Giovanni Ceratti's saga begins in a village in Italy. And it continues to be immortalized in food with the brand that bears his name since he arrived in Brazil.
This Italian immigrant was born in 1897 in the small village of Castelmassa, located in the province of Rovigo, Veneto region, northern Italy.
The third of four children in a modest family, he grew up and studied in Castelmassa, until he came to First World War and its harmful consequences for Italy.
At the time, Giovanni was a leader of the Railway Workers Union. And the arrival of Benito Mussolini coming to power was a sign of times of repression and political persecution.
With the possibility of, sooner or later, being arrested by the fascist regime, Giovanni Ceratti decided to follow the wave of Italian immigration and came to Brazil, where he arrived in 1924, at the age of 27.
Ceratti faces tragedy and a new beginning in the new land
In São Paulo, he started working in a grocery store, where he learned how to bone meat. Meanwhile, she met Inês Saravalli, with whom he married and had a couple of children.
However, the promising start in the new land was impacted by tragedy. His wife became pregnant again, but there were complications during the birth. In addition to his son dying, Giovanni also lost Inês.
Widowed and with two children to look after, Giovanni continued working and met the Tosi family, Italian traders who had a trade in Wet and Dry on Rua Quintino Bocaiúva. Over time, he fell in love with Gina, youngest daughter of the family.
Willing to take a step towards rebuilding his family, Giovanni pooled his savings and bought land in Vila Carioca, in Heliópolis, on the outskirts of São Paulo. It was there that he built a house and a small butcher's, thus starting his own business.
His father-in-law's idea started the company Ceratti
Still having difficulty supporting himself, Giovanni heard some advice from his father-in-law, an experienced trader: “Why don't you make some Italian cold cuts in your butcher shop that we can't find in Brazil?”
It was the cue for Giovanni Ceratti to start his little sausage factory, in 1932, producing traditional Italian cold cuts, such as cotechino (sausage made with pork, known as codeguim), panchetta, mortadella and zampone.
All products were handcrafted by Ceratti himself. THE Italian colony in São Paulo, nostalgic for the sausages made according to recipes from her homeland, she soon became a loyal customer.
The demand for cold cuts was so great that in a short time, in 1936, Giovanni abandoned the sale of fresh meat to dedicate himself exclusively to the manufacture of first-rate cold cuts and sausages.
The name Ceratti was linked from the beginning to the quality of the products. The couple Giovanni and Gina personally supervised production, unknowingly building the most traditional brand of mortadella in the world. Brazilian market.
Work, expansions and the end of an era
In the 40s, the company already had a sales team that served the entire capital and ABC. In the following years, there were several renovations and expansions and a lot of work to meet the growing market demand. In 1972, the now Ceratti refrigerator started distributing its products throughout the national territory.
In 1983, Italian immigrant Giovanni Ceratti, known as “Seu João” by employees and friends, passed away at the age of 86, leaving a long legacy behind. legacy of work and respect for customers and consumers of Ceratti products.
Exports began in the 2000s, including French market, where Ceratti produces the jambon poulet. This local classic contains 100% chicken breast, less than 2% fat, water and salt.
A factory was opened in 2005 in Vineyard, interior of São Paulo. In 2014, a partnership was signed with a group of cooperatives from Paraná, to increase production from 2.200 to 2.500 tons per month.
The company remained in the family until 2017, when it was acquired by 104 million dollars by the group Hormel Foods, a North American multinational. That same year, Ceratti had net revenue of almost R$300 million.
João and Gina and the legacy of work
Mortadella was created in 1661 in the commune of Bologna, in Italy. However, for Brazilians, the delicacy seems to have appeared in the 1930s, such is its association with the Ceratti brand.
Ceratti produces several types of mortadella, but the traditional one is Bologna, with an original recipe brought from Italy, which contains 70% beef and 30% pork, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and coriander.
Several other products are manufactured by the company, such as ham, ham, salami, cup, pastrami, ham, sirloin, bacon, zampone, tender, smoked chicken breast, sausages, sausages and a complete line of cold cuts.
All these products and all the prosperity generated by the Ceratti brand are a legacy of the efforts of Seu Giovanni (or Seu João) and Dona Gina's enthusiasm in those first years of difficulties in Brazil. It is the result of the persistence and hard work of these immigrants to raise their families and, in this way, help to make Brazil great.
By Roberto Schiavon/Italianism
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