Frutas y Turrones Co. is located in Tobarra. It is a family company which makes nougat and sweets, with a wide range of varieties, from the most typical Christmas sweets to new flavors that every year they try to develop to increase their market.
Andrés Requena is the head of the family, although a new generation is working in the company. We have talked to one of his daughters, Leticia, who is in charge of the Commercial Department.
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QUESTION: Do you currently have many products on the market?
ANSWER: “We have a wide range of products, from the most typical ones to new products that we have developed to adapt to new consumption habits. We also make a French nougat. “It is well accepted in the foreign market, and it allows us to increase our volume of sales and to be open to work during the whole year.”
Q: Having a good raw material is essential for you due to the fact that we are talking about food products.
A: “Our products are made with local natural raw material. Tradition and quality are important in our processes.”
Q: You have a quality management and food security system. Is it one of your distinguishing features?
A: “Some years ago, we introduced the IFS Certification to give an ideal level of quality, which is a Franco-German Certification with high levels of demands related to food security. They help us to grow and look after our processes.”
Q: Frutas y Turrones started in the national market, but you decided to grow in the international one.
A: “In 1985, when our father started here, exportation began, since in Latin American people have the same habit of eating nougat at Christmas as us. This situation allows us to have a broad experience in export.”
Q: How many countries are you currently in?
A: “We are in 25 countries of three continents. In Europe, France is our biggest client, because of the French nougat that I mentioned before. We are also in the Latin American market, in which some countries we are leading it.”
Q: You have the latest facilities…
A: “Although some of our processes are traditional, we have manufacturing lines that are more automatic than they were before. The increasing demand for our products, in the national market as well as in the international one, has allowed us to invest in new equipment and innovation, since we are at the technological level than big nougat makers are, having competitive manufacturing lines, in spite of being Small and Medium Business (SMB)”.
Q: You have recently received the Family Company Award in 'San Juan' Business Awards that the Entrepreneur Confederation of Albacete gives, FEDA. What does this award mean for you?
A: “We have felt it as a recognition for our professional work that we have been developing for years, as well as our effort to position our products at a national and international level. Our family is proud of it, a recognition that we have made us hopeful, so we can continue to bear the name of Albacete further our borders”.
Q: Your father is the vice chairman of the Albacete Importers and Exporters Association (ADIEX). How do you see the work that this association is doing?
A: “We value the work of ADIEX to develop and foster foreign trade and reach that the province companies grow. We consider that the initiatives of associations like ADIEX are keys to the motivation and growth of SMB exports of different sectors that are within the association”.
