HISTORY
Beginnings
In 1840 or thereabouts, the young Cesare Balena learnt the art of salting in the islands of Tuscan archipelago, where it was customary for women to prepare a condiment called "acciugata". This consisted of salted anchovies, that would be chopped into very small pieces and pounded in a small mortar. It was here that the singular figure of Cesare Balena, gastro-innovator of the 1800s was to emerge. The "acciugata" was thus to give way to a new product called "anchovy paste". No longer characterized by the grainy consistency of the "acciugata", this was a much more sophisticated product with a smooth consistency that was devoid of any scaly particles and, so as not to lose sight of its oirigins, not a cream but a "paste".
The Trademark
IntYears passed and Cesare Balena had become a well respected business man, gaining not only a suitable culture, but also a wife and an impressive beard.
By 1880 Balena's son Attilio had joined as a partner in the firm. Together, father and son created the logo that was to become the company trademark from that moment onwards. With a family name that seemed uncannily appropriate, their design consisted of the depiction of a whale swimming on the surface of the sea, blowing, while being struck by a red fork of lightning, animating the product like an extremely powerful electric charge and, according to an age-old oral tradition, a symbol of quality.
The Tube format and the Tricolore
By now retired and in his nineties, Cesare Balena handed over the reins of control to his son Attilio who was to remain scrupulously faithful to his father's principles and decisions.
Also unchanged were the small workshop and his father's ingenious production machinery. Nevertheless Attilio Balena was far from being a mere follower: he is to be credited with the introduction of the small tube as the ideal container for anchovy paste (initially produced in tin and only much later in alluminium), emblazoned not only with the "Balena" trademark but also with the Italian Tricolore flag, in homage to the newly formed Kingdom of Italy (1861). As a result, the Italian Tricolore, as featured on our packaging for last 100 years, has been officially recognised as one of the distinctive and inimitable emblems of Balena Anchovy Paste.
Attilio
Balena
Attilio was responsible for a product enrichment that was to prove extremely important for its development in future decades. By identifying new supply sources while at the same time remaining respectfully mindful of ancient recipes and standards, he improved his father's recipe to an even greater extent.
Attilio Balena must also be thanked for the growth of the company's marketing strategies: clients continued to increase and Balena Anchovy Paste gained an ever increasing number of consumers. It was precisely this increase in the product's success rate that was to result in unexpected difficulties for the now elderly Attilio Balena, who laboured more than ever to produce the necessary quantities with which to fulfil his orders in good time.
Passing the Baton
In the 1930s Attilio Balena handed the company over to an ancient and prestigious family of entrepreneurs who successfully piloted Balena Srl through five generations over the last eighty years and who continue to manage the firm to this day.
THE FIRM TODAY
A Job Well Done
After an extremely slow apprenticeship over the course of many years, the company's original principles and standards have been meticulously transmitted in all their subtlest nuances, allowing the new owners to uphold the Balena standard of quality higher than ever. The faithful adherence to traditional products has remained constant and absolute, with added improvements due to the identifcation of the most suitable raw materials.
The Tradition Continues
For over sixty years the Balena management has enhanced the firm while honouring traditional working methods, enlarging its market both at home and abroad. With the exception of the key phases of production, which have to remain entirely traditional, all other systems and processes have been subjected to a continued assessment and reevaluation with the introduction of highly modernised elements. Particular focus has been given to health standards, namely to chemical and microbiological analyses of every single product batch, from its inception and throughout its entire shelf life.
Balena S.r.l.: Timeless Quality
From a commercial point of view, the firm's attention to its clients has been proverbial, from its traditional wholesale market to the more recent, widespread, organized distribution.
Balena anchovy paste, which has always been recognised as leader in its sector, is easily accessible in the smallest, traditional outlets as well as most super and hypermarkets.
Today the Balena firm, boasting a solid internal structure and an extremely widespread client and consumer base, is one of Italy's leading companies in the sauce industry. The spirit driving Cesare Balena in his small laboratory however, has remained intact: the company still strives for the higest quality, not only in its general production but in each single tube of product, created with craftsmanlike care just as it was 140 years ago.
