Sofidel launches a concrete aid programme for 10,000 pizza restaurants in Italy
The tissue paper Group, with the brand Papernet, to send free supplies of napkins and dispensers to thousands of pizzerias in Italy, in particular in those areas most affected by the COVID-19 emergency.
Porcari (Lucca, Italy), 16 June 2020 – Sofidel, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tissue paper for hygienic and domestic use, particularly well-known in Italy and in Europe for its Regina brand, today has announced the launch of a concrete aid, #RiparticonPapernet(#RestartwithPapernet), in favour of 10,000 pizza restaurants operating in Italy, focusing in particular to those located in the areas most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through its Away-from-Home (AFH) Papernet brand, Sofidel is sending free supplies of napkins and dispensers to pizzerias with employees, a specific category of catering establishments, symbol of the Italian gastronomic excellence and particularly affected by the prolonged lockdown period and social distancing measures. The supply has been calculated to cover two weeks’ work requirements. The operation starts today and will last until mid-September.
“We want to give a signal and a support at the same time concrete and symbolic to those who, after the lockdown, try to resume their business among many difficulties, and in particular to those operating in the away-from-home sector, which concerns bars, hotels and restaurants,” commented Enzo Ricci, Business Unit Director AFH of Sofidel. “In a networking logic of companies operating in similar sectors, we have decided to support a specific category of businesses: pizzerias, which represent an important heritage of Italian gastronomy and the most accessible catering segment for millions of people coming out of the COVID-19 emergency.”
The #RiparticonPapernet initiative aims at supporting a part of the SMEs that have always been a drive of the country’s economy, with the hope of indirectly helping Italians to return to conviviality outside their homes in front of a good meal. Being able to finally have a pizza with friends is in fact one of the biggest desires in this post-COVID-19 phase (in first place, according to a recent Italian research, with 57% of preferences[1]). It is also a way to encourage the restart of the social life in our communities: an impulse to the recovery of the Italian good living.
It is in this spirit that the operation has been made possible thanks to the fundamental contribution of various partners who made themselves available, on a voluntary and free basis, to deliver all the products to the 10,000 pizzerias.
The wish is that other companies, which due to their structure and the nature of their business have been less affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 emergency, will be able to take similar action in their production and distribution chains to somehow encourage the recovery.
[1] TradeLab, Il mercato Away from Home nel post Coronavirus, Aprile 2020.