DIATOSTA & RIALTO
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DIATOSTA & RIALTO
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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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