Our historic brands: here’s our interview with La Casara Roncolato.

La Casara Roncolato has been on Spaghetti & Mandolino since the beginning, a brand that has made history with us: we have seen it grow, and it has seen us grow.

Don't know who we are talking about? Then let's start from the beginning...
Among the hills of Roncà, under the ancient volcano of Calvarina, the story of the Roncolato family and their cheese factory begins. In the 1920s in Brenton, Ermenegildo, along with his sons Angelo and Romano, started the activity of cheesemakers. Surrounding them were green pastures that wind up to the highest peaks of the Monti Lessini, the Piccole Dolomiti of Verona.
From 1964, the cheese factory was taken over by Romano and named La Casara. This long tradition continues today with the children Giovanni, Gildo and Letizia, and has become one of the most important and refined quality realities in the Veneto and Italian production landscape.

Giovanni has been the true promoter of the DOP Veronese Monte Veronese dop renaissance and has sought, from the very beginning, to bring young people back to the Veronese mountains to reclaim the tradition of the malghe. Today, La Casara Roncolato is award-winning at national competitions and offers a wide range of its own cheese production: cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk cheeses.
The company also has a pig farm in the lands of Roncà, from which the meat that will be used to produce the famous and rare Sopressa di Brenton comes. Authentic flavors, typical characteristics, and genuineness are the fundamental traits of this beautiful Italian reality.

We asked them a few questions. Here is our interview.

-First of all: who are we talking to?
LETIZIA RONCOLATO, Quality Manager

-You have been on Spaghetti e Mandolino for many years: you have grown, and we have grown; you have received more and more awards and recognitions, while we have exponentially increased our product range, suppliers, and users. Would you have ever bet on this at the beginning? What feelings do you carry with you after these 5 years of collaboration?
You were among the first interlocutors with whom we started collaborating on the online channel; for our structure, it was a "little-known world", and we had no significant expectations. Nevertheless, the results obtained so far are encouraging.

-Online sales have proven to be increasingly indispensable, especially in recent years. How has your awareness of this sales channel evolved, changed, or matured in the journey that has connected us?
In the company, culture and awareness of the strategic relevance of this channel are growing, and the importance of reaching consumers through the digital world, including the help of social media, with the aim of creating greater brand awareness and involvement in the “drive to store”.

-Have you noticed a particular trend from users of our portal regarding the purchase of your products over the years? Is there any specific product or category that has been particularly liked? And in general, stepping outside the context of Spaghetti and Mandolino: what type of food product do you think could sell better online, given your experience?
The analysis of your users' trends towards our products is interpreted through the consumption index of the individual products you have on your platform; it seems that the DOP and PRESIDI perform well online, and there are generally good performances in these two categories.

-Speaking of our staff: how has your experience been with them?
A good relationship is being established with your team, and we can say we are in a phase of "work in progress".

-We are completing an area of the management system dedicated to each supplier, where they can see all the mentions received, web marketing activities done on behalf of the brand, sent orders, and best-selling or less-selling products. What do you think of that?
It is absolutely positive to share more information between companies, whether marketing, sales, communication, etc.; these are synergistic values that contribute to a greater focus on the consumer.

-Branding and online sales: could you indicate a percentage of both in relation to what Spaghetti & Mandolino has brought you? More of one or the other?
They have uniformly contributed to improving the visibility of our activity.

-Would you recommend other potential suppliers to join Spaghetti & Mandolino? And if so, why?
Yes, we would recommend it, but for a good outcome, it depends a lot on the attitude that the supplier has towards your network: open-mindedness and willingness to experiment, regardless of the size of the company.

S&M