have achieved the goals I have achieved: I owe everything to my family ». The entrepreneurial spirit of Tommaso, expression of genuineness, passion and competence, finds in the family his starting point, but also a safe haven in times of difficulty: "The history of our activity is a long-lasting love story. What allows us to remain united is the solid feeling that binds us, in work, as in life. For this reason I would never give the fate of my business to a stranger, I prefer to spend every day to increase my love for this job in the young of my family. It is not enough to be dedicated to the earth, we must also know how to love it ».

The right dose of selfishness seems to be the secret to break into the world of entrepreneurship: "We eat our products. We want to respond to the needs of consumers in the same way we respond to the needs of our family. This makes us constantly dissatisfied, we have a constant hunger for discovery that never gets satisfied. We want to keep faith with tradition, improving, changing, innovating, the spasmodic search for the best ».

Precisely from the combination of tradition and innovation, in 2015 the Carioni Food & Health brand was born with the desire to satisfy demanding palates, respecting the health of consumers. "I can not say that this goal has been fully achieved to date, thanks to the succession of different food trends that have generated, especially in Italy, the fear of eating. We live subjugated by a virtuality that wants us all the same, homologated. So much in thinking, as in eating. Italians should learn to do the shopping by being guided by the palate and not the eyes. Italians should learn not to be afraid of being themselves. So much on Facebook, as on the table ».

And, if Italy seems to ignore the excellence in food that it has on the territory, there is no alternative but to place itself on foreign markets: "Exports are constantly increasing. Countries with an extremely different culture from ours, such as America and Saudi Arabia, constantly require Italian meat and cheese ". However, Carioni does not give up and plans new methods to change the mentality of the Italian consumer: "Soon we will give life to a pavilion where the customer will be guided in an exciting taste experience".

After participating in Expo Milano 2015, realizing how important it is to get out of the territorial dimension, Carioni seems no longer wanting to limit its inventiveness: "The experience of Expo 2015 made me understand the beauty of diversity. In a society in which technological flattening reigns, the satisfaction of living lies in diversifying ». From there the desire to stand out more through the creation, in 2017, of the BIO line: milk, cheese and 100% natural yoghurt, without GMOs. "For the company Carioni, the BIO today represents an opportunity to emerge, but also a social commitment to change the concept of food. I imagine a future in which organic is accessible to everyone and represents normality ».

In a context in which the world seems to be governed by mechanics and information technology, the Carioni company is a heavenly microcosm in which everything comes to life from the earth, from simple and genuine things: "Technological innovation is positive if placed at the service man. The problem is that today technology takes dangerously the upper hand over reality. We must not be afraid of being the protagonists of our lives ". Whether it's milk, cheese, yoghurt or vegetables, Tommaso Carioni has no doubts: «The center of my activity is and will always be the land».

Gloria Giavaldi
Source
http://www.inviatoquotidiano.it/articolo.php?title=innoviamo-partendo-dall-amore-per-la-terra