Pernigotti is closing down five years after the acquisition by Toksoz Group. Trade unions made the announcement after meeting company representatives on Tuesday.
The chocolate company passed from Italian family Averna to Turkish group Toksoz in 2013, when the new owners declared: “We will keep and reinforce the company structure, develop activity in new and interesting geographic areas, banking on the strength of the Pernigotti brand. We will introduce Pernigotti to the Turkish market and in other important countries.” Things took a different turn from then.
Pernigotti started as a pharmacy in 1860 specializing in medicinal products and toiletries in Novi Ligure, Piedmont. From the early days, its torrone recipe – an Italian nougat – became famous in all the northern region. In 1882 Pernigotti received the Royal Seal, accrediting it as official supplier to the Royal House. From then onwards, the name established itself as one of the foremost confectionery producers in Italy.
At the turn of the 20th century the company was one of the most important in the sector, using the latest technology and an innovative production system to market its unique torrone. During the years of the first World War, Pernigotti bypassed the prohibition on the use of sugar by perfecting and commercialising a revolutionary recipe with a base of concentrated honey. It is only a few years until the introduction of the Gianduiotto: the chocolate that became a symbol of the rich chocolate heritage in Piedmont. In 2013 the company was sold to Toksoz Group in a move that promised a process of internationalisation that would “bring the pleasures of great Italian chocolate to rest of the world.”
