Rare and precious foods on the tables of the best restaurants

For over thirty years, Longino & Cardenal has been the benchmark for quality catering.

The group

Longino & Cardenal is a reference point for high quality catering. Through a scouting activity aimed at excellence and innovation, it searches all over the world for rare and precious foods to bring them to the tables of the best restaurants and hotels on a national and international level, anticipating and dictating future gastronomic trends.

Over the years, the company has distinguished itself for its proposal of first-class products (over 1,800), distributed through over 70 partners, to meet the needs of high-profile Italian and foreign food operators. It boasts a portfolio of about 4,500 customers in Italy alone and counts about 80% of starred restaurants.

Longino & Cardenal is today one of the main Italian "food globetrotters". With passion and courage it carries out a continuous search for the best raw materials, often little known to most, in order to satisfy the new trends of consumer behavior that seek excellent products proposed in innovative forms.

History

Longino & Cardenal was founded in 1988 as a company importing fresh caviar from Iran and reselling it to restaurants and specialized delicatessens. The intuition of importing the raw material and reselling it repackaged with a precise identity through a new brand proved to be successful, giving life to a new business model and a story of great success.

Over the years, the passion for haute cuisine, the accurate research of high quality raw materials, as well as in 1993 the entrance of CEO Riccardo Uleri in the capital of the company (who in 2004 revised and expanded the business model) led the company to record a steady growth until it became a reference point for the highest Italian restaurants.

In 2013 the internationalization project begins. For the direct presidium of the respective markets in 2013 opens the office in Hong Kong and in 2015 that of Dubai and in 2019 New York.

In 2015, moreover, L&C acquired a stake in the company "Il Satiro Danzante", historical exclusive supplier of shrimp from Mazara del Vallo, and creates the brand Don Gambero, in order to develop vertical integration and direct garrison of the distributed brands.

The strengths of Longino & Cardenal

Brand recognizable, reliable and consolidated Over 1,800 references in 12 categories. Selection of products with focus on quality, excellence and passion in research.

Ability to communicate by creating a network between suppliers and customers. Organization of events and trips to promote the products. Collaborations with star chefs and personalities from the world of Food & Beverage and catering.

The structure implemented provides for an integration between multi-firm and single-firm agents on the territory, and sales accounts within the company. After the creation of the contact with the customer, and the first order by the representatives, the sales accounts support the network on the weekly order collection.

Consolidated position in Italy and presence in Hong Kong, Dubai and New York markets. International supplier network and possibility to replicate the business model.

A system of integrated logistics and shipments guaranteed in maximum 72 hours and an accurate management of purchases guarantee a minimum stock (unsold items equal to 0,6% of the turnover).

Longino's Management boasts consolidated experience and high expertise in the Food & Beverage sector. Constant attention is paid to the implementation of management systems functional to Longino's business model.

Management Team

Riccardo Uleri

Managing Director and Majority Shareholder

After a few years of activity in the family textile business in Legnano and a brief experience in the administrative department of an IT company, he decided to take over Longino & Cardenal sas in 1993. He moved the company to Pogliano Milanese in 1993 and in 25 years of activity he managed to create a product portfolio with 1800 excellent products, a network of more than 180 suppliers and about 4,500 customers, opening up to the international market with the establishment of the Hong Kong Branch in 2013 and the Dubai Branch in 2015, New York in 2019 and bringing the company to a turnover of over 30 million Euros. Constant growth to the point of making it a reference point for the highest Italian catering.

Marco Rosa

Country Manager Dubai

Graduated in International Business and Economics at the University of Pavia, he later obtained a Master in International Hospitality Management at the IHMA in Rome. After an initial experience in Deloitte as Auditor he continued for a period of two years as Operations Manager at Hotel Melia in London. In Longino since 2013 he started as Category Manager for the Pogliano Milanese office, dealing with the strengthening of some product categories. He continued in 2016 as Country Manager for Longino & Cardenal Trading LLC assuming the leadership of the Dubai Branch.

Cristina Sambuchi

Chief Financial Officer and Minority Partner

Graduated in Economics and Business at Bocconi University, she then obtained the qualification to the Order of Chartered Accountants and Auditors. After a five-year experience in Ernst & Young first as Corporate Finance Analyst and then as Auditor, she worked for three years as Administrative Manager in an IT company. In Longino & Cardenal since 2003 he holds the position of Business Controller and Minority Partner following the growth of the company in the field of management control. He collaborated in the opening of the three offices in Hong Kong, Dubai and New York.

Alberto Bonassi

Country Manager, Hong Kong

Graduated in Economics and Marketing from the University of Parma with a specialization in agri-food product marketing. He has developed his career in the food sector at an international level, progressing vertically from retail to the restaurant industry, initially in Italy and later in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Finally, he took on the role of Country Manager for the Hong Kong branch of Longino & Cardenal Limited.

Franco Denari

Country Manager, US

Franco Denari, after graduating in Economics & Business Management from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, He began his career as a Product Manager at Pro Radio S.r.l. from 2001 to 2003, developing sales and product strategies in the Italian market. From 2003 to 2006, he led marketing, sales, and advertising services to the music industry at SugarNet S.r.l., eventually becoming COO. From 2007 to 2012, he served as Managing Director in Italy, Spain, and Brazil for the Finnish multinational Sulake OY. He co-founded and served as CEO of Eataly Net S.r.l. from 2012 to 2020, managing an organization of over 150 people and overseeing marketing and commercial development operations. He later led management and strategic operations for Oleificio Zucchi 1810 S.p.A. in New York, and since 2022, he has been Group President & CDIO for the Krause Group, active in various sectors in Italy and the United States. 

Vincenzo Cannata

Digital & Ecommerce Director

Graduated in Business Administration at Luigi Bocconi University in Milan, he began his professional career in the Spanish multinational Zed Worldwide in the Telecommunications sector starting as Product Manager and then years later as Country Manager for the Italian branch. He then participated in the dizzying growth of Privalia, leader in online flash sales, as Head of Digital Marketing in Italy and then as Traffic & Acquisition Manager for the entire group. In 2013 he is Co-founder and CEO of LOVEThESIGN, e-commerce reference in the online sale of design furniture for the home. In 2020 he falls in love with the digitalization project of Longino & Cardenal following the launch of the e-commerce channel.