The history of the agróptimum group
Our business group is an agrifood and biotechnology company founded by the La Mancha-born entrepreneur Ángel Minaya, our current CEO. Today, our group has become the largest producer and marketer of premium pistachio plants and seeds.
Our beginnings date back to 2016, the year Minaya first became involved in pistachio cultivation and saw the enormous potential of the crop in Spain, thanks to the suitability of our soils, our climate, and the growing market demand.
Historically, the world's leading pistachio producers have always been Turkey and Iran. However, it was in the United States, specifically California, where intensive cultivation was introduced and fruit homogenization was achieved through the use of UCB#1 seeds. Today, as a result of these innovations, the United States is the leading producer of pistachios per hectare of cultivated land and the second largest producer in the world in total quantities.
After his trip to California, Minaya imported this seed to Spain with the goal of creating the best pistachio plant in the world. A plant resistant to salinity, disease, drought, and cold. Along with the seed, he also imported more than 40 years of experience in pistachio cultivation from ACEMI Inc., our strategic partner; knowledge that is now reflected in all of our group's companies.
The seeds of excellence, the beginning of the dream
The seeds that gave birth to the dream of a new agriculture are UCB#1 seeds certified by the University of California, Davis. These seeds come from the crossbreeding of two species, Atlantic Pistacia y Pistacia integerrimaThese seeds are highly tolerant of arid climates, water stress, and high salinity. A seed that seems to have been designed for the Spanish countryside.
In 2019, Minaya signed a collaboration agreement with ACEMI Inc., our current strategic partner. This agreement allowed us to import this seed into Spain and made the dream of creating the perfect pistachio plant a reality. With this seed in our hands, and the know-how Our partner's nursery business, creating the best nursery in Spain was just a matter of time. That same year, ACEMI Spain was born, our nursery and the group's second company.
UCB#1 Seeds, the seeds of a future for Spanish agriculture
Since then, ACEMI Spain has been a brand of promise in pistachio plant production. The brand has become a symbol of superior quality, and our product speaks for itself. From the construction of the nursery to the present day, we have continuously improved our production techniques and processes, phase by phase. We have optimized every step involved in pistachio plant production with a single goal: to create the perfect pistachio plant.
We currently have 75.000 square meters of high-tech nurseries and a production capacity of one million plants, making us the largest pistachio nursery in Spain and Europe. All of this is just the fruit of a small seed, a dream that germinated in 2016 and continues to grow vigorously over the years, yielding benefits for the entire Spanish agricultural sector.
The beginning of the 360º approach
The incorporation of ACEMI Spain into the business group allowed us to begin working on a 360º value proposition. All the imported and acquired knowledge is carefully passed on from Agróptimum to our technical team, training the best specialists. Thanks to this, we can offer solutions ranging from plant sales to plantation planning and execution, including comprehensive pistachio cultivation management and technical advice on plantations. Furthermore, having the capacity to produce homogeneous pistachio plants in large quantities within the group made it possible for us to offer our services. turnkey plantation to large clients.
At this point, growth was guaranteed. Having our own nursery made it possible for our plants to bear the Agróptimum Group's seal of quality. It was also the basis for developing a plant traceability system from field to nursery. The numbers spoke for themselves. Since 2021, the Agróptimum Group's growth has been exponential, having doubled the number of plants produced and grown in the field between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Currently, we produce half of the pistachio plants grown in our country and have developed more than 5.000 hectares of crops, not including those we manage for third parties.
The inclusion of ACEMISpain The group was able to offer turnkey plantations with plants that met our high quality standards.
To date, our group has multiplied its turnover sevenfold in just five years, reaching €14,9 million in fiscal year 2022. We have several investment projects underway that will increase our growth capacity, always based on the pursuit of excellence that permeates our company's services, processes, and final products. This is, in short, a unique entrepreneurial model born in Villanueva de la Jara, in Cuenca, a town in the Basque Country where our group creates 160 direct jobs. We are agents of social change in rural Spain.
a glimpse into the future
Currently, Spain is in a privileged strategic position when it comes to analyzing the viability of pistachio cultivation. On the one hand, it is a country with a strong agricultural tradition and unique climatic conditions, ideal for pistachios. On the other hand, it is a country that is part of the European Union, which guarantees it a privileged position when trading the product with our European neighbors, compared to countries like Iran or the United States.
If the pistachio's privileged position is strengthened due to the excellent conditions found on the Iberian Peninsula, the crop could become a key product in Spanish exports. The upward trend is already evident: in 2021/2022, global consumption increased by 30%, continuing an upward trend since then. Pistachios are becoming an increasingly popular food, and scientific studies emerging from this new consumption pattern continue to praise their numerous health benefits.
Over time, with adequate investment in R&D, we will develop our own pistachio variety, even better adapted to the specific characteristics of Spain, with unique organoleptic characteristics that will allow it to become a symbol of our agriculture and, by extension, a symbol of our culinary culture, just as olive trees and vines have traditionally been.
Pistachio, a future for Spanish agriculture
