King Felipe has played an important role in Pistacyl’s commitment to the commercialization of natural pistachio, as revealed by the president of Grupo Pistacyl, Alfredo Pérez, in a recent interview on the RNE program Ahora Campo.
Although from its origins Pistacyl had always believed in the importance of differentiating itself in the market by promoting the healthy characteristics of this dried fruit, it was in a meeting with Sir Felipe when that idea became a firm commitment.
On October 24, 2011, the Family Business Institute held its XIV National Family Business Congress in Valladolid, which was inaugurated by the then Prince of Asturias.
It was attended by Alfredo Pérez, who was introduced to Don Felipe by his good friend Eduardo Estévez, director of the Family Business of Castilla y León.
They both had a pleasant conversation about pistachio in which, after commenting on how much he liked this dried fruit, Don Felipe told him: ‘Alfredo, you have to try to take advantage of the healthy properties of pistachio, don’t ruin it,’ recommending that they try to certify some of the excellent healthy properties that this food has.
Although they already had the idea of enhancing the natural qualities of this food, Alfredo Pérez picked up Don Felipe’s royal advice “which was a start to betting much more on the healthy type of pistachio and starting to work with it naturally.”
After several years of exciting work and several R&D projects with research centers in Castilla y León and the University of Valladolid, in 2020 Pistacyl was accredited as the first Tierra de Sabor product with the “Healthy Flavor” rating with its Natural pistachio, without roasting or salting, and of excellent quality.
As a thank you for his advice, Pistacyl sent Don Felipe a box with samples of his first containers of natural pistachio, “the fruit of that conversation and so many years of work.”
Shortly after, Alfredo Pérez received a letter from the Zarzuela Palace in which the head of the Royal Household, Jaime Alfonsín, thanked in the name of the King for this detail and congratulated Pistacyl for obtaining the certification, wishing the company good luck in the project.
Currently, the natural pistachio continues to be the main protagonist of Pistacyl’s activity, which markets it in–shell, shelled or in paste form, but always in its natural state, without any type of roasting, salting, sugar or any other additive, which allows it to preserve all its flavor and nutritional properties.