Paving the Way for Innovation
The Art of Tequila: Production and Tasting Quality
November 17, 2024
Neriku Limited proudly celebrated its 55th anniversary this year, marking a significant milestone in its rich history.
The company’s journey began modestly in a small workshop in Valletta, where it initially specialized in selling sfineg and chips.
Despite the shop's limited space, it remained the business’s home for a decade, even as demand surged with the introduction of new products such as pastizzi, ravioli, and cakes. To accommodate this growing demand, founder and owner, Neriku Zammit expanded the operation by renting further space.
In 1975, Neriku achieved a notable milestone by acquiring the first ravioli machine in Malta, becoming a pioneer in introducing frozen ravioli to the local market. The rapid increase in demand and sales necessitated the company's relocation to Floriana in the early 1980s, where it established its headquarters for nearly two decades.
During this period, employees were working all day and night, supplying around 400 shops across Malta and Gozo on a weekly basis.
The second generation’s focus on manufacturing yielded impressive results, with the business achieving record-breaking sales, including selling over a million cream cakes every year, and producing 10,000 to 12,000 pastizzi daily.
Eventually, the company relocated to its current central processing facility at the Corradino Industrial Estate in Paola, positioning itself for continued growth and success.
Foundation for success
While the business has undergone significant evolution over the years, one constant has remained: the unwavering dedication and commitment of the founding Zammit family. Charles and Raymond have worked alongside their father, Neriku,
since childhood, with their own children later joining them. Although they often shared light-hearted moments, the family has always stayed true to their mission and values of providing exceptional food and service to customers.
The third generation of the Zammit family was encouraged to pursue education and careers outside of the family business. However, Anne Marie, Karl, and Joseph chose to apply their diverse experiences from various industries, both locally and abroad, to introduce fresh ideas into the company.
From left: Katl Zammit (Director), Charles Zammit, Raymond Zammit, Joseph Zammit (Director), Anne Marie Temmink (Director)
Establishing Tomorrow`s Standards
Their transition into leadership was gradual and supervised by Charles and Raymond, allowing them to gain a deep understanding of the trade. By learning from their own mistakes through hands-on experience, they established new practices and created new standards for the company.
Moving away from the linear setup, Neriku Ltd. expanded its workforce to around 100 employees who brought new, innovative ideas allowing the business to grow and modernise faster.
Further driving the company towards success, the third generation of the founding family has diversified their service portfolio.
The Neriku Catering brand offers a wide range of outside catering options including a selection of home party menus, BBQs, and extensive packages for corporate events such as breakfasts, coffee breaks, healthy lunches, and high-end events like product launches.
While also catering for weddings ranging from small, intimate gatherings to large, glamourous celebrations.
Building the Future
A significant milestone for Neriku Limited was its successful expansion into contract catering. This strategic move broadened the company’s business portfolio and enabled it to play a key role in some of the island’s most notable events, such as supplying daily meals to the team of approximately 700 people working on the two-month conversion of the Silver Cloud cruise liner at Palumbo Malta shipyard, which helped position Malta on the map for cruise liner conversions.
These early large-scale contracts marked the beginning of the company’s expansion into delivering major contracts through its contract catering brand: The Big Kitchen (TBK).
Founded in 2021, TBK is delivering tailored, flexible, and affordable catering solutions to sectors like healthcare, tourism, education, and business. The Big Kitchen takes care of preparing, cooking, and serving daily meals, allowing organisations to focus on their core activities.
With comprehensive industry expertise, including on-site catering, vending machines, meal delivery services, and other managed services, TBK is a trusted partner in ensuring employees, students, residents, or guests enjoy high-quality meals every day.
Today, Neriku Catering, through The Big Kitchen, delivers over 10,000 meals daily.
Their transition into leadership was gradual and supervised by Charles and Raymond, allowing them to gain a deep understanding of the trade. By learning from their own mistakes through hands-on experience, they established new practices and created new standards for the company.
Moving away from the linear setup, Neriku Ltd. expanded its workforce to around 100 employees who brought new, innovative ideas allowing the business to grow and modernise faster.
Further driving the company towards success, the third generation of the founding family has diversified their service portfolio.
The Neriku Catering brand offers a wide range of outside catering options including a selection of home party menus, BBQs, and extensive packages for corporate events such as breakfasts, coffee breaks, healthy lunches, and high-end events like product launches.
While also catering for weddings ranging from small, intimate gatherings to large, glamourous celebrations.
Building the Future
A significant milestone for Neriku Limited was its successful expansion into contract catering. This strategic move broadened the company’s business portfolio and enabled it to play a key role in some of the island’s most notable events, such as supplying daily meals to the team of approximately 700 people working on the two-month conversion of the Silver Cloud cruise liner at Palumbo Malta shipyard, which helped position Malta on the map for cruise liner conversions.
These early large-scale contracts marked the beginning of the company’s expansion into delivering major contracts through its contract catering brand: The Big Kitchen (TBK).
Founded in 2021, TBK is delivering tailored, flexible, and affordable catering solutions to sectors like healthcare, tourism, education, and business. The Big Kitchen takes care of preparing, cooking, and serving daily meals, allowing organisations to focus on their core activities.
With comprehensive industry expertise, including on-site catering, vending machines, meal delivery services, and other managed services, TBK is a trusted partner in ensuring employees, students, residents, or guests enjoy high-quality meals every day.
Today, Neriku Catering, through The Big Kitchen, delivers over 10,000 meals daily.
Since 1969, Neriku Catering has shown growth and resilience in an ever-changing environment. This longevity and transformation were only possible by keeping our customers at the heart of everything we do. The Zammit family remains accessible, supportive, and flexible to its customers and also its employees.
Our high quality standards on our products and services, paired with our affordable prices, make us a fierce contender on the market. The Zammit family shares a big passion and pride for what they do and are motivated and determined keep on expanding their family’s legacy.
W: https://www.neriku.com | E: sales@neriku.com | Tel: +356 2166 0505/6
Click here to see Horeca Issue 17 online
