In these Christmas holidays that are a bit sad for everyone and difficult for many, it may be worth fishing in the bag of good news to find something to cheer you up. Among these is the story of a small company in Ozzano dell'Emilia, in the Bologna area, which produces yeasts and sugars.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Ar.Pa Lieviti was preparing, like many other semi-artisan businesses, to face a difficult or even black period. Its interlocutors are large-scale distribution, restaurants and hotels. The closure of the restaurants, due to the restrictions to stem the infections, did not bode well. Instead, things went differently, not well, but very well.
Suddenly all the people forced to stay at home in March-April discovered a vocation for pastry. “In March there was an explosion of requests – says the president of Ar.Pa, Carla Gherardi – the orders from the supermarkets were so many that we were unable to satisfy them. The production of yeast for making pizza grew by 900% in just a few months and that of yeast for cakes by 200%. We were forced to invest in new machinery and hire two more people. Today we are 17”.
Ar.Pa's turnover in 2019 was approximately 4 million euros and that of the terrible 2020 will be in line with last year, in any case higher than forecasts. “For us it is already an excellent goal – adds Gherardi – because orders from hotels and restaurants have collapsed”. In ten months of the pandemic, Ar.Pa hasn't made a day of layoffs, hasn't asked for help and has continued to work with enthusiasm, also putting two new products on the market: a yeast for coeliacs and dehydrated spinach to make the puff pastry, the one useful for tagliatelle or lasagna.
Furthermore, a positive company history is behind this little success story. “Two years ago our owner decided to close his shop, because he had already reached retirement age by now. Of course he was sorry to put an end to this story that began almost 50 years ago and we employees were sorry to lose our jobs. So it was that six of us decided to take over the business. Today I am the president, but for 32 years I was a secretary; two of the partners are still in production and one is in commercial. We are well known locally, but this year we have even gone into areas of the national territory that we had never explored and in the future we will be able to think of looking abroad as well. Of course we have to see how the situation evolves”.
In this period, in the so-called second wave, despite the numerous closure phases imposed by Covid 19, there has not been the same shopping boom.
“I think the reason - observes Gherardi – is that many home cooks previously stocked up and now dispose of their purchases in the pantry”. However, there is one product that is still the most popular and it is the yeast for the traditional Christmas "Panone", a typical Bolognese dessert, full of every delight, but with the specific weight of lead if it is not inflated in some way . In fact, in Panone the flour is mixed with jam, honey, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins, candied fruit, pieces of chocolate and so on and so forth. “We then produce a fortified yeast that has the drive to grow this delicacy.” Here, let's hope that this reinforced yeast will also increase confidence in the approaching new year.
