Federico Zuccato was a young man full of hope when he moved from Thiene to Caltrano at the end of 1867. He had purchased the oldest building in Caltrano, and here he opened a small grocery shop, thus establishing the business in 1868.
Federico’s business became the firm Fratelli Zuccato in 1884, when he was joined by his brother Rinaldo. The firm served the Costo road, heading towards the Altopiano di Asiago, and was the only one in village: it stocked all kinds of products, such as bread, cheeses, oil and salted fish.
Attached to the shop were a bakery, meat-curing room, coffee roastery and “Neapolitan” pasta factory where pasta was pressed and dried, so that it could be preserved. Luxury produce for those times, above all destined for the Altopiano markets. With a knowledge of Asiago tradition, Federico Zuccato decided to extend the shop’s offer to include sauerkraut purchased from a carter. This new product gradually became popular with local customers and in 1898 the two brothers decided to start producing their own.
Over a hundred years of production through the history of the northern Vicenza area and of a family that managed to pass on a tradition that had commenced toward the end of the 19th century from generation to generation.
The initial idea was to produce solely for their shop, but chance was to change this.
Already in the first year of business, sauerkraut production was so plentiful that Federico and Rinaldo had to sell off of the excess and decided to offer it to other shopkeepers in nearby towns.
Fate was once again on the side of the Zuccato brothers: that very year bad weather had ruined vegetable gardens and therefore sauerkraut, which lasted a long time in its preserve, became the only vegetable available. Strengthened by their positive experience, the brothers decided to start a production process. So, after thirty years they integrated their business with this new product, which was later to become the principal one.
The firm produced from home, making use of local labour. The business expanded and when managing both production and sales became too much, the two brothers divided their duties and businesses.
In 1910 Rinaldo dedicated himself to cured meats, coffee roasting and the shop, managing trade with the Altopiano, while his elder brother took over the management of the pasta factory and sauerkraut production. During the 1st World War, production was halted for over two years.
It started up again without Federico, who had died in 1917, but with his four sons Carlo, Giustiniano, Battista and Rinaldo, who rebuilt the business. They slowly re-established an internal market and the firm gradually managed to regain a certain degree of prosperity in the 1920s, becoming particularly well known in Friuli and Venezia Giulia, but also in Istria and Dalmatia.
In the 1930s the Zuccato brothers decided to expand production and theirs was one of the first companies to become equipped with motorized machinery. Moreover, they quickly understood in which direction the market was moving. Until then sauerkraut had been an essential, seasonal product, a precious food which integrated the diet of many families during the winter season, when no fresh vegetables were available.
Now, however, society was changing, no longer depending solely on agriculture, but moving towards industry and services, with fewer peasants and more townsfolk.
Giustiniano, Battista and Rinaldo realized that it was necessary to target wider bands of consumers and to do so presented their sauerkraut no longer as an essential product in peasant culture, but as a tasty and nourishing food for the entire year.
However, the problem of preservation had to be solved. The pasteurizing process was introduced to allow the sauerkraut to remain integral and tasty and to be preserved in cans for distribution to shops throughout Italy in all seasons.
The 2nd World War was another difficult period for the firm, also due to the death of Giustiniano’s young son, Federico, who went to Russia as a volunteer and never returned.
Between 1943 and the end of the war, production all but halted. After the war the company was rebuilt by a new Zuccato generation: Giustiniano’s son Antonio and Battista’s sons Remo and Romolo. Together they managed to get back on top. In 1948 they gained the Trentino Alto Adige market, triumphing over seventeen local sauerkraut factories. In the Fifties, the company concentrated on developing, with pioneering methods, the production and preservation technology. The modernization of Italy which was moving towards the economic boom of the Sixties was opportunely managed by the family: they invested in equipment and technological research, to modernize the industry radically. At that time this development involved the plant, machinery, sales network and products.
In 1961 a new structure was built with 32 concrete tanks, each holding 110 quintals; two years later another two structures were built with 32 silos, each of which could hold 350 quintals of sauerkraut.
In 1968 yet another structure was built for 16 silos, each holding 900 quintals, followed in 1970 by a fermentation building. Processes were further automated with new machinery. New product lines were examined, also with a view to utilizing the machines all year round: in the second half of the sixties sweet and sour gherkin pickling was introduced, with subsequent expansion to traditional pickles.
In the mid-eighties the latest generation took over: the company is now in the younger hands of the Remo’s sons Luca and Marco, Romolo’s son Battista and Antonio’s sons Federico and Andrea. The company now operates with a fully automated processing chain which transforms 10,000 tons of raw material on several parallel production lines into various categories of goods: besides the traditional sauerkraut and sweet and sour gherkin line, there is a line for pickles, vegetables in brine, in oil and specialties, all products which are becoming established as a reference of excellent quality on the market.
Zuccato was one of the first agri-food firms in Italy and the very first in the canned vegetable sector to obtain ISO 9002 quality certification, already re-certified and extended to the new standard UNI EN ISO 9.001:2000.
Other certifications, such as ISO 14.001, concerning respect for the environment, integrated agriculture and A.I.A.B. for the processing of organic produce, are a clear sign of innovation, constant attention to current challenges and compliance with the consumers’ tastes, without forgetting the value and taste of tradition.

Thank you.
Federico Zuccato
in a 30's photo
The "Ape" for the distribution in Trieste in 1953.
An old advertising play-bill.
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