Labeling your nougat as "the most expensive in the world" was a great idea of Juan Antonio Sirvent. The Alicante entrepreneur came to that conclusion after making accounts and seeing that the turraine of him 1880 almost did not take to him whether he added what the almond and honey and workmanship cost. They ran the years of postwar and the Spaniards were not for parties, but he decided to continue betting on quality.
His idea was reflected in the shredded slogan during a trip to Paris, when a dependent of the Champs Elysees convinced him to take the fastest silk tie from the store. "A man like you deserve a single tie," he said, and Sirvent took it. "My grandfather was a sibarita and he liked to dress well, he paid a fortune for the tie, 'the most expensive of the world', I used to say, and there he reinforced his idea of exclusivity. The slogan was a success," he recalls José Manuel Sirvent , her grandson and ninth generation of the Turronera family.
In addition to 1880, which owes its name a year in which the recipe was reflected in writing, from its Boixet, -the machine invented to make Jijona's nougat - also leave the wolf tablets, almost so famous for his Jingle ( What a great nougat, what a great nougat!).
1880 Maintains alive the philosophy of the Sibarita Juan Antonio, because this year they have launched an exclusive edition to reinterpret their slogan with turns that contain raw materials as exquisite as the white truffle of Alba (Italy), the Kopi Luwak coffee and the saffron of La Mancha. Each of these turners, which are elaborated on request, cost 250 euros. Sirvent does not want to specify how many tablets they are sold, but it ensures that they have exceeded expectations. "The three have left the R & D laboratory of the Jijona factory after months of tests until they have given the combinations that, it says, they are Perfect. Your favorite is jijona nougat (the soft) with coffee from Kopi Luwak, the most expensive in the world (900 euros el kilo). The most demanded so far, especially in the Arab market, is being that of Alicante ( El Hard) with white truffle. Maybe because it has gold bread, an authentic magnet for the sheikhs.
The sophisticated threesome can be contemplated (not to taste) in the store that 1880 has opened four months ago in the center of Madrid, on Calle Mayor, one of the most tourists in the capital. There they are exposed next to other more traditional and affordable tablets. And it is that Tourists Chifla Les Turnón and take it, along with the ham, like Souvenir. "It's a Gourmet Product Brand Spain, with a lot of reputation," justifies Sirvent. The president of the Turronera company says they have no intention of opening more stores, but that made them much illusion to Madrid, where the family already had a place that closed after the civil war.
José Manuel is the ninth generation of a family that began to go nougat in 1725. Almost 300 years later, 1880 continues in his hands thanks to an established system of Mayorazgo that has avoided family fights and has allowed Sirvent the constant surname in the business. At least until now, because the tenth generation is headed by two women, Isabel and Beatriz, the first to take the reins of the company. The first is the daughter of José Manuel and the second is the niece of him, daughter of the only brother of him, who died at age 25. "I am very proud of them, it was time for women Sirvents to take command." Both are 28 years old and international training, such as José Manuel himself, who studied in the United States and Switzerland, or his father, who did sociology in Oxford. Jijona, says, was a cosmopolitan village and the entrepreneurs of Turnón very entrepreneurial people who in the nineteenth century traveled to New York or Paris and raised factories in Cuba, Argentina or Venezuela.
Almonds and honey have no secrets for him. He was born at the family's family factory, like his grandfather and his father, and at 24 he took the reins of the company. "My parents' house was in the factory, I did not have access from the street and entered through the store or by the office," he says. He also remembers the snack snacks with nougat who gave him the mother of him every day, or how the dining room of his house was a showroom where he received clients.
The family faces the Christmas campaign with optimism after 2020 in which they suffered the consequences of the pandemic with the closure of the Duty Free (one of their points of sale) and the reduced family gatherings. For this year, they foresee a turnover of 22 million euros and the manufacture of 2.5 million kilos of nougat and another half million Christmas candy.
The seasonality remains its battle horse - 65% of sales are produced at Christmas - but little by little it is pimped with the increase in exports. The United States and Latin America are its main markets, followed by Europe and the Arab countries, where they have several real families between their clientele. And they are not the only ones. Sirvent does not give names but ensures that they have many famous on their agenda. Also Royals and not only Arabs. "Our nougat was served as a dessert at the real wedding of a Spanish and a European Prince." Do you guesk it?
Date Of Update: 10 December 2021, 23:38
