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Bio Nocciola was born in 1999, but to get an idea of who we are and what our history is, you have to go back many years. Our history spans three generations and involves two families, the Bruziches family, hazelnut growers since after the war, and the Toparini family, as hazelnut exporters.
In the 1950/60s, Francesco Toparini opened the first warehouse for harvesting and shelling hazelnuts in Caprarola (VT). In the following years, Francesco's first daughter Maria married Luigi Bruziches.
In the early 1970s, due to increased production and sales the company moved to larger warehouses near the village of Caprarola. During these years until the threshold of the new millennium the Toparini company continued its activity with an exponential increase in production and resale of its products in the national and European area.
In 1999 Angelo and Vittoria, Maria and Luigi's children, created Bio Nocciola a company dedicated to the supply and resale of whole organic hazelnuts and their semi-finished products. At the beginning of the 2000s, Bio Nocciola completely took over Toparini, the company founded by Angelo and Vittoria's grandfather, and built new factories in the industrial area of Carbognano (VT), which now cover an area of over 25,000 square metres.
Today Bio Nocciola is one of the top ten in the hazelnut sector, and in the last 15 years the company's production volume and capacity have increased more than tenfold.
Our strength is rooted in our history, in the experience we have accumulated and passed on over three generations. Experience from the cultivation to the processing of a jewel of our land, the hazelnut.
Bio Nocciola not only maintains its organic line, but also continues to source and process hazelnuts from the region, the country and abroad. This is to meet the diverse needs of a world market that is growing rapidly year after year.
Bio Nocciola's goal is to set the global benchmark for combining agriculture and the confectionery industry by using the most advanced technologies to achieve the highest possible quality in terms of sustainability and environmental protection.
Our factory is located in the industrial area of Carbognano (VT), in the agricultural heart of the Cimini Mountains, on the eastern slopes of the volcanic edge of lake Vico.
Largely built in the late 1990s it now covers an area of over 25'000 square metres.
Our departments are divided into reception, production, packaging, warehouse and sales. The reception in the outdoor area takes over the weighing and initial sorting of the goods. Depending on the type and quality of the hazelnuts it is decided whether the goods should first be dried or stored for possible transfer to production.
The production area, housed in the main building, is divided into different stages depending on the type of end product (raw or roasted). The main stages are: Husking and calibrating, optical and manual mechanical sorting, roasting, husking and processing for the semi-finished products. Then the finished product is packed according to its destination. Each product can be packed in different types and sizes: Big Bags, vacuum bags, cartons (raw, roasted, cereals and flour (vacuum packing is excluded for the latter); in buckets, tanks and tankers (for hazelnut paste). Finally, the packaged product is stored in our cold rooms awaiting delivery or collection.
In our offices you will meet extremely helpful and experienced staff who will meet all your needs.
Our company is moving more and more in the direction of Industry 4.0 and is starting this transition process with the introduction of the latest generation of sorting machines, several roasting ovens of different types and purposes and refrigerated cells.
Our laboratory is constantly developing and improving our analytical procedures so that we can offer high quality products while ensuring maximum food safety.
Our company has obtained numerous certifications over the years.
BRC: guarantees that products are produced according to well-defined quality standards and in compliance with minimum requirements, which is a prerequisite for exporting our own products, and is a recognised guarantee of the company's reliability.
IFS: This is a uniform control system for quality and safety systems that is applied at all stages of production where food is processed (food companies or companies that pack loose food).
Kosher: Kosher food is food that complies with the Jewish dietary rules of Kashrut (dietary law), mainly derived from Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14: 1-21.
Halal: In the Western world, halal refers to food prepared according to the rules of Islamic law.
BIO: Organic farming is a global system of farm management and food production based on the interplay between best environmental practices, a high level of biodiversity, the conservation of natural resources, the application of strict animal welfare criteria and production that meets the preferences of certain consumers for products made from natural substances and processes. IGP: IGP Piedmont hazelnut products are guaranteed by the Consorzio di Tutela della Nocciola Piemonte (Consortium for the Protection of Piedmont Hazelnuts) and are subject to the strict controls of the INOQ (Istituto Nord Ovest di Qualità). Gentile is authorised to control the supply chain and has been a member of the consortium's board since its foundation.
Our relationship with the environment is a priority for Bio Nocciola which is why we have installed photovoltaic systems that allow us to completely cover our internal needs and feed energy from renewable sources back into the national electricity system. We also pay attention to the circular economy aspect and therefore provide our customers with biomass for heating obtained from hazelnut shells.
