the puopolo
Selling and producing
a family tradition
our story
My family migrated here in 1965 from Anzano, a commune in the province of Foggia, southern Italy. All the family came at the same time, from both my mother’s and father’s side. My father was about 13 years of age when he arrived, and he started working in the meat industry straight after arriving, alongside several other migrants. He worked there until the age of 18, until my grandfather Vitangelo said he wanted to start a business of his own, so in 1978 they opened the butcher shop in Norlane, Geelong.
There they sold European imported products like tomatoes, olives, fetta cheese, and pasta, which were very sought-after goods in the area, as there were many European immigrants in that region back then. They also sold fresh meat, including a big a range of salami, and we would always have around 100 different types of salamis hanging from the roof.
Our customers would come in for the delicacies we brought down from Italy to Australia because they are an important part of our culture and heritage. These products were hard to find in general supermarkets at the time.
Mixing Tradition with new techniques
When we talked about doing new products our nonno said “I don't want to see you making this stuff.” I think that was his way of saying that we were doing good with our original products, so we shouldn’t get distracted with other things. But then one morning when he was out, we quickly organised the meat to make a new cacciatore. We were mincing and quickly mix it, but then he came back and caught us, and just stood there shaking his head. That’s when we made the first 50 Kilos for a trial. We let it dry and when we tried it was pretty good, he was impressed. That was the green light from him and the start of our passion. We started looking around to understand our market and we realised no one else was doing something traditional, like home production with moulds. It was all very mass produced, so we decided to go for it.
Business growth and changes
The butcher shop went really well and then in the late 80s the pizza shops started emerging in Melbourne. The shops used salami cotto in their pizzas, so it was not like the traditional pizza that you find in Italy, it was a product designed for the Australian market. A lot of Italian immigrants opened these pizza shops. I think the first shop was Toto’s, opened in Lygon Street.
The demand for salami cotto and calabrese - the main ingredients
supplied to these pizza shops - increased. This movement took away our focus
from making other artisan products like prosciutto, cacciatori or salami, as
the business grew too quickly and there are only so many hours in a day. The
shop was small, and it was challenging keeping up the production at the back, while
also selling the products at the front. We realised it was time to make a decision,
so in 1992 we closed the fresh meat shop and built a factory in Laverton, where
we still are operating till today.
Words of wisdom
"I think I kept my father's work ethic and commitment. I think hard work it's a really valuable life lesson. You can’t run a business just by putting a suit on. You can't train someone or lead a team if you don't know the fundamentals. You must start from the ground and make your way up. We both started from the bottom, cleaning the floor and the machines. Even when we were kids, at around 5 years old, we would come to the factory and help pick salamis and put them in the trolleys. I'll probably teach the same to my kids. If they want, they'll come and work here. I want them to start from the bottom like I did, but I don’t if they will be interested yet, they are only 9 and 12 years old." Michael Puopolo
SUPPORTED BY
The Italian Australian Foundation and La Trobe University
