• The new product maintains the traditional flavour of chorizo while incorporating the properties of Quinoa.
  • Chorizo with Quinoa is the result of the collaboration between the R&D department of Embutidos Ortiz and the Agri-Food Technology Centre (Ctic-Cita) of La Rioja.
  • It is made only with pork, garlic, paprika, salt and quinoa.
  • Selected for the Carrefour Innovation Awards, in whose shops throughout Spain it is now on sale.

Embutidos Ortiz, based in Navarrete (La Rioja) and which has been making Rioja sausages in the traditional way for over a hundred years, has presented its new Chorizo with Quinoa, a gluten-free product made with 100% natural ingredients, without additives or artificial colourings. The addition of Quinoa to the traditional formula of the chorizo made by Embutidos Ortiz provides nutritional value with a high content of vegetable proteins of high biological value, while respecting all its traditional flavour. In collaboration with the Centro Tecnológico Agroalimentario de La Rioja (Ctic-Cita), Embutidos Ortiz presents a Chorizo with Quinoa.

“The most important thing was to maintain the traditional flavour of Riojan chorizo. What we have done is to keep the same formula as our great-grandparents and add just enough quinoa so that it does not mask the traditional flavour, but adds its high vegetable protein content. Our Chorizo with Quinoa only contains pork, paprika, salt, garlic and 4% quinoa”. explained Inés Ortiz, head of R&D&I at the Riojan company during the presentation. For Inés Ortiz, “our family business, being a benchmark of tradition and quality, had to achieve differentiation within a sector that is changing”. Chorizo with Quinoa is the result of a project within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund and has been financed by the Economic Development Agency of La Rioja (ADER)and the ERDF Operational Programme of La Rioja. Isabel Uribe, R&D&I technician at the Agri-Food Technology Centre (Ctic-Cita), has stressed that the most important thing is that

“The product is already on the market, which is one of our priorities and those of the company itself. Once Embutidos Ortiz had presented us with their idea, we carried out various market studies to analyse consumer demand. Among their preferences was quinoa as a culinary innovation. After many tests and formulations, we came up with a prototype that we have been improving until we reached the final product, which is what the consumer will now judge with his or her intention to buy”. Embutidos Ortiz’s Chorizo with Quinoa is now on sale in all Carrefour shops in Spain, for which it is eligible for the Innovation Awards.

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Environment of La Rioja, Iñígo Nagore,who was really surprised by the new product, stressed the importance of implementing R&D&I systems from the point of view of what the consumer is demanding. “Research and development has to be trained and Embutidos Ortiz has managed to put this product on the market in a short time with the help of the Centro Tecnológico Agroalimentario, which is also bearing fruit. What is clear to me is that I am sure that this is just a start and you will already be thinking about other projects. You have to innovate to compete, it is the only way to do it, as we saw recently at the last edition of Alimentaria. But it is very important to do it without losing sight of the consumer, because without him there can be no success”.

Alfredo Martínez, head of R&D&I at the Economic Development Agency of La Rioja, which has financed the project, described his experience withEmbutidos Ortiz as “A reference project, a model to follow in order to maintain the strategic premise recommended by the ADER. We are talking about an SME in the agri-food sector, which is so important for La Rioja, which has started an R&D&I project from a practical point of view for the market, where it is already, and which also seeks to improve exports and the growth of a company from La Rioja. It is a book to follow, which also involves a Technology Centre that is vital for the development of the agri-food sector”.

CARREFOUR INNOVATION AWARDS 2018

Embutidos Ortiz’s Chorizo with Quinoa has been selected for the 2018 Carrefour Innovation Awards, where the product is already on sale in shops throughout Spain. The Carrefour Innovation Awards were created to recognise the efforts of companies in the food and consumer goods sector that invest in research and develop products that meet the needs of today’s society. Each year, 12 awards are presented to the most innovative products in each of the categories into which the retail sector is divided. After an initial selection process, the winners are chosen by popular vote via the Internet at www.premiosalainnovacion.es.

Caption (from left to right):

Miguel Ortiz, gerente de Embutidos Ortiz
Iñigo Nagore, consejero de Agricultura, Ganadería y Medio Ambiente de La Rioja
Alfredo Martínez, responsable de I+D+i de la Agencia de Desarrollo Económico de La Rioja
Inés Ortiz, responsable de I+D+i de Embutidos Ortiz
Isabel Uribe, técnico de I+D+i del Centro Tecnológico Agroalimentario de La Rioja

Más información: Inés Ortiz 637 458 000
comunicacion@embutidosortiz.com