The Girona company Aliments Onyar, a social project of the Fundació Ramon Noguera, of Girona, has grown by 40% in the last three years, with a projection of reaching a million euros in turnover in the short term. During this period, it has expanded outside of Catalonia and its organic pizza and pasta can be found throughout the State. From next year, they aspire to start expanding internationally. The workshop, located in Girona, is unique in Catalonia for its ecological commitment and social purpose and employs 10 people with intellectual disabilities. Aliments Onyar is committed to sustainability and the environment and has reduced plastic packaging by 37%.
Pepita Perich, director of Aliments Onyar, explains that "Onyar is one of the lines of business that we manage at the Ramon Noguera Foundation with the aim of creating employment for people with intellectual disabilities. We are very happy because, since 2019, we have continued to evolve constantly, with growth of more than 40%. Our product is ecological, artisanal, additive-free, quality, social and local".
Aliments Onyar has the only fresh pasta and organic pizza workshop in Catalonia that has a social purpose, and generates employment for 15 people, 10 of whom are disabled. At the beginning, their products could only be found in the Catalan area, but currently they are sold in 250 points (shops and supermarkets) throughout the State: "We sell in Catalonia and the Basque Country, mainly, and also they can be found in the Valencian Country, Navarre, La Rioja, Asturias, Galicia, the Balearic Islands and Cantabria. We are working to start expanding internationally in 2023." The catalog of the Girona chain consists of different products, among which stand out the different varieties of pizza and fresh pasta, both stuffed and rolled. "We produce fresh pasta and healthy pizza, from zero kilometers, made with sourdough, without any additives, preservatives or colorings. All the ingredients we use in the preparation of the food come from organic farming", Perich points out.
Artisan product, despite automating processes
In 2012, the Onyar-La Selva Foundation, a social entity born in Quart with the aim of integrating people with disabilities socially and at work, started the production and commercialization of organic food as a way of job insertion for this group school In 2017, the Ramon Noguera Foundation took over the organic production of the Aliments Onyar brand, which until 2019 had its workshop in Quart. For three years, the facilities have been located in the Mas Xirgu estate, in Girona, where the Ramon Noguera Foundation has its headquarters.
They occupy an area of 800 m2 and recently, some processes have been semi-automated with the aim of continuing to grow and to facilitate the work of the people who work there. "Despite this automation, our products are still artisanal," says Perich. In 2019, 45,000 kg were produced, which is equivalent to about 160,000 units of product, while in 2021 the figures were 60,800 kg (225,000 units). Organic production is guaranteed through the certificate of the Catalan Council for Ecological Agricultural Production (CCPAE): CT/002063/PE.
In the field of technology, R&D, environmental and sustainable, they are introducing new products and the workshop has a cooling system with CO2, a natural gas that reduces the environmental impact compared to other conventional gases such as halogenated ones . In addition, it has reduced the use of plastic in pasta and pizza bags by 37%. "For the type of product we make, there is still no material with a sufficient barrier without plastic. For this reason, we work on reducing the micronization of the material which allows us to keep the product in optimal conditions according to its useful life", says the director of Aliments Onyar.
