Moro is actually Australian/Italian, not Spanish

I said I would write about Moro today, having discovered that they now make a vincotto - which I have bought this morning in case I don't have enough of my much more expensive genuine Italian stuff. Well actually the Moro stuff is Italian too.

And as I looked into Moro I discovered a remarkable story of an Australian/Italian immigrant family. The Italian immigrants were, of course, once despised, just like the latest waves of immigrants are despised today. Yet it seems a large number of products that are staples on our supermarket shelves, and several Melbourne institutions owe their existence to this particular family.

Where to begin? Well there are two stories of two Italian families to tell, so let's start with the Moro family. In 1845 Tomaso Moro and his seven sons began making various canned products including olive oil and tuna in Liguria. In 1919 the brothers expanded their olive oil production into Spain - which explains why I thought that Moro was a Spanish company. I buy Moro olive oil a lot - in the big cans, because I use a lot of olive oil. It may well not be the finest olive oil that exists, but it's pretty good. And just for the record - when the various Australian brands are on special I buy them instead - though I actually didn't like the Squeaky Gate brand (which I now discover is actually a Conga Foods brand too). In 1926 Moro built a huge olive oil production plant in Malaga, Spain which led to a huge expansion of the business which exported its product around the world.

I'm guessing that there are purists that say that Italian olive oil is the only olive oil worth having but I'm prepared to bet that they'd have an argument on their hands with the French, the Spanish and the Greeks. Besides the Moro brand was still owned by the Italians - so you would have to wonder why they chose Spain as their olive oil production base. Well probably not. I'm guessing the reason was economic. Though apparently the Moro clan also produced Italian olive oil.

By 1969 one of the brothers - Mauricio had begun exporting olive oil to Australia with the help of Conga Foods (I will come to them) at a time when olive oil could only be bought in the chemists. The brand became so well known that in 1975 Conga Foods purchased the Moro brand globally and expanded the company not only with oil but also other things like balsamic glazes and vincotto. It's certainly the most bought brand in Australia. I'm not really sure what 'buying a brand' means, but for now I will assume that the family that owns Conga Foods owns Moro and doesn't just distribute its products. Maybe the Moro family still runs the Spanish and Italian businesses. The websites for Moro and Conga Foods certainly imply that Conga Foods are now the owners. The Conga Foods list of brands is pretty large, but I did find a statement that partly explained their involvement.

"Our portfolio is made up of brands that we represent in the Australian market, but also brands that we have developed and own ourselves."

Moro must be one of the brands they actually own.

The Conga Foods story is even more remarkable considering its size today.

In 1925 Fulvio Valmorbida emigrated to Australia from Valli del Pasubio in northern Italy with his family and settled in the Ovens Valley where he farmed tobacco in Myrtleford - which is till a huge Italian centre. This is where other Italian families adjusted to the loss of tobacco farming to making prosecco after all.

fulvio family

fulvio

In 1931 the family returns to Italy, expands in size and buys two grocery stores and a farm. The 'official' story does not explain why they returned to Italy, which is a little tantalising. But they stayed there throughout the war until the oldest son, Carlo, returned to Melbourne in 1949 where he worked in the famous Frank Agostino business - one of the earliest to supply Italian foods to Melburnians. A few months later the family followed Carlo and by 1951 they (Fulvio and the three eldest sons) had sufficient funds to buy the business. In 1955 another brother - Salverio buys out his father and gradually the brothers expand, setting up two other businesses - Jarvis - importing various goods and Macquarie - focussing on tuna - the Sirena brand is theirs. They were pioneers in Australia with canning tuna in oil. And by the way somewhere along the way they established King and Godfree in Lygon St. - a Melbourne institution that reopened last year after extensive renovations - managed by the next generation of the family. Next door is that gelateria I wrote about some time back - Pidapipó - which is run by one of the current families' daughters.

Eventually in 1964 the brothers incorporate as Conga Foods and continue to acquire other brands such as La Gina Tomatoes, Coppa d'Oro Oils and Jarlsberg cheese. They also expand into mineral water - the brand they choose eventually becoming Deep Springs.

In 1974 it seems that all of the brothers leave except Saverio who is now the sole owner and expands the business yet more - Lavazza, Santa Maria sardines, Zanetti pasta, Val Verde tomato products and Sole sardines and also expands interstate. He seems to have been much loved - I found several obituaries and this rather lovely drawing from a Chinese friend.

The next generation David, Marc and Bianca and their children too now run the company which now has a very innovative mindset, launching new brands such as world-leading filled pasta brand Rana and also setting up a new company which is into warehousing and logistics. And then there's that King and Godfree regeneration too.

A remarkable story really of how one family from very modest beginnings have developed a huge business without, it seems, losing a love of their Italian origins and of high quality food. I had a quick look at all the brands that they either own or handle, and it seems that they also 'own' the more expensive vino cotto I shall be using tomorrow.

Interesting.