Meat+Poultry - March 2019 - 42

COVER STORY

moisture from it and then in many situations
you're slicing it very thin so the consumer can
enjoy it. It's not something you want to mess
around with just getting the cheapest cut."
Pasetti gives the example of sourcing
heritage pork for a line of prosciutto a few
years ago. The company's leaders met with the
farmers and harvesters, and followed the hogs
to the kill plant to make sure the harvester
understood the cuts necessary for Volpi to
create the best possible yield and process flow
for the product.
"I'd say that was probably the first supplier
change in a number years," Pasetti says.
Depke adds, "And with a product like
prosciutto, the only ingredients are pork and
salt. So, we don't have any room to really mess
up half of that equation. We want to make sure
that we're leveraging those partnerships and
keeping them strong."
Partnerships with producers are crucial
when considering the true nature of Volpi's
processes. According to Pasetti, older animals
work better for what the company does. In the
conventional pork market, where volume often
rules, Volpi's supplier relationships become
even more important when asking a producer
to hold a hog an additional six to eight weeks.

THE NEXT 100 YEARS

An employee nets fresh
coppa, made from the
pork shoulder, before
hanging it to cure.

42

Depke says. "There's not that much in the
market and we provide that along with
bresaola and some other unique items that they
can't find anywhere else. That helps us in the
foodservice sector."
Another assurance Volpi relies on
for its traditional products comes from
the consistency of the pork it uses. That
consistency comes from the company's
suppliers and the long-standing relationships it
has built with them. The predictability of raw
material heavily influences the end product, so
having transparency with suppliers is vital.
"You're investing a lot in the product for
a long period of time and you're dehydrating
it," Pasetti says. "You're taking an expensive
raw material and then you're removing all the

MEAT+ POULTRY | 03.19 | www.meatpoultry.com

With 117 years in the business, Volpi has seen
many changes in the market and made plenty
of strategic adjustments along the way. The
company always has and always will focus
on the Volpi brand, but outside demands and
seemingly legitimate opportunities will always
present distractions that a processor with the
kind of longevity Volpi has must deal with.
"In 117 years, we've made our share of
mistakes. The important thing for us is that
we've learned from them and don't repeat
them," Pasetti says. "You kind of know when
your strategy is not working, or you know
you're not staying true to yourselves. That
friction starts rising and you must course
correct. So, the sooner you course correct, the
better off you are."
Volpi has continually grown over its long
history and intends keep growing.
"We want to be here in another 100 years,
so we always try to have that long view when
it comes to making decisions and moving
forward," Pasetti says. "We may not take
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