Riso Bello

The first factory, founded in Genoa in 1856, processed imported paddy rice and exported it to South America. Its success and increasing experience in the field soon encouraged the Company to turn their attention to the Italian crops and thus the Genoa factory was moved to Novara first, and then to Robbio Lomellina, in the heart of the Italian rice-growing region. At the same time, another factory was opened in Argentina, to meet the requirements of the South American market, and Argentina is where the name Riso Gallo (Arroz Gallo) was coined. Since illiteracy was still widespread, the company decided to opt for animal symbols to identify the different rice varieties: a giraffe, a tiger, an eagle, an elephant and a cock stood out on all the packets. Soon, the cock – the animal associated with best-quality rice - became the symbol of the company.