La Fageda, based in Santa Pau (Garrotxa), has decided to boost its presence in the state market by starting to sell its yogurts in Madrid and Valencia. It will do so with four references (natural yogurt, lemon, strawberry, and lactose-free) that can be purchased at El Corte Inglés and Consum supermarkets.
The objective, says the entity, is "to strengthen the social project" linked to dairy production, which serves people at risk of exclusion. The general director of La Fageda, Sílvia Domènech, anticipates that, in parallel with exploring new markets, they will launch "new products that will be in stores throughout the year." In 2022, the company already began selling yogurts in Menorca and Mallorca.
La Fageda was born four decades ago, with the aim of improving the lives of people with mental illness and intellectual disability. Founded by psychologist Cristóbal Colón, initially the entity served about fifteen people. Today, this non-profit initiative already brings together more than 500; all of them from different vulnerable groups.
During these four decades, La Fageda has promoted different business activities and services. At its headquarters in Santa Pau, for example, it has a yogurt, jam, and ice cream factory. In addition, since 2019 the entity has incorporated new groups at risk of exclusion under its umbrella, with the aim of improving their training and labor insertion.
All this project has been achieved thanks to the manufacture of yogurts, with a production of more than 90 million units in 2022. To get here, the agreement that La Fageda signed with its first major client, the Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, exactly 30 years ago, was key. Precisely, last January 23 marked the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the brand's first yogurts at the Barcelona hospital.
However, La Fageda does not hide that in recent years it has had to face "the impacts that shake business dynamics." Especially, the effects of the pandemic and the inflationary spiral, "which has led to an excessive increase in production costs and, by extension, the reduction of the margin and the renunciation of investments." And it is that, by its nature, La Fageda always reinvests profits in the social project, reports ACN.
La Fageda invoiced 28 million euros in 2021, up 6.97%. Now, the entity takes another step to open up to new consumers by betting on the yogurt range, one of the "key pillars" for the "sustainability" of its social project. For this reason, starting this 2023, it begins to sell this dairy dessert in Madrid and Valencia, expanding the state market (which last year already started with Mallorca and Menorca).
"The current economic context demands us to be permeable and brave, betting on levers that can strengthen our project to continue offering opportunities to people who have a very difficult life," says Sílvia Domènech. "The stronger we are in the business field, the more sustainable the social project is", adds the director.