Investing in tradition

The brothers are aware of the risk they took in making such a hefty investment in automation at a level no other company can approach. But the leap of faith wasn’t taken without calculation.

“We put a lot of faith in what we know generationally, in the way the products and the systems work along with the input of the super-talented people who work with us and the suppliers we work with who have a forward-thinking mentality and a rules-bending mentality to marry those efficiencies,” Stefano says.

The family’s investment in its operations, over $100 million in the past five years or so, has been steady and significant as demand and popularity of charcuterie in the US has gradually increased. Unlike in Italy or Spain, prosciutto isn’t exactly a staple in US households. It isn’t uncommon for Daniele to receive daily inquiries about how to prepare and serve the product. However, the market is mature compared to 20 years ago, Davide says, especially in the last five years. Nowadays, almost every supermarket and a growing number of retail outlets, including Costco and big-box brands carry Daniele products.

The sons speak of their father with reverence, saying it is thanks to pioneers like him that a growing number of artisan, dry-cured meat companies enter the market each year. “They’re opening based on a market that’s already been created by guys like my father,” Davide says. “He’s kind of like the Christopher Columbus of charcuterie. This whole company is a reflection of him,” he adds. As the company’s chairman of the board, Vlado is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations at Daniele, but he is in constant contact with his sons and they value his input in keeping the company growing.

The family’s strategy has always included wisely investing early in cutting edge technology today to ensure business growth tomorrow. During that process, many opportunities to cut corners have been available, but the brothers were committed to maintaining their father’s high standards at all costs. “I think it pays to go all out, and we have,” Stefano says. “I think the results speak for themselves.”