Parma & its enterprises

FOOD INDUSTRY

• Beverages: Mineral Water, Soft Drinks, Wines and Liqueurs

O ur territory’s rich heritage as a spa area with its curative salsobromoiodic, sulphuric and sodium-bicarbonate waters (in Salsomaggiore, Tabiano, Monticelli, Sant’Andrea and other spas) has facilitated the development over time of significant business and commercial initiatives involving the extraction and bottling of mineral water. In tandem with this activity there has also been a growth in the carbonated soft drink sector with an evolving market and advanced technologies. In the Parma area, there are also industrial enterprises involved in bottling equipment that produce more than 200 million bottles of mineral water and soft drinks per year.

In the province of Parma, Lambrusco, Fortana, Malvasia and Sauvignon wines produced in its foothills and plains under the “Colli di Parma” trademark have been designated “DOC” wines and, despite the fact that they do not have the long-standing tradition of Italy’s great wines, their success continues to grow. There are a number of small - and medium - sized wineries that, with a constant improvement of their production and bottling facilities, produce these wines with low- alcohol content, which prove to be very popular with the consumers. By the same token, there is also a large- scale company and a number of smaller enterprises involved in the production of liqueurs derived from the distillation of grape pods and processing of specific fruits (walnut, quince, citrus fruit and blackthorn).

Wine production has also experienced a rise in its quality.

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