The craft beer movement has led to a lasting change in grocery stores. Shelves and coolers that were dominated by the country’s largest brand names are now stocked with upstart brewers, creative flavors and local and regional favorites. That change has been reflected elsewhere in the grocery store, including the meat department. Stores that used to carry little more than ham, turkey breast and roast beef now include deli specialties like coppa, prosciutto and ‘nduja – European delicacies that have found new popularity in the U.S.
“We can look not that far back, up to five years ago, where some of the product you see today on shelves was limited to the Italian market in the United States,” says Simone Bocchini, president of Fratelli Beretta. Beretta is the longest family-owned charcuterie company in Italy and produces everything from salami and mortadella to prosciutto and coppa, and more. The company’s history dates back to 1812 in Italy, and most of its 21 facilities worldwide are located there, but it’s a relative newcomer to the United States. It purchased a New Jersey facility in 1997 and now owns two U.S. plants – one in Fresno, Calif. and a new, state-of-the-art plant in Mount Olive, N.J.