BellaVita

Paganini Foods’ BellaVita Brand Delivers the Mediterranean Experience to Supermarkets

BellaVita Introduces Fresh Fruits and Vegetables from Italy
Paganini Foods, LLC, a Mediterranean food company that imports fine fruits and vegetables, launches the BellaVita brand. Beginning late summer through early fall, BellaVita will be in supermarkets throughout the Northeast region of the United States with Vittoria, Italia (Muscat) and Red Globe table grapes from Italy.

"BellaVita produce represents the ‘best of the best’,” says Celso Paganini, founder and CEO, Paganini Foods. “We personally participate in the quality control process to test the taste, firmness, visual appeal and fragrance of our produce and based on this process, I have selected the best produce suppliers in Italy.”

The high-quality standard of BellaVita fruits and vegetables can be attributed to the Mediterranean climate - particularly in Italy where the temperature stays moderate year around, the growing techniques used and the strict European regulations for pesticides that significantly limit the use of chemicals, even more so than in the United States.

BellaVita plans to cut through the clutter of the $75.8 billion U.S. fresh produce industry by drawing upon the knowledge and the 100-year heritage of Paganini Foods, which has been selling fruits and vegetables in Europe. Paganini Foods has been successfully selling fruits and vegetables from Italy in the United States for more than a year.

“The fruits and vegetables business is more than a 100-year tradition in my family,” says Mr. Paganini. “I grew up in the business. As a child, I accompanied my father to our family’s apple and pear orchards in North Italy and to the terminal markets in Milan, and as a young man I learned
the business from the bottom up starting with loading and unloading trucks by hand.”

It is a deep understanding of the fresh produce industry that positions BellaVita as a true partner to its retail buyers. In addition to providing Mediterranean fruits and vegetables that exceed normal standards of produce on the market, BellaVita solves challenges that many retailers battle with daily – product variety, reliability, consistency and consumer appeal.

According to Michael Maxwell, executive vice president of Procacci
Brothers Sales Corporation, “I work with Paganini Foods because they offer top-quality produce consistently. Anyone who knows the business understands that quality and consistency make or break our business.
I’m excited about the BellaVita brand because I know the produce will be superior to much of what is on the market today.”

BellaVita will also offer its retail partners marketing services to help promote the produce in supermarkets. A consumer awareness program, sponsored in part by the Italian government, is scheduled to launch in
the beginning of fall to coincide with the rollout of the table grapes.
Additionally, public relations efforts will be implemented to generate enthusiasm among consumers regarding the BellaVita brand and
Mediterranean lifestyle.

Following the rollout of table grapes, BellaVita will introduce kiwi, oranges, broccoli and radicchio in November and December 2003.

Paganini Foods LLC
BellaVita operates under the auspices of parent company Paganini Foods, a food company that imports fine fruits and vegetables from Italy and the Mediterranean, headquartered in Harrison, New York. Paganini Foods has been importing fresh fruits and vegetables in the United States since 2002, and the Paganini family has been involved with exporting fruits and vegetables from Italy to Europe for nearly 100 years.

BellaVita fruits and vegetables offer a distinct taste that no other produce can match. The high quality of BellaVita produce can be attributed to the Mediterranean climate and unique growing conditions and techniques that help provide optimal taste.