by Michael Orfanos
Rio Mare (http://www.riomare.gr/) products are synonymous to tuna fish, and are distributed in Greece by Bolton Hellas, member of the one of the biggest multinational corporations: Bolton Group of companies. The history of Rio Mare begins in 1951, at a place called Cermenate (province of Como, northern Italy), where the mother company was famous for –not the tuna fish but- the meat in gelatin. This turned into a huge success, thus the company managed in the next 10 years to develop a dense distribution network in Italy for its famous “meat in gelatin”.
As a direct consequence of the above mentioned successful managerial efforts, Rio Mare became listed on the stock market (early 60’s). Having achieved this, the company understood that a general reorganization was needed. It was then, that the company understood that there was an unfulfilled need for tuna fish in the market, and nobody was able to provide and serve this need. Thus, in 1964, the company entered the tinned tuna fish market.
The tinned tuna fish, became an instant success and practically made the company synonymous to tuna fish. Tuna became the #1 product for the company, and overshadowed all other products. It was at this time, that Rio Mare launched the hugely successful advertising slogan: “So soft you can cut it with a breadstick”. This phrase expressed successfully, the quality of the tinned tuna fish sold by Rio Mare. Since then and up until today, this slogan will remain Rio Mare’s slogan. Greece adopted the slogan, but made some alterations to it, thus: “Rio Mare, so soft you can cut it with a lettuce”.
In the 1970’s Rio Mare managed to capture approximately 10% of the global tuna market and since then, established themselves as the undisputed leader in the tuna market. During the same time, the company undertakes a major expansion project with the creation of the Cermenate factory and the launch of new tuna-products, such as Rio Mare pate, Insalatissime and Rio Mare per pasta.
In 2006, the Science magazine published an article based on scientific data and data analysis, that foresaw that in the year 2050 (approximately), the world would run out of wild-caught seafood. This estimation was based on current fishing trends, overfishing stats, sea-pollution and ozone layer declining levels. Bolton, with its tuna brands (Rio Mare, Saupiquet, Palmera and Alco), sought immediate action and became a founding member of ISSF (International Seafood Sustainability Foundation), an international association in favor of the sustainability of fisheries and promoting ecosystem health. The ISSF (created in 2009), is a non-profit organization/coalition of companies that are leaders in the tuna market and non-governmental associations –such as WWF. The purpose of the ISSF is to promote initiatives –based on scientific researches and recommendations-in favor of long-term conservation and sustainability of tuna stocks. Thus, the ISSF has a Board of Directors advised by the Science Advisory Committee.
Michael Orfanos is Marketing Manager and SEO Expert for naro.gr
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