Let's discover the brand Il Fruttuoso Carmelo: here is our interview

Il Fruttuoso Carmelo is a micro-farm located in a small Molise village, Gambatesa, known for the presence of the castle of Capua, an elegant medieval manor of inestimable artistic and architectural value. The company is located a few hundred meters from the border with Puglia and directly overlooks Lake Occhito, an artificial reservoir that is entrusted with precisely the task of marking the border between the two regions.

The protagonist of this reality is called Pasqualina Tirro, for everyone Lina, who today produces and packages jams, jellies and mustards. Until a few years ago, Pasqualina did something else, being a dental hygienist, but several times during her days, on her way to work, she passed by her parents' land, “the Masserie del Carmine” on Mount Carmel, for her a restorative place for body and soul. She happened to look at the trees full of fruit that she never had time to harvest, but one day she decided to stop and pick all the fruit she could. She would never forget the surprised look of her son and husband when they saw her return with all that fruit. He transformed it into jam: it was the first step towards his new business. On 16 July 2013, the day dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, she inaugurated the first laboratory in Gambatesa and chose to give her business a name that recalled the fruitfulness of the family lands located in the Defenza district: “Il Fruttuoso Carmelo”.

The company is characterized by the production of exquisite jams, jams, mustards and jellies, which can be used in the simple cutting board of cold cuts and cheeses, up to more elaborate culinary preparations. Lina, thanks to her stubbornness and imagination, has managed over the years to enrich her production, revisiting traditional recipes with dried fruit, spices and aromas, obtaining flavors that are always original and versatile.
The laboratory is devoid of industrial machines: the transformation takes place following traditional techniques, then slow cooking, pot and spoon.

We like these realities, these producers of unique, certified and award-winning delicacies: they are real treasures embedded in our Peninsula between seas and mountains and in the most remote streets of villages and countryside. We don't stop to experience only their products, but we want to discover more closely the protagonists of this brand. That's why we sent some questions to those who manage communication with us.

Stay with us to know Il Fruttuoso Carmelo: read the answers!

• Who are we talking to?
  Pasqualina Tirro, owner of the farm.
  
• Is the company family run? What year was she born?
  The company is family-run and has been operating since 2013.
  
• Who was the founder and what was his training or what is the branch of work and professional from which he came if different from the current one?
  The founder is me, Tirro Pasqualina, and I started the business in 2013. My previous work environment was completely different, having worked as a dental hygienist for 20 years.
  
• What is the real reason or the triggering fact behind the birth of this company and when did it happen?
  The love for my land and the desire to recover everything that nature provides, transforming seasonal fruits into jams, jams and preserves to be enjoyed at any time of the year.
  
• What is your relationship with the land of origin and its typicality? And why do you want to tell them with your products?
  I love the land where I come from and where my parents came from; it is my father who bequeathed his plot of land to me, and in my products I express the same love and care that he put into being a farmer for so many years.
  
• What was the first product you created?
  Fig jam.
  
• What is the product that today, on the other hand, do you consider “top”?
  Hot pepper jam.
  
• And what is the product that in the entire history of the company has most carried with it the beating heart, philosophy and soul of the company itself?
  Always the hot pepper jam.
  
• Let's talk about today: how big has the company grown since its inception? Can we get some numbers?
  In terms of hectares it has not grown, in terms of production it certainly has, going from about 1000 cans packaged the first year to about 3000 in 2020.
  
• Right now: more tradition or more innovation?
  Tradition first and foremost, but with always a pinch of gastronomic innovation.
  
• What was the most important evolution of the company to get it to what it is today?
  That of “teaming up” with similar companies with whom we collaborate mainly for the commercialization of the product.
  
• Speaking instead of the future: what tomorrow will the company wait for? Are there any changes or some new evolutionary process planned?
  In reality, no one, except to turn more to e-commerce.
  
• Are you planning to create new products?
  Not for the time being.
  
• Having focused on Spaghetti
  S&M