Diatosta & Rialto

DIATOSTA & RIALTO

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DIATOSTA & RIALTO

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I PROFILE

Director of Exports at Diatosta, Vitor Barbosa

Diatosta specialises in the exclusive manufacturing of toast and mini toast.

Its sister company, Rialto, offers a diverse range of bread-based products such as breadcrumbs, croutons and flavoured toast. The two companies are jointly owned but keep their products and marketing separate. Hannah Barnett spoke to Tiago Lameiro, Communication & Marketing at Rialto, and Vitor Barbosa, Director of Exports at Diatosta, to find out more.

iatosta and Rialto may keep their

D

Maintaining standards

product lines separate, but being

Quality is a non-negotiable point at

jointly owned, this combined

Diatosta and Rialto, despite the fact that

Portuguese enterprise ensures the core

price is an increasingly sensitive issue,

principles are the same. “There are three

especially in the Fast-Moving Consumer

areas that are very strong from both

Goods sector.

companies: service, quality and price,” Tiago Lameiro, Communication and Marketing at Rialto said. “These three pillars bring the know-how of the companies together to manufacture a high standard of product.”

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DIATOSTA & RIALTO

I PROFILE

As a result, Diatosta has recently responded to the challenging business environment and industrywide sharp rise in prices. The board decided to absorb a significant part of these costs in-house, (rather than passing them on to customers) in recognition of the support the company has enjoyed over the last 47 years. But that has meant Diatosta has had to adapt accordingly, too.

“We’ve developed new working methodologies with the target to be more efficient in production and with the management of costs,” Director of Exports Vitor Barbosa said. “This has been an important milestone for the company, it has involved all personnel, stretching from the board to the production line.” The strategy has paid off as Diatosta has seen an increase in sales by an average of 35% over the last few years, while production capacity has risen 20%.

There is plenty of activity going on at Rialto, too. The company has been investing in staff and expanding production facilities. It has a new hub of over 3,000 square metres and a state-of-theart full production line to produce the

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dough, along with the baking, cutting

already available in the Portuguese

and packing of items.

market, though the company intends

The investment is paying dividends with

to promote this line more widely.

Rialto’s production capacity up to more than 40 tonnes per day and a turnover of

Sustainable development

€9 million in 2022, which it is expecting to

Both companies came together as one in

hit €12 million for 2023. Rialto has a market

October for the global leading food and drink

share of around 60% in Spain and Portugal,

fair Anuga, in Cologne. Diatosta and Rialto

and close to 10% in the Netherlands.

shared a booth – made of materials it intends

“We keep the two companies separate, because Diatosta is more focused on

to reuse at the next event – in keeping with the 2023 theme of sustainable development.

mass-market products,” said Mr Lameiro.

Outside of events, both companies are

“and at Rialto, we have higher versatility

actively addressing the reduction of their

and adaptability to do more value-added

environmental footprint wherever possible.

products such as mini toast or croutons with flavours.”

True to this versatility, with its newest

Diatosta is focusing on promoting natural lighting in its facilities, managing wastewater and using recyclable packing

production line Rialto has begun to offer

materials. The company is aware of its

croutons specifically developed for

social responsibility and recently received

soups. The croutons stay crunchy for

SMETA certification. This is the most widely

at least five minutes in liquid and are

used format for social audits in the world,

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DIATOSTA & RIALTO

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I PROFILE

enabling businesses to assess their sites and suppliers to understand working conditions in their supply chain.

“Both companies have invested in solar panels and are trying to be as sustainable as possible,” Mr Lameiro added. “In addition, we are part of a project group along with 27 other Portuguese companies, led by large Portuguese paper manufacturer, Navigator. This project is backed by €103 million of funding and is called ‘From Fossil to Forest’ with the final goal of using paper

and sustainable growth by expanding

instead of plastic packaging.”

their offerings to reach current and new clients.

A commitment to service

“Our new production strategy is to

With a clear eye on the future, Diatosta

diversify our portfolio,” said Mr Lameiro.

is expanding its R&D department to con-

“Customers ask for new products all the

tinue to reflect the needs of customers

time; they want us to explore the new

and practice its goal of strong service.

trends of the market. So we will do that,

“The department is working for our

whilst also maintaining our established

customers, not working for us,” Mr Barbosa said. “We are also increasing

category of goods.”

With the rising cost of living, it falls to

our marketing services, which means

socially responsible companies like Diatosta

that we are investing in innovation, com-

and Rialto to take this into account when

mitment and engagement with the clien-

making decisions for the future.

tele. This encompasses the full package,

“We think about our customers,

from the very first approach to the end

but we also think about the people

of the negotiation.”

who are working for us every day,”

Alongside customers, both companies

Mr Barbosa concluded. “One of our

maintain a close relationship with sup-

main targets is how to increase the

pliers, working closely together for mutual

wellbeing of our staff. We want to

benefit, such as with the development

create conditions that mean they have

of recyclable packaging materials.

a good quality of life. If they don’t have

Both companies plan to continue

that, they will not be able to produce

their trajectory of steady, successful

to such a high standard.”

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