In the industrial processing of licorice, the product that reaches the market is a fraction of what enters the factory. This is also the case at the Nature Med plant, in the Castrovillari industrial area in the province of Cosenza, where between 300 and 350 tons of Calabrian licorice are processed each year, yielding 60 tons of pure extract and between 180 and 200 tons of pomace , the exhausted root left over after juice extraction and currently stored and disposed of.
It is precisely this waste and other waste generated throughout the production cycle that is the focus of the collaboration between Nature Med, founded in 1998 and which processes exclusively organic and DOP Calabrian Liquorice, and Alkelux, a deeptech startup from Sassari that extracts carbon-based nanoparticles from licorice waste, to be incorporated into plastics and cellulose pulp used in food packaging.
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Nature Med Srl is a Calabrian company founded in 1998, specializing in the processing, transformation, and marketing of licorice and its derivatives. With its administrative headquarters in Cosenza and a production facility in the Castrovillari industrial area, it processes exclusively DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) and organic licorice, certified by CSQA. Its production includes extracts, powders, and semi-finished products for industry, as well as a range of finished products, marketed under its own brand and under private labels for European and non-European companies. Approximately 70% of its turnover is generated abroad, particularly in Northern Europe. Over 60% of the workforce is women, and the average age is under 40.
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Source: Calabria7.news