This is a win-win for Oscar as well. He is sourcing 80% of the hazelnut and 70% of the almonds he needs virtually next door to the la Morella nuts factory: “We are very close to the nut farmers we buy our raw materials from, not only distance-wise. I know all our suppliers by their first name. That’s what sets us apart from others. La Morella nuts is a manufacturer of premium quality nut products. Our personal relationships with nut farmers are one of the secrets of our success. Like this, we have the guarantee to receive only the best nuts on the market.” Josep is showing Oscar a few of today’s harvested hazelnut in a container at the back of this tractor. Both very much like what they have in their hands - the source of whole and chopped nuts, crocants and sablages up to delicious nougatine as well as 100% pure nut pastes, all made by la Morella nuts.

Before returning to the la Morella nuts factory in the outskirts of Catalan city Reus, Oscar is paying a visit to the nearby nut cracker. For Pere Ferre this is the busiest time of the year. Many nut farmers bring their freshly harvested nuts to his cooperative owned by the regional nut farmers. “At la Morella nuts we have no stocks at our own facility. For every customer order, the nuts we are using are deshelled just before Pere and his team are shipping the necessary quantity over to us. As of the delivery to our factory, we process, pack and seal the final products within 24 hours. La Morella nuts products are all about freshness. This is what makes us unique.”, adds Oscar Sans.

At the very maximum, the 2015 Catalan hazelnut harvest will remain with the cooperative’s storage tanks until July 2016. Till then, the nuts stored in high silo tanks step-by-step leave the cooperative’s premises - a big chunk to the la Morella nuts factory a few car minutes away.

Back in the factory, first thing, Oscar Sans is checking the newly arrived macadamia and pecan nut lots. “Macadamia and pecan see more demand from the Asian market. That is why since one year ago, we have also been producing sablages, bresiliennes and pralinés from these nut types. In general, we see a strong growth in demand for nut products in emerging markets. Nuts can give chocolate products an add-on that is widely viewed as a healthy benefit. Global demand in nuts continues to rise. Estimations assume a growth by 10% each year, with a big part coming from emerging markets. Here at la Morella nuts,  however, the majority of our products today still go to customers all across Europe, with Belgium, Germany and France as our main markets.”