Auna di Sotto (BZ) Loacker – a South Tyrolean company leader in the international wafer market and specialized in chocolate specialties – has irresistible products because of the good choices behind their unique and unrivalled flavor. Hazelnuts and milk are two of the most important ingredients for the South Tyrolean company; that is why they have to be of irreproachable quality and sourced from a controlled supply chain.
To meet its demand of high-quality ingredients and continue to keep its promise of ‘goodness’ made to consumers, Loacker started a long-term plan to source 100% Italian hazelnuts: The ‘Noccioleti Italian’ (Italian hazel grove) controlled supply chain. The company also opened a powdered milk and whey milk plant in Vandoies, in Val Pusteria, which will guarantee a controlled supply chain to produce milk, too.
The “Noccioleti Italiani” project, kicked off in 2014 in Tuscany, in the two company’s agricultural properties, Tenuta Corte Migliorina (Orbetello) and Tenuta Collelungo (Roccastrada). Five years from the start of the hazelnut orchard, 150 and 90 hectares have been planted respectively in the Tenuta Corte Migliorina and the Tenuta Collelungo. During these years, Loacker has also signed long-term supply chain contracts (minimum 15 years) in Veneto, Umbria, and the Marche provinces.
Loacker is committed to applying agricultural methods that are more efficient and do not change or damage the surrounding ecosystem. To reduce its environmental footprint to the minimum, Loacker has banned the use of all herbicides in its companies and those of its partners.
The Tenuta Corte Migliorina and Tenuta Collelungo boast a seepage irrigation system leveraging water distribution and water waste is avoided by using rainwater harvesting basins. Moreover, photovoltaic implants are installed to provide energy.
Thanks to the collaboration with various local bodies and entities, the “Noccioleti Italiani” allows the company to enhance its human component, creating practical working solutions for the local farmers as well as the linked industries.
A fundamental partner within the controlled milk supply chain is BRIMI, a South Tyrolean dairy farm cooperative. A partnership which resulted in a cutting-edge spray-drying plant, inaugurated at the end of November 2019, where skimmed milk powder and whey powder are produced using milk and whey primarily sourced from the Alps as well as being non-GMO as well as Kosher and Halal certified.
Approximately one third of the raw material used in the new plant is sweet whey from BRIMI. BRIMI’s South Tyrolean farmers deliver fresh milk every day to the cooperative. The milk and whey that come from third parties are carefully chosen for their origin, i.e. the Alpine region, where milk production is managed by small farmers who pay considerable attention to animal welfare.
Vandoies was not a casual choice for the location. The plant is a strategic location halfway between the Loacker office of Auna di Sotto and Heinfels, and just a few kilometers from BRIMI. This reduces long-distance travels, a further proof of Loacker’s commitment to sustainability.
Its attention to quality, traceability and natural raw materials has always been part of the company’s values and corporate mission. In this vein, the company started ad hoc projects dedicated to strategic raw materials with the aim of also supporting local communities. After the verticalization hazelnut and milk project, Loacker wants to kick off two new projects dedicated to cocoa in South America and the Ivory Coast and vanilla in Africa (in Madagascar).
