With over 45 years of history, DalterFood Group has confirmed its place among the big players in the dairy sector. Operating in 32 different countries and with a workforce of 181 employees (up from last year), in 2023, the group reported a consolidated turnover of €159 million, +8.8% from 2022, with 85% generated abroad. This satisfactory performance was due to the Group’s general positive trend on the various markets where it operates (the biggest importers of Italian cheeses have been confirmed as France, Germany, the UK and Spain). This, in particular, is down to its foreign sister companies, Dalter UK, with about €47 million in sales, an increase from 2022 (€41.3 million), and VIP Italia (Germany), having risen from 53.1 to 61.5 million euros. Its commitment is then continuing in terms of sustainability, with €1.725 million invested in 2023/2024 to reduce its energy impact including launching the installation of photovoltaic plants at its two dairy farms, both in the mountains – the Colline di Selvapiana e Canossa factory and the Colline del Cigarello e Canossa factory – and at the Group’s production plant, along with the new air conditioning systems (also at its dairy farms).
“Even though the macroeconomic scenario is still complicated, DalterFood Group has reported another year of significant growth. In terms of the Group, our performance, and particularly by our sister companies in the UK and Germany, is positive and in line with market trends in all the countries where we operate, confirming our ability to meet the needs of operators in retail, the food industry and food service. The extensive experience we have developed in the dairy sector, together with our focus on quality and sustainability, allows us to offer a wide range of products, first and foremost with Parmigiano Reggiano from our supply chain, therefore meeting market needs where product traceability and sustainability are increasingly driving values”, explained Andrea Guidi, the Group’s GM.
“These values are in our company’s DNA and we convey them through real action that embraces issues of environmental, ethical and social sustainability”, Andrea Guidi continued. “First and foremost, one example of how we actually demonstrate these values is our controlled, integrated and sustainable Parmigiano Reggiano supply chain, which is animal welfare certified according to the ClassyFarm protocol. The collaboration with our milk suppliers will also continue for the next few months, aimed at increasing the level of animal welfare at livestock farms and maintaining this certification. We will also continue to work hard on the activities required to maintain the other certifications for our production plant and dairy farms: BRC, IFS, FDA, Mountain Product Quality and Organic. Furthermore, we will continue our sustainable packaging programme and our ongoing renewable energy project with the goal of completing the solar panel installation plan at the Sant’Ilario d’Enza factory and at the Cigarello e Canossa dairy farm which, along with the panels already up and running at the Selvapiana dairy farm, will mean we produce about 20% of our required energy by 2025”.
Finally, in terms of social sustainability, the company is also focused on creating an increasingly inclusive and fair working environment by establishing a Gender Equality Steering Committee as well as a dedicated training course for all employees. Alongside all this, we cannot forget the employment side which saw an increase in employees in 2023, now standing at 181, 82% of whom have an open-ended contract, and over half are aged between 30 and 50 years old.
The positive wave of growth is therefore continuing for this Italian business, specialising in the production of Parmigiano Reggiano and in the selection, cutting and packaging of fresh and aged cheeses, as well as excellent typical Made in Italy dairy products. This growth, both in terms of volume and revenue, comes from a business strategy of geographical and channel diversification which is further consolidating the Group’s competitiveness.
