Naranjas Lola: The garden that great chefs love

"Do you know that in your environment I have several clients? Even the directors know me."

, founder of Naranjas Lola, does not miss the opportunity to show the pride he feels for his fruits, grown naturally in Cullera (Valencia), without the intervention of artificial or chemical elements in their maturation and conservation, which gives them « an incomparable flavor» that can be on the customer's palate just 24 hours after ordering them,

.

"It is known that there are many idiots in Spain and I deceive them all," jokes Aparici when he is told about the dedications that some of the most prestigious chefs in the country have made to his delicacies.

"A product like Lola Oranges helps to bring the kitchen to the forefront," said

.

"They are a luxury, a golden and juicy fruit to the point of perdition," says

, while

makes a poetic proclamation: "It's a pity that 40 years have had to pass to discover that natural oranges harvested at the right time and served promptly They are the best of gifts. Thanks to Naranjas Lola for discovering it for us."

The beginnings, on the other hand, were not so promising: four years after starting production, they barely sold 1% of their harvest.

"

. And those that had reminded me of the Red Cross briefcases. And a computer in Spain was owned by those who had it: very few people," recalls Aparici.

But even so, it was launched for online sale, although "Google Spain did not start until 2002".

He did it from the old Telefónica Terra portal, where he had "a little leaf, he didn't get to a page", in which "not even viruses" entered.

But since housing in the United States cost him just 7,000 pesetas a year, he decided to resist.

Without WhatsApp or Telegram -means by which orders can now be placed- to make himself known, he decided to advertise "by hand".

His wife,

, after whom the company is named, and he wrote 15,000 letters by hand that they sent to the hotels and restaurants they found in the Repsol Guide.

Only 40 answered, of which only four became regular customers.

But little by little, his citrus began "to wiggle and wiggle to success."

At present,

His jump from the garden to the table is produced in boxes of 5, 10, or 15 kg, whole or mixed.

They only work with their own harvest and in season.

From November to May they sell oranges, their star product.

Diversification came with lemons, limes, grapefruit, tangerines and blood, to include tomato, melon, watermelon, avocado and the smallest of the family, the kumquat and limequat.

The boxes with which the shipments are made are made with

, with wood from responsibly managed forests.

Thanks to an innovative assembly system, they do not need any metal element, and are made solely of wood.

The woods used also have chain of custody certifications from the highest certifying entities of respect for forests.

With the idea that the family business continues to operate during the summer months, they have set up a workshop with which they

.

They prepare them from almonds, walnuts, raisins and dates, following a homemade recipe.

In the same way, they also produce orange, clementine and blood orange jams.

"Everything helps, but the orange is the queen. Wherever you put an orange, remove the rest. Almost all of us like an orange juice, and at least, if it is small, it has three or four oranges", points out the company founder.

From the fields of Cullera they started with 16 hectares and now have more than 220, which have come to supply

.

Federico Aparici shares the credit with his entire family, who work alongside him, because he considers himself "a hick".

"The biggest redneck in Spain", to be exact.

But still, he believes that he did "something that no one in the world has done."

"Even the most millionaire, when he goes to buy a toothbrush on the internet, he has to pay. If he doesn't do it, he doesn't receive it, buy some shoes, a pen or a broom," he maintains.

"Well, in 1998, when the Internet was unknown to anyone and few paid by card, I asked myself: 'How can I make people trust a poor farmer from Cullera, Valencia, who claims that he quickly sends oranges to Madrid or Zaragoza?'. The solution was to make future customers aware that they could buy from me without any problem and without risk,

," he told them. And the reckless idea worked.

"That was invented by Naranjas Lola to be able to sell online and give security to customers in Seville or Gerona," he says.

She left it "to her conscience."

It was successful, but

," she replies sarcastically.

Still, although he was tempted to take his donkey and cart and go to their houses in person, he held back.

But he doesn't forget.

"Since I am a friend of San Pedro, I know that he has them all written down at the gates of heaven."

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