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Alba Alessandrini is a young direct farmer. She is 34 years old, with the enthusiasm of a child and the wisdom of a woman who has already lived a good chunk of life. In short, an all-around entrepreneur. With her siblings, Marco, age 38, and Sara, age 23, she is the star of CNA Storie of the Month. At the family business, Conca D’Oro, in Appignano del Tronto, in the province of Ascoli Piceno, they produce organic extra virgin olive oil from thirteen thousand olive trees on fifty hectares of land. An average annual production of fifteen thousand liters. A few years ago the Alessandrini family also started an agritourism business, with twelve rooms used as B&Bs and open to tourists and workers.
Young passion, and family tradition
“We are all united by this passion,” Alba says. “We continue a family tradition: our father Alessandro inherited the farm from his grandfather. In those days there were cottages here inhabited by sharecroppers where oil, fruit and tobacco were produced. In 1980 my father started planting olive trees to specialize in organic olive growing.” Alba is a very young direct grower, already aware of how risky the business of entrepreneurship is in her field: “Working in an agricultural enterprise means being tenacious, not giving up: knowing that one vintage can be different from another. It takes passion, and all this passion was passed on to us by our parents. Here we work to produce an oil that satisfies the customer. Our oil is made exclusively from our olives. And when it’s gone, we say so.”
Working on a farm means being tenacious, not giving up: knowing that one vintage can be different from another
The family oil mill
The process and begins and ends here: in addition to the land, the Alessandrini family in fact has its own oil mill. “In our estate mill we use the traditional method, with ancient granite millstones, combined with modern centrifugal extraction. Our oil is 100% whole and pure, without the use of pesticides. We are keen to emphasize this quality. The mill is company owned, but from September to November we also welcome subcontractors who want to post their olives here.”
The market for Conca D’Oro oil
The target market for Conca D’Oro oil in Italy is mostly families, with direct sales in the area. “Abroad we have both customers/families and restaurants and organic, niche stores. In the near future there are also more distant markets. Already we are expanding, to Germany, Finland, Belgium and recently the United States. We would like to develop this aspect more.” Promotion? “A lot is done by advertising on social networks, word of mouth. We work a lot in markets, getting to know tourists. They buy, take home and let people taste. Thanks to word of mouth we get larger orders, which we ship.”
The union of young people that makes strength, thanks to CNA
A young entrepreneur, Alba has found in the area’s CNA an important reference and many colleagues with whom to confront difficulties and share ideas and experiences. “We like the idea of sharing ideas with other young people, comparing them. It’s a growth. The market is for everyone. CNA unites us instead of making us competitors, and even in difficulties they always try to spur us on. When I get a call from CNA I am always happy!”
CNA unites us instead of making us competitors
