The brothers Toni, Pol and Marc Viñals represent the fourth family generation at the head of the Viñals Soler meat group, founded in 1906 by their great-grandfather Antoni Viñals Mitjans. A responsibility they have faced since their father, Toni Viñals Giralt, died in 2022. Then they decided to leave their professions or combine them with the management of the company, whose ownership they share with their uncles Manel and Ramon (the latter two, minority shareholders).
Under his leadership, the original Mataró company works to diversify its activity and advance in the premium beef and lamb segment. To their main line of business (the meat industry with farms, slaughterhouses and logistics), they have added the food service channel for high-end restaurants, their own stores with tastings under the Viñals1906 brand (two establishments in El Corte Inglés and in the shopping center L'Illa) and plant based products channel, specializing in bacon made with alternative protein.
“We want the consumer to recognize our meat and identify it for its high quality,” they summarize at their stand at Alimentaria, the food fair that was held last week in Barcelona and where they participated for the first time.
Stores play a fundamental role in making themselves known to the final consumer. “They are working very well and we plan to open a third this year; At a time when specialist stores are closing, we believe that we can have a place with a more special and differentiated product,” explain the three brothers. They have launched the vegan meat line through a startup with the aim of reaching all types of customers.
In their first year as directors of the group, last 2023, income has increased by 10%, to one hundred million euros. This year they expect to grow another 10%. Almost a third of the income comes from exports, with Pyrenean bruna beef as the star product. “They are animals raised in the wild in Cerdanya,” they emphasize. 70% of their production is concentrated in the province of Lleida, and they work with a network of 70 suppliers that total more than 500 farms. The slaughterhouse is still located in Mataró, a city in Maresme where his great-grandfather started the family business dealing with livestock and running butcher shops.
Apart from bruna meat, they have also specialized in angus raised in Catalonia, as well as in production with the organic seal. Its purpose: “To bring the best Catalan meat to the world.”
