Date
16 September 2020
Continente Producers Club rewards innovation
Alitec's "apple cookies" and Panicruzeiro's "Zero Waste Snack" received the Innovation Award from the Continente Producers Club, a Sonae MC’s structure dedicated to the support and promotion of National Production.
These awards, which counted with the participation of 20 producers (producer organizations and companies in the agricultural, agribusiness and agri-food sector), recognize the companies that stand out for their products’ innovation, aligned with principles such as sustainability, circular economy and contribution to healthy eating habits and lifestyles.
The apple cookies are made from apple flour and allow full use of the raw material used at Alitec. The main goal of the company, located in Valado dos Frades, in Nazaré, is to transform ugly fruits and vegetables, of low commercial value, into healthy, safe, functional, qualified and highly satisfying food.
The " Zero Waste Snack " project, by Panicruzeiro, aimed to develop a nutritious, healthy and tasty snack, valuing the production’s by-products. Panicruzeiro is a family run company, located in Corroios, in the municipality of Seixal, dedicated to the manufacture of dry and fried Christmas cookies, with their main customer being Continente, for who they manufacture, among others, their private label and gourmet products.
These projects were presented by the producers within the scope of the Continente Producers Club’s Academy, a training program, launched for the first time in 2017, which aims to share knowledge, and which provides the protagonists with a broader view of the market and its opportunities.
Continente Producers Club also awarded the Excellence Award, given annually, with the purpose of distinguishing producers that impact the Club for their strong partnership relationship. The winner was Continente’s Angus beef producer, Carlos Grave. Born in Évora and graduated in Agronomy from the ‘Instituto Superior de Agronomia’, Carlos Grave has always been linked to animal production and started producing the Aberdeen-Angus breed approximately 10 years ago.
Between January and March alone, Continente acquired more than 71.3 million euros in national products from these producers and, in the fruit and vegetables segment, one of the most in demand during the pandemic, national purchases represented a growth of over 4 million euros compared to 2019, exceeding 28 million euros.
Continente Producers Club’s goal is to provide national products of excellence to customers, resulting from a partnership work with producers, supported by technical and scientific knowledge and which allows to align the offer with the consumption trends. The Club is also committed to supporting local production, to small scale producers, managing to supply some stores in Continente’s retail chain, thus resulting in an offer of “Products from the Region”.
About the Continente Producers Club (CPC)
The CPC is a support structure for Portuguese agricultural and livestock production, created in 1998, with the aim of bringing Sonae MC closer to national producers, distributed from North to South of the country, Azores and Madeira. Its mission is to promote national products according to high quality and safety standards, supporting its members, in a consistent and structured manner.
Producers find in the CPC a guaranteed way to sell their production, while Sonae MC guarantees the offer, to its customers, of Portuguese products that respect the best production practices.
The CPC has been working for the benefit of the national agricultural sector, creating jobs, fostering regional development, promoting ambitious, innovative projects and of undeniable economic and social added value for our country.
The CPC currently has 240 members, including producer organizations, individual farmers and family businesses producing: fruit and vegetables, charcuterie (cheeses and sausages), meat, bakery and traditional pastries, fish, wines, olive oil, eggs, honey and take-away.
These awards, which counted with the participation of 20 producers (producer organizations and companies in the agricultural, agribusiness and agri-food sector), recognize the companies that stand out for their products’ innovation, aligned with principles such as sustainability, circular economy and contribution to healthy eating habits and lifestyles.
The apple cookies are made from apple flour and allow full use of the raw material used at Alitec. The main goal of the company, located in Valado dos Frades, in Nazaré, is to transform ugly fruits and vegetables, of low commercial value, into healthy, safe, functional, qualified and highly satisfying food.
The " Zero Waste Snack " project, by Panicruzeiro, aimed to develop a nutritious, healthy and tasty snack, valuing the production’s by-products. Panicruzeiro is a family run company, located in Corroios, in the municipality of Seixal, dedicated to the manufacture of dry and fried Christmas cookies, with their main customer being Continente, for who they manufacture, among others, their private label and gourmet products.
These projects were presented by the producers within the scope of the Continente Producers Club’s Academy, a training program, launched for the first time in 2017, which aims to share knowledge, and which provides the protagonists with a broader view of the market and its opportunities.
Continente Producers Club also awarded the Excellence Award, given annually, with the purpose of distinguishing producers that impact the Club for their strong partnership relationship. The winner was Continente’s Angus beef producer, Carlos Grave. Born in Évora and graduated in Agronomy from the ‘Instituto Superior de Agronomia’, Carlos Grave has always been linked to animal production and started producing the Aberdeen-Angus breed approximately 10 years ago.
Between January and March alone, Continente acquired more than 71.3 million euros in national products from these producers and, in the fruit and vegetables segment, one of the most in demand during the pandemic, national purchases represented a growth of over 4 million euros compared to 2019, exceeding 28 million euros.
Continente Producers Club’s goal is to provide national products of excellence to customers, resulting from a partnership work with producers, supported by technical and scientific knowledge and which allows to align the offer with the consumption trends. The Club is also committed to supporting local production, to small scale producers, managing to supply some stores in Continente’s retail chain, thus resulting in an offer of “Products from the Region”.
About the Continente Producers Club (CPC)
The CPC is a support structure for Portuguese agricultural and livestock production, created in 1998, with the aim of bringing Sonae MC closer to national producers, distributed from North to South of the country, Azores and Madeira. Its mission is to promote national products according to high quality and safety standards, supporting its members, in a consistent and structured manner.
Producers find in the CPC a guaranteed way to sell their production, while Sonae MC guarantees the offer, to its customers, of Portuguese products that respect the best production practices.
The CPC has been working for the benefit of the national agricultural sector, creating jobs, fostering regional development, promoting ambitious, innovative projects and of undeniable economic and social added value for our country.
The CPC currently has 240 members, including producer organizations, individual farmers and family businesses producing: fruit and vegetables, charcuterie (cheeses and sausages), meat, bakery and traditional pastries, fish, wines, olive oil, eggs, honey and take-away.