Grefusa, the Valencian king of sunflower seeds and snacks, with a turnover of €166M

At one end of the avenue, there is the Vall de La Casella Infant and Primary Education School. At the other, a small park with swings. In between, a few new single-family homes stand, combined with a large vacant lot full of scrap metal, an outdoor parking lot, and a freshly mowed field. It is an area of Alzira, in the Ribera Alta, half-finished: residential use coexists with vestiges of the agricultural and industrial past. In fact, very close by was the Grefusa factory, one of the historic companies for sunflower seeds, nuts, and snacks in Spain. It is no coincidence, then, that since January 2013 this new avenue bears the name of José Gregori Furió, who founded the company in 1929.

Almost a hundred years later, Grefusa continues at a good pace. The company closed 2024 with a turnover of 166 million euros and a profit of 15.4 million, 6% more than the previous year. Approximately 275 million bags of its products are consumed each year, from the mythical Gublins and Papadelta to El Piponazo, MisterCorn, Pipas Tijuana, or Snatt’s. The company, which employs more than 700 people, maintains its production plants in Alzira and in Degradas, Portugal, and has strengthened the nut business in recent years with a new factory of more than 9,500 square meters in the Valencian town.

The story begins in 1929, when José Gregori Furió founded a business in Alzira initially dedicated to the storage and commercialization of agricultural products. There were no colored bags yet, nor a mascot, nor snacks: at that first moment, the company operated in an environment much more rooted in local agricultural trade. The big step came from 1950 onwards, when it specialized in nuts and, above all, in Valencian peanuts, a product that allowed it to begin building its own identity within the food sector.

The growth of the business made it necessary to register a commercial brand. Thus was born Grefusa, a name built from the founder's surnames: Gregori Furió, public limited company. The brand condensed the family origin of the company, but also marked the beginning of a more ambitious stage. In 1962, José Gregori Furió's sons, Alfredo and Agustín, joined the business and took over. With them, the company expanded its activities and began to toast nuts.

The snacks: a risky bet

For years, that model worked. But the leap that truly changed Grefusa came in the eighties, when the second generation decided to take the company into new territory: that of snacks. The company came from the world of nuts and making this shift required investing in machinery, taking risks, and competing in a category much more linked to impulsive consumption, leisure, and brand building.

For this reason, the brand revved up its advertising machinery. In 1986 Grefusa created Grefusito, its mascot. Two years later, in 1988, it took the definitive step with the launch of Papadelta, the product that marked the company's entry into the world of snacks. From here, Grefusa strung together a decisive decade: in 1990 it launched El Piponazo, an extra-large sunflower seed presented as the largest on the market; in 1991 came Gublins, with an elongated and difficult-to-imitate shape; and in 1993 MisterCorn was born, the crunchy corn that ended up becoming another of its emblematic products.

Their products began to be sold in bags designed for sale at kiosks or supermarkets and for consumption in the schoolyard, as a snack, or on a bench with friends. In 2001, Agustín Gregori Bernabeu took over as general manager and led the third generational change. In the same year, the company launched Pipas G Tijuana, the first flavored sunflower seeds. The product was an immediate success and became one of the brand's major hits.

In recent years, Grefusa has reinforced this strategy with new business moves. In 2007, it inaugurated the Snatt’s line, aimed at consumers seeking products with a certain nutritional balance. In 2018, it acquired the Portuguese company Frutorra, specializing in dried fruits, and signed an alliance with the German group Intersnack, one of the European giants in the sector.