135 years and 40 million a year: the empire behind Elizabeth, the preserves with which you eat so well

• ECONOMY The Garavilla family, the richest in Spain in 2022

• MONARCHY Don Juan Carlos does not eat mushrooms for fear that they are poisonous

• FASHION Cuca Solana, from Galician preserves to the Cibeles catwalk

How good, how good!

Today we eat with Isabel!

I was walking on all fours in 1960 when Spanish televisions were seduced by this catchy stanza.

Joyfully sung as a duet by a female and a male voice, the ad reflected the spirit of an age where the housewife tried to satisfy her family at all costs.

Without much effort, the Franco-era woman could dump fish fillets into a salad.

With the passage of time, society evolved, Spain was fishing for more and more democracy and women were able to free themselves from the hook of the home and go out to breathe a life outside the kitchen and look for other baits.

The ads changed, the role of women too.

But not the rhythm with which Industrias Garavilla gave the can, in a good way, each campaign.

With a jingle impossible not to hum at recess or in the office, canned fish fed the memory of the Spanish at that time.

in cans accessible to all geographic locations.

However, very few knew the story behind it.

.

Today, after many events, the company has changed its headquarters to Italy as part of

, but its legacy has been written in the Spanish seas through the biography of a family.

Conservas Garavilla

takes its surname from its founder,

y

, a young man from the Biscayan coastal town of

.

In 1887, the businessman decided to embark on the industry with a small fleet in

.

It will not be until 1917 when the company achieves its most successful formula by designing the "La equitativa" factory.

Considered one of the most innovative and powerful canning companies in Europe,

The heir to the company in 1931,

, will be forced to cross the ocean and end up with new ideas abroad.

When the tide of the war subsided, the canning company decided to return to its land and sea of ​​origin.

After following the silhouette of the Bay of Biscay for years

.

During the 1950s, the company had more than a dozen factories on the Peninsula and the Canary Islands.

Determined to have one in every port,

followed the "canning where there is fish" principle.

The businessman tried to compete against other linear tuna companies such as

and

from Galicia .

Perhaps more recognized by buyers at the time.

It was a very saturated market.

The 1960s were a time of massive fishing,

that Spanish companies must comply with did not exist as it does today.

The Cantabrian fishing grounds were full and the boats did not miss their hunting opportunities.

But soon many canneries,

among them , realized that perhaps the most important thing was not only in the product, which came from the same place for everyone.

As a mermaid, half tuna half humanized,

was born as a brand and icon.

She is willing to call new consumers with her songs even in spite of keeping her original methods.

The relevant thing was not at the bottom of the sea, but on the surface of a television.

In order to innovate and sell, it was necessary to get on the advertising wheelbarrow, which in those days did not even have a car and was only about to start.

Then came the catchy rhymes and the happy spots.

Eating well with

was like eating wonderfully with

.

But people only thought about the brand, humming and rubbing Isabel's tender loins with her palate.

Despite the fact that its star product was tuna, any

deserved to be part of the catalog offered by the now popular company.

Behind a great man there was a great

who survived without aging for decades.

With

always at the helm, the company reached the 1980s in perfect condition.

However, they did not want to limit themselves to Spanish territory.

Winds of expansion pushed the Biscayan company to found four factories on three continents.

With tuna from the north of the oceans as the main objective,

, located in

and

, respectively, were renovated.

In

, a factory was opened in the coastal town of Manta.

Meanwhile,

had its industry in

In 2012, Conservas Garavilla

at the Palau de la Música Catalana or in successful restaurants for clients and workers.

With the actor Imanol Arias as the image of his new campaign, not only the history of the company was commemorated, but also the acquisitions of the

and

canneries , the latter manufacturer of the favorite spicy sardines of King Juan Carlos.

The Galician and the Catalan became part of their Basque partner, but the changes would not end here.

During the year 2015, the company would have an Italian accent, although maintaining a royal flavor.

Positive billing data

Grupo de Conservas Garavilla SL is part of the Bolton Food Group.

As a firm, the company achieved very important numbers.

In the 2021 financial year,

achieved sales of 44 million euros.

With

,

and

as brands, it is a case of success within our economy.

The company is making a name for itself by entering

Currently part of the

, an Italian company with international reach, the Biscayan canning company continues to feed the population with morsels of history.

With

at the forefront, in recent years they have entered the trend of dishes prepared using their fish as a base.

Raising sustainable consumption and responsible fishing as their flag, they sail without being anchored in the past, letting themselves be carried away by new currents.

Of course, they never drift in a market that is no longer what it was.

But, at least, it reminds us with rhythm and salt.

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