Case Histories
Leading Italian Fish Processor Nuova Azzuro Extends Shelf Life and Boosts Quality Thanks to Cryovac® Packaging
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Headquartered in Verona in the Northern part of Italy, Nuova Azzurro
is the leading Italian fish specialist. The company groups complementary
activities in the highly specialized fish processing business: fish farms
in Italy and abroad, fishing companies, fresh fish processing firms, a
trading organization for importing and exporting fish, fresh and deep-frozen
fish packaging plants, as well as a delicatessen products division for
cooked and prepared fish products.
Focusing on Top Quality and Service
With 200 individuals employed in 8 fish farms and 2 processing and packaging
sites, the company achieves an annual turnover of € 80 million and
has been experiencing an annual growth rate of 6%. Production volumes
reach 608 tons of fresh fish per year. Nuova Azzurro holds a 50% market
share in the Italian fresh fish packaging market. Production flexibility
allows fresh fish to be delivered daily to retail outlets across the country
and throughout Europe. The company focuses on marketing fresh products
with no additives and offering a high service level to guarantee top quality
and freshness. Today the company aims to expand its business mainly by
enlarging its fresh fish products range.
Investing in High Performance Packaging to Guarantee Freshness
To a company marketing fish products of utmost freshness and quality,
packaging plays a crucial role. Since 1980, Nuova Azzurro has been working
closely with Cryovac, the food packaging specialist. Back then, packaging
lines using the Darfresh® concept
were installed to pack frozen fish. More recently, the company decided
to adopt another high performance packaging system to replace the standard
PVC stretch packs for fresh fish. In the year 2000, Nuova Azzurro thus
invested in two ILAPAK packaging lines to wrap fresh fish products in
CRYOVAC BDF®
750 shrink film.
CRYOVAC BDF® 750 is a barrier shrink film designed for tray over-wrapping
fresh food products under modified atmosphere on dedicated horizontal
form-fill-seal (HFFS) machines. This technology involves a barrier package
that is flushed with a gas mixture to preserve product quality and delay
the growth of micro-organisms, extending shelf life by several days. The
clear and transparent film provides a leak-proof, abuse-resistant package,
while offering the traditional appealing, back store presentation resulting
in highly attractive packages. The concept is highly flexible as it can
be adapted to a number of tray sizes and machines.
Prolonged Shelf Life: An Asset in the Fish Business
 The
introduction of the new packaging improved production flexibility, but
most of all, it resulted in prolonged shelf life, a significant asset
in the fresh fish business. "With CRYOVAC BDF®,
we can guarantee product quality and freshness, while maintaining the
product's organoleptic qualities during a longer shelf life", explains
Claudio Sanguin, Sales and Marketing Director for Nuova Azzurro. "And
we have established a successful partnership over all these years. We
are an innovative company, and we need to work with innovative partners",
he adds.
Additional benefits of the new packaging include better pack appearance
and higher pack security, thanks to hermetic seals. The Cryovac packaging
allows Nuova Azzurro to stand up to its promise, delivering fresh fish
products that are tasty and safe to eat.
Fulfilling Retailers' and Consumers' Increasing Demands
Nuova Azzurro management were extremely satisfied with this important
move, realizing the unlimited future potential of such packaging. The
new system clearly fulfilled all the customer's needs and expectations.
"Retailers are increasingly looking for freshness, quality, pack
appeal, traceability and hygiene. Thanks to CRYOVAC BDF®,
we can now offer all of these qualities", comments Fabio Senigaglia,
Retail Manager for Nuova Azzurro. "Also important is the printability
of the Cryovac film, allowing branding differentiation".
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