Non solo aceto: il caso Ponti

Ponti Spa is a medium-sized Italian company, leader in the national vinegar market. The paper investigates the role of vegetable preserves in supporting this company’s development from the local scale to the national and international ones. By analyzing Ponti’s strategy of diversification in relation to its core business, some of the underlying elements of this enterprise’s history can be brought into focus. These include the role played by product innovation, the search for new markets, marketing plans and technology. Finally, some questions emerge about the relationship between typical agricultural productions and the agribusiness industry, hinting at positive and critical elements of this relationship.