At Lavolio, we’re passionate about supporting small-scale Italian producers and we’re therefore proud to work with artisans who meticulously handcraft our delicious confectionery using techniques that have been passed down through their families from generation to generation.
We work with family-run artisan businesses, some of whose history in confectionery-making dates back to the early 1800’s! Yet they still create our confectionery using the same traditional artisan techniques they have employed since the very beginning.
And while today these artisans, whose craft is deeply rooted in tradition, still use techniques such as sugar panning - where the confections are spun in copper barrels to achieve our signature smooth outer shell - nowadays they combine this rich history with our innovative recipes to bring you the delectable flavours that you find inside each Lavolio tin - like our coffee bean with aniseed or pistachio with vanilla!
Slow Food
Our commitment to producing top quality food that is made in the old-fashioned way means that we work with artisans who belong to Slow Food Presidia, organisations supported by the international Slow Food Foundation and set up to sustain quality production at risk of extinction, protect unique regions and ecosystems, recover traditional processing methods, safeguard native breeds and local plant varieties.
These presidia are made up of small-scale producers who might otherwise struggle in today’s global market in the face of competition from much larger corporations.
The "Filippo Cea" variety of Toritto Almond, named after a historic local figure from the town of Toritto, is just one of the ingredients that we use, which is native to this particular region of Southern Italy and is grown and harvested locally.
Incidentally, this particular variety of Toritto Almond has an exceptional nutritional profile, which various studies has shown to have a high content of naturally occurring oils (approx 60%) known to bring health benefits.
The Bronte Pistachio is another Slow Food Presidia ingredient used in Lavolio confectionery. This variety of “volcanic” pistachio nut is grown in the hilly land of Bronte near Mount Etna in Sicily. Bronte pistachios are prized for their emerald green colour and intense fragrance. The trees are never fertilized nor irrigated, and only ever pruned on alternate (unproductive) years.
It is not only the ingredients we use which are cultivated with such care, but also the level of detail that goes into making our sweet confections, which means that nothing is done in a hurry! Indeed it takes up to 5 days to make each Lavolio. Take our Dark Chocolate Hazelnut, each one made using a toasted Hazelnut of Piemonte IGP which is coated in a layer of white chocolate, then dark chocolate and finally, to preserve the delicate creation within, is finished with a thin spun sugar shell.
