Elena, the historical UHT cream brand, has always offered a wide and diversified range of products for professionals in the bakery industry. Today the business is broadening its horizon with new ideas and products. Quality and high level of service are the terms of utmost importance in bringing about renewed success.
This year Elena celebrates its 50th birthday and what points stand out in the evolution of the brand? We ask Guglielmo Trincanato, director of the Out of Home division of Parmalat.
“Elena is the cream company par excellence. A wonderful Italian case history of “passion for quality” which started in Turin back in 1964, with the creation of a whipping cream that was treated by a particular technology to offer the taste characteristics of fresh cream together with the safety of UHT treatment. With a few particular precautions on the heating and homogenization processes. An immediate and justified success among the final consumers but above all among bakeries, ice cream parlors and restaurants which had discovered an “irreplaceable” ingredient. In the following years Elena, which in 1999 transferred to the establishment in Savigliano (CN), has developed a wide range of UHT creams with differing fat compositions and percentages useful for different purposes and it has also widened its range of desserts, milk and ice creams (with the return of the wonderful soft ice cream) whilst all the time paying particular attention to the needs of the professionals.
From the beginning of this year Elena has been part of the Out of Home division of Parmalat, a sign of strong integration of the Elena brand within the group.”
What are the top products in the range?
“Our top product is the famous “blue cream”, which derives its name from the color on the packaging; the texture of this cream, the structure it has after whipping, its natural white cooler and how it keeps perfectly for 24/28 hours, make it a real must for the most discerning of chefs. Large volumes, both in GDO and normal trade, are made up of the 200ml tubs of cream, which no kitchen in the Piedmont region or anywhere else for that matter would be without.”
What are the other products dedicated to the food service?
“The bakery industry prefers larger quantities and therefore use the 4l bottles of UHT cream. Then there is the cooking cream which comes in 10 liters, with which our dairy customers in Puglia make some of the best burrata (a special cheese from the region) which wins awards the world over. Finally, the panna cotta: the most sold dessert product; sold in liter packs, easily warmed up, they can be divided easily into single servings as required, while the 1kg slice allows rapid division in 10 portions.”
Which products do you consider to be the allies of bakeries and ice cream parlors?
“In addition to the top products described above, we have specialties specifically designed for different production needs: from the “Planet” cream (from planetaria) at 35% fat content which is ideal for mousses and crème bavaroise and at 38% fat content which is perfect for decorations. And then there is the “yellow cream” (always a brick sort of color) created specifically for electric whisks, or the Mistà which is a mix of 50% animal fat and 50% vegetable fat, a versatile product suitable for both the professional baker and the home cook. Then there is our special Mousse Chantilly, a low fat alternative and all time winner when you want a substitute for whipping cream. Finally we absolutely have to mention the Crema Pasticcera: used by consumers as well as by bakers and pastry chefs it guarantees a quick solution for any cold uses such as fillings and creating spooning desserts.”
In what way are the quality standards guaranteed?
“We have always maintained that the winning characteristics of a brand like Elena are quality and consistency. The security of being able to have an excellent product at your finger tips that will always be the same allows our professional clients to standardize their production. In order to obtain this result our products are subjected to what we call “the 100 checks”. From the analysis of the raw ingredient we arrive at the end sales point having conducted multiple tests, not only on the production batch itself, but at different times within the same batch as well. Furthermore we make sure that when packaging every batch of cream it looks for the same for whomever is going to use it and this ensures that they can always rely on Elena’s excellence.”
What services do you to offer to the professional? Alessandro Tossi, Trade Marketing Manager for Elena, answers this question.
“In 2015 we will start with four different demonstration platforms with master pastry chefs and experts who will explain to professionals of the different sectors, through educational sessions and cooking demonstrations, not only how to create works of pastry art, but also how to understand the real business plan and how to let the creativity flow; like building diversified and functional proposals and how to evolve their commercial strategy, using of course … Elena products! Above all, we want to use this support with the view of expanding a brand whose leadership is recognized, but ultimately wants to increase its presence on the Italian market.”
In what way is Elena relaunching its image today?
“In the last few months the company has brought the restyling of its 2x100g dessert range to the market, which is composed of 3 panna cottas, 3 custard puddings and the bunèt (a gluttonous specialty from the Piedmont region) and from the 1kg range a panna cotta, truffle and bunèt. It is not only a restyling of the graphics but also a conceptual restyling: for example for the first time the igp stamp appears with the statement of the typical recipe. At the beginning of November a new cooking cream will be launched in 1 liter tubs. This will be a precious novelty for the restaurant world: low in fat with the taste of cream, giving a surprising performance. A multi-use product for the chef. But that is just the start: other pleasant surprises await our clients in the first few months of the new year.”