16 June 2020, 09:04 AM
  • Since the UK was placed into lockdown by Government on 23rd March, ambient and store cupboard products have been stalwarts of consumer shopping baskets, and pasta has been chief among the strong sellers.

Pasta sales have seen a huge boost across the UK as customers become accustomed to cooking their own food at home, and the industry has witnessed an increased interest in quality as well as convenience.

Garofalo, the iconic Italian brand which has been supplying a wide range of authentic, high quality pastas to the UK market for decades, has found that the last few months have not been without their challenges - but the business is proud to be keeping consumer’s cupboards full and appetites satisfied throughout this difficult time.

Mal Pullan, UK commercial director of Garofalo explains, “Since the enforced lockdown has been imposed, Garofalo has continued to provide a vital service to our customers, by supporting businesses in keeping them supplied with pasta. This has been possible due to the commitment shown by all the people who work at Garofalo, both here in the UK and in the factory in Italy.

   

Businesses throughout the UK food industry have experienced hurdles throughout the past few months, and Garofalo has also experienced a demanding period, explains Mal. “The challenges that we have been faced with have not only been unprecedented but at times logistically impossible,” he says. “All non-essential employees at the factory in Gragnano, were working from home in “lockdown” but still sourcing everything the factory needed to keep producing pasta.”

Demand quickly grew, and the Garofalo team pulled out all the stops to keep customers around the world stocked. “Overnight demand grew by 300%, and all of our production team worked tirelessly to keep the factory producing as much pasta as possible, despite huge pressure from every customer globally. We saw this challenge as our civil duty to keep people around the world supplied with a most valuable source of food – pasta. 

“Producing enough pasta was the first challenge but then we had to get it from the factory in Italy to our UK warehouse and then to our customers. But with the support of Italian hauliers, shipping companies and our UK logistics provider WE DID IT!”

Teamwork and dedication to the cause has led to satisfied customers across the board, and Mal states that, “Thanks have to go to the Garofalo UK team, who have worked wonders to ensure all of our customers got as much pasta as we could possibly provide.” This incredibly busy period has only recently started to slow down for Garofalo: “the phone just did not stop ringing,” he says, “and in truth it has only just started to calm down!”

Garofalo has succeeded in overcoming this hurdle, but the fight is not yet over according to Mal: “We still face challenges in keeping up with demand and unfortunately some of our more ‘specialised’ shapes of pasta (both long and short) have had to stop being produced, for the short term, in favour of allowing more production time for shapes such as Fusilli and Penne which have been in the most demand.”

A final note from Mal, on behalf of Garofalo: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for the belief and trust you have placed in our company, we look forward to continuing working with you during better times. If there is anything more that we can do for you which would be of benefit to your company, then please do ask!”

Garofalo makes Durum Wheat Semolina pasta, Whole Wheat pasta, Organic pasta, Gluten Free pasta as well as Sauces, Pesto and Potato Gnocchi.  Discover what makes our production process unique and find out how our pasta is made.

Garofalo Pasta is available from your local wholesaler

Partner Content