The idea was born in 1970 in the region of Puglia, in the city of Monopoli, when three brothers Giuseppe, Michele and Pietro Leggiero, supported by their father Cosimo, began growing horticultural products in their family company. With the time, the idea turns into the desire to trade their production directly in the Italian and, international markets and through the large-scale distributionThe Leggiero brothers' enthusiasm is joined by the third generation, their sons Cosimo, Angelo, Cosimo, and Fabio, who helped to expand the business to markets in northern Europe and in Italy with large-scale distribution.

In the year 2000 was built a new production site with an area of 2.500 m², equipped with cells for the storage of raw materials and with modern machines for processing top quality fruit and vegetables. In 2015, a significant modernization of the facility involved expanding the storage cells and processing area, introducing ozone technology for washing and storing the raw material and installing a hydrocooler for rapid product temperature decrease. Over the years, the surface area, products and clients have grown, increasing from an initial cultivated area of 30 hectares to about 100 hectares owned in 2015.

With the growth of the client portfolio, the cultivated areas directly managed by Ortofrutticola Egnathia reach about 250 hectares across the provinces of Bari and Brindisi, also thanks to the structuring of a production district made up of 10 other farms in the area, which are followed in their production phase starting from the seed up to the product ready for harvest.

All cultivated areas are coordinated and monitored by our agronomist: production is planned starting from the company's own nursery for seedling production; all growth phases in the field are controlled; chemical and microbiological analyses are carried out to ensure consumers receive an excellent quality, healthy and safe product derived from an integrated production with low environmental impact. The company obtains GLOBALGAP certification , which, combined with ISO 22005 certification for "certified supply chain traceability," ensures consumers a controlled product traceable from the field to the table to guarantee good agricultural practices. Moreover, GLOBALGAP is also extended to the entire associated production district, qualifying almost all production.

The pillars on which the company is based are: the recovery of agricultural products cultivated in the past, the enhancement of local production and the respect for the Mediterranean peasantry. Over these years, in the countryside of Monopoli, just a stone's throw from the sea and the ancient Roman city of Egnathia, in a land of Puglia so generous and genuine, the Leggiero family has built a solid network, which brings certified, fresh, and good products to Italian and international tables.