Good Practice - Project
Quintinha d’aldeia
Supporting a family firm’s production of traditional Portuguese meat sausages.
General information
RDP Priority
- P3. Food chain and risk management
RDP Focus Area
- 3A: Agri-food chain integration & quality
RDP Measure
- M04: Investments in physical assets
Beneficiary type
- Small-Micro Enterprise
Summary
Quintinha d'aldeia is a family-run business started in 2014 by Susana Santos and Paulo Piedade, a couple who decided to start a project producing traditional Portuguese sausages. They wanted to create a project that would stand out for its difference and for its quality, and that would also contribute to the development of the region.
They saw a need to ensure that this production was responsible, based on environmental, economic, and social concerns, contributing to the development of the region's potential. Cooperation with two regional higher education institutions helped to create and develop new products.
Results
- Product range expanded from 3 to 30 offers;
- Customer growth grew to around 500 clients;
- Sales grew 75% after the first year;
- Job creation: initially employing 5 employees and now 9 (6 women and 3 men);
- Products have won awards and prizes at national and international level.
Promoter
Servipal, lda
Funding
Total budget: 239 099 (EUR)
EAFRD: 69 106 (EUR)
National/Regional: 5 000 (EUR)
Private/own: 169 993 (EUR)
Keywords
Ressourcen
Documents
Good practice report : Quintinha d’aldeia
(PDF – 4.1 MB)
Context
Quintinha d'aldeia is a meat company that develops innovative food products linked to tradition, such as wild bull chorizo and Cozido d'aldeia. Cozido d'aldeia is a product that reinterprets a traditional Portuguese dish. Product development focuses on quality and innovation, but also on sustainability, environmental balance, and the sustainable development of the region. The development of these new products is intended to reduce the environmental footprint and encourage sustainable consumption, including by using short supply chains.
Objectives
This project aimed to:
- Expand business production opportunities;
- Support the regional economy by commercialisation of traditional sausages based on sustainable use of natural resources;
- Create jobs to help keep young people in the region; and
- Add value to endogenous agricultural species farmed using traditional low-impact methods.
Activities
- Obtaining the essential licenses for the company to operate and designing the architectural plan for the actual location of the manufacturing unit.
- Construction of production facilities.
- Purchase of production equipment (meat chopper, filler, mixer).
- Recruitment and training of staff.
- Production and marketing of the traditional sausages.
- Introducing new product ranges, which now total 30 different products.
- Expanding market reach nationally and internationally.
Main results
- Product range expanded from 3 to 30;
- Customer growth grew to around 500;
- Sales grew 75% compared to the first year;
- Job creation: initially employing 5 employees and now 9 (6 women and 3 men);
- Collaboration and interaction with 2 regional higher education institutions, ISLA Santarém and the Instituto Politécnico de Santarém, to create and develop new products;
- Products have won awards and prizes at the national and international levels, in particular the touro bravo chorizo, which won the international Great Taste award in 2018; and the cozido d'aldeia, which won the ‘Sabor do Ano 2023’ award and the ‘Inovar +2.0’ award.
Key lessons
- Demand exists for traditional cuisines and products that can be harnessed to create jobs and conserve rural cultural heritage.
- Using meat from low-impact husbandry systems can provide marketing advantages from green credentials.
All our other sausages have won gold and silver medals every year in the national traditional sausage competition.
In the simplicity of a family that is governed by the value of work and dedication, it could only bear good fruit!! You have excellent products, you take care of every detail in quality, packaging, in advertising, nothing is left to chance. Many successes and awards are yet to come that you deserve !
The wild bull chorizo has an extremely pleasant aroma, and the flavour and innovative character of this product, as well as the originality of its main raw material, is worth noting
Quintinha d'aldeia is for me the fulfilment of a dream, a project that started from scratch and that has had exponential growth and success. I'm proud of what my family and I have been able to build!
Contact Information
Email: servipal.piedade@gmail.com