Longino & Cardenal is a benchmark for high-quality foodservice

Through scouting activities aimed at excellence and innovation, the company searches the world for rare and precious foods to bring them to the tables of the best restaurants and hotels nationally and internationally, anticipating and dictating future gastronomic trends.

Over the years, the company has distinguished itself by offering over 2,000 top-quality products distributed through more than 70 partners to meet the needs of high-profile Italian and foreign food operators. It boasts a portfolio of over 5,000 customers in Italy alone, including numerous Michelin-starred restaurants.

The Story

Longino & Cardenal was founded in 1988 as a company importing fresh caviar from Iran for resale to restaurants and specialty food stores. The idea of importing the raw material and reselling it repackaged with a specific identity under a new brand proved to be a winning one, giving rise to a new business model and a highly successful story.

Over the years, a passion for fine dining, a careful search for the highest quality raw materials, and the arrival of CEO Riccardo Uleri in 1993 (who revised and expanded the business model in 2004) led the company to record steady growth, making it a benchmark for the highest level of Italian cuisine.

In 2013, the internationalization project began. In order to directly oversee the respective markets, the Hong Kong office was opened in 2013, followed by Dubai in 2015 and New York in 2019.

In 2015, L&C also acquired a stake in Il Satiro Danzante, the historic exclusive supplier of Mazara del Vallo shrimp, and created the Don Gambero brand in order to develop vertical integration and direct control of the brands it distributes.

Strengths

Brand

A recognizable, reliable, and well-established brand Over 1,800 products in 12 categories. Product selection focused on quality, excellence, and passion for research.

Network

Ability to communicate by creating networks between suppliers and customers. Collaborations with Michelin-starred chefs and personalities from the world of food & beverage and catering.

Markets

Consolidated position in Italy and presence in the Hong Kong and Dubai markets. International supplier network and potential to replicate the business model.

Sales Network

The structure implemented provides for integration between multi-firm and single-firm agents in the territory, and internal sales accounts within the company.

Logistics

An integrated logistics system, guaranteed shipping within 72 hours, and careful purchase management ensure that warehouse stock is kept to a minimum.

Management

  • Riccardo Uleri

    CEO AND MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER

    After several years working in the family textile business in Legnano and a brief stint 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, managed to create a product portfolio with 1,800 items of excellence, a network of over 180 suppliers and approximately 4,500 customers, also opening up to the international market with the establishment of branches in Hong Kong in 2013 and Dubai in 2015, New York in 2019, bringing the company's turnover to over €30 million. Constant growth has made it a benchmark for the highest level of Italian catering.

  • Cristina Sambuchi

    FINANCIAL DIRECTOR AND MINORITY SHAREHOLDER

    After graduating in Economics and Business from Luigi Bocconi University, she obtained her qualification as a Chartered Accountant and Auditor. Following five years at Ernst & Young, first as a corporate finance analyst and then as an auditor, she worked for three years as an administrative manager at an IT company. She has been Business Controller and Minority Partner at Longino & Cardenal since 2003, overseeing the company's growth in the area of management control. She collaborated in the opening of the three offices in Hong Kong, Dubai, and New York.

  • Marco Rosa

    COUNTRY MANAGER DUBAI

    After graduating in International Business and Economics from the University of Pavia, he then obtained a Master's degree in International Hospitality Management from the IHMA in Rome. Following an initial experience at Deloitte as an auditor, he went on to spend two years as Operations Manager at the Hotel Melia in London. He joined Longino in 2013 as Category Manager for the Pogliano Milanese office, where he was responsible for strengthening certain product categories. In 2016, he continued his career as Country Manager for Longino & Cardenal Trading LLC, taking over the management of the Dubai branch.

  • VINCENZO CANNATA

    LONGINO DIGITAL FACTORY MANAGING DIRECTOR

    After graduating in Business Economics from Luigi Bocconi University in Milan, he began his professional career at Spanish multinational Zed Worldwide in the telecommunications sector, starting as Product Manager and then moving on years later to Country Manager for the Italian branch. He subsequently participated in the rapid growth of Privalia, a 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 co-founded and became CEO of LOVEThESIGN, a leading e-commerce site for online sales of designer home furnishings. In 2020, he fell in love with Longino & Cardenal's digitalization project, following the launch of the e-commerce channel and subsequently launching Longino Digital Factory, the group's digital agency.