Cirio

Cirio was founded in 1856; the founder, Francesco Cirio, was already working at the fruit and vegetable market of Porta Palazzo in Torino by the age of fourteen. He had extraordinary entrepreneurial capabilities, and was amongst the first in the world to be credited with developing technique of appertization (the inventor was Frenchman Nicolas Apperti). This method of preservation overcame the problem of exporting fruit and vegetables that was perishable by extending its "shelf life" and gave Cirio the ability to develop its global business, opening the first Cirio factory in Torino, and after the enormous success he achieved with peas, he extended the range to include various other food products, launching a thriving business that was capable of exporting throughout the world. In 1900 Cirio ("Società Generale delle Conserve Alimentari") was one of the largest and most prestigious food manufacturers in Europe. The Signorini family took over from the founder and kept the company until 1970, when it was sold to SME and then privatized. The Cirio brand was then bought by Conserve Italia, a European leader in the food preservation industry, in 2004. In many ways, this signalled a return to the origins of Francesco Cirio's passion for agriculture and his extraordinary commitment to innovation and agricultural and industrial research. At the same time, it is a move towards a future based on capability and entrepreneurial success, without ever forgetting the social commitment towards the producers and the consumers, who are still offered the best guarantee of natural products that are respected and responsibly safeguarded.