Laboratory

Where the iris finds its second life

In 2018, Toscana Giaggiolo went down an ambitious path: an Integrated Supply Chain Project (PIF Regione Toscana), developed with the University of Florence and the Prato PIN, with the goal of strengthening and bringing innovation to iris cultivation. The goal was clear: overcome production challenges, increase product quality and profitability, introduce sustainable protocols, and create a critical mass capable of meeting international market demands.

The project, completed in 2021, has yielded concrete, lasting results: the purchase of a mill to process the rhizomes into flour, the construction of a distillation plant to produce iris butter, and the establishment of a state-of-the-art analysis laboratory, which ensures constant monitoring of the supply chain, from cultivation to processing. Thanks to the distiller, Toscana Giaggiolo received the 2024 Agricultural & Rural Inspiration Awards, promoted by the EU CAP Network, a European recognition that celebrates the best rural projects that combine innovation, sustainability, and local development.4

Iris butter is extracted from rhizomes that have been aged for three years in the warehouse, employing a totally natural process of hydrodistillation that only uses water, thus preserving the aromatic and olfactory qualities of the Tuscan iris.

Thanks to these innovations, the cooperative has expanded its product range: no longer just husked and unhusked rhizomes, but also iris flour in various densities and iris butter of different concentrations. A complete supply chain, the only one in Italy, that shortens commercial passages, values the labour of the producers and offers never-before-seen guarantees for the agricultural businesses involved. 

This transformation has an impact that transcends the economy: consolidating iris cultivation means strengthening a landscape that attracts sustainable tourism, that recounts a centuries-old history and that creates new opportunities for those working the land. The second life of the iris also signals the beginning of a new phase for the businesses that cultivate it, who are now able to look to the future with more hope.