Menz&Gasser
Menz & Gasser, gold medal in jam-making.
“Little jam portions” are often linked to moments of happiness—breakfast, coffee breaks, quiet times in hotels or restaurants. Just a couple of spoonfuls spread on toast to sweeten the start of the day. It’s hard to imagine that behind that cheerful moment stands a true industrial giant of the food world. **Menz & Gasser** is a pillar of Italian excellence.
Founded in **1935** in **Lana**, in the province of Bolzano, the company was born from an idea by the local **Gasser family**. In over eighty years, the company has grown into Italy’s market leader for jams and Europe’s top producer in the **single-portion jam** segment.
Menz & Gasser produces and packages both finished goods (jams and honey) and semi-finished fruit and vegetable-based products, sweet and savory, under both its own brand and for private labels. It serves a wide range of sectors: mass retail, Ho.Re.Ca., patisserie, and the food industry.
Today, the company operates two production sites in Italy (the main one in **Novaledo**, and another in **Verona** dedicated to industrial production), and it recently opened a new plant just outside **Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)** to produce semi-finished products for Southeast Asian markets.
Though the brand may not be widely known among end consumers, **Menz & Gasser supplies a significant share of the jam sold under private labels** in Italy’s major supermarket chains. Their numbers shine thanks to heavy investment in **innovative production processes** that ensure food safety and high quality—but there’s another kind of leadership the numbers don’t show, one the atmosphere makes clear.
The company is now recognized as a global case study in excellence. Delegations from the **USA to Japan** regularly visit the Novaledo plant. Its **commitment to sustainability** translates into major investments in **energy efficiency**, including the use of virgin biomass, wood-processing byproducts, and renewable energy sources.
The Novaledo site runs on clean energy thanks to:
– a **biogas co-generator** powered by production waste,
– a **solar panel park**,
– and a **tri-generation plant** using wood biomass.
A total investment of over **€10 million**, resulting in **zero CO₂ emissions** from production and packaging. The plant generates **122 kW of electricity** and **60 kW of thermal energy**, making it **a zero-impact facility**.
Behind this achievement is a deep love for the land and respect for the local community. In **November 2018**, when violent windstorms hit Trentino and over 8 million trees were felled, **Menz & Gasser took extraordinary action** to help the local economy. The company purchased wood chips from fallen trees—not at slashed post-disaster prices, but at the **full pre-disaster value**, to support the devastated communities.
This bond with the land continues daily. Environmental stewardship is woven into corporate life. With the help of regional grants, the company distributed **55 e-bikes** to employees living within 15 km of the factory—on the condition that they use the bike at least once a week. Employees paid a symbolic fee to join the program.
“The company’s history has shaped this mindset: a leadership team that truly believes in giving back to the land and its people,” explains **Michele Bernardi**, Marketing Director.
One of the most defining moments in company history came in **2002**, when a massive fire destroyed much of the facility and nearly ended the company. To keep up with client orders, the **Gasser family**—by then joined by current owner **Matthias Gasser**—rented production space from competitors and continued production using their own team and recipes.
In **2004**, Menz & Gasser acquired a production site from Hero, and in **2006** inaugurated its new **Novaledo facility**. Since then, the Gasser family has never stopped investing in infrastructure, people, and production lines.
Today, the site spans **just under 100,000 square meters**, with **50,000 square meters of covered space**, operating on **10 packaging lines** for single portions, jars, sachets, and tubs.
Success, here, goes hand in hand with an **almost obsessive care for the health of the local environment and its community**.