“It’s a constant challenge to maintain excellence and keep Narbona Solís synonymous with quality”

Narbona Solís has become a benchmark for quality in the hospitality and restaurant sector, as well as among gourmet consumers. Over more than 30 years, the company has built a distinctive catalogue through careful research and a constant search for new products to offer its clients. What began as a small grocery shop in Sierra de Yeguas has grown into one of the most respected distributors of wine and gourmet products.

We spoke to Juan Carlos Narbona, managing director, about the foundations of this success, the company’s strong family roots and the latest trends shaping the sector.

Narbona Solís is synonymous with excellence in wine and gourmet food. What criteria have guided the creation of your carefully curated catalogue?

The catalogue we have today is the result of more than 30 years of hard work. We’ve travelled extensively, visited wineries both in Spain and abroad and met a wide range of producers of food and spirits. We’ve tasted a huge number of products along the way.

We’ve always made a real effort to stay informed so we can identify the very best product in each category. That’s what has allowed us to build the catalogue we have today. For me, it’s a constant challenge to maintain that level of excellence and to keep working so that customers see Narbona Solís as a true mark of quality.

What business areas does Narbona Solís currently operate in? What range of services do you offer your clients?

Alongside our catalogue, we offer gastronomic and wine consultancy, as well as advice in the cocktail sector. When someone is opening a restaurant, we sit down with them to understand their needs and see how we can support and guide them.

You’ve made a significant move into e-commerce with Narbona Online. What led you to take that step? What does your website offer? How many products do you list?

Narbona Solís is a distribution company that began in Sierra de Yeguas, and from there we expanded across Andalucía and the rest of Spain. Our core clients have always been the hospitality sector and specialist shops.

Narbona Online came about by accident. When the pandemic hit, we found ourselves with nearly 14,000 products in our warehouses, worth more than €6 million. We had to adapt quickly to get that stock to customers however we could. At the time, we couldn’t reach the hospitality sector because all the restaurants were closed.

So we focused on word-of-mouth with a campaign built around the slogan ‘Take it home’. It worked really well, and Narbona Online grew out of that situation. The whole Narbona Solís family was involved in creating it, from my daughter and niece to my brother, alongside our marketing team.

Narbona Online has now established itself as a purchasing channel for highly specialised customers seeking very specific products, both in the cocktail sector and in wine. These are items they often can’t find in physical shops. The volume of orders we receive through this channel is very encouraging. We currently list around 12,500 products on Narbona Online.

The Narbona Solís Wine and Gastronomy Fair has become a key event for the sector. How important is it for the company and the industry?

We’re now approaching 30 editions of the Narbona Solís Wine and Gastronomy Fair. At the start of each year, clients are already asking us when it will take place and what’s new. Suppliers are also keen to be involved in the next edition because they want to launch new products with us.

For us, it’s a very important event where we present the catalogue for the following year.

What trends would you highlight this season in the wine and gourmet products sector?

Every year, we’re increasingly surprised by the innovations that capture the interest of restaurants and the hospitality sector. Recently, we’ve been particularly struck by the growing importance of wines from Malaga and across Andalucía. Local wine is becoming more prominent on wine lists every day.

This year, alcohol-free wines have been especially notable for us. Many wineries are now producing de-alcoholised wines of very high quality. A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for this category to achieve such strong sales.

How would you define the Narbona Solís brand?

Narbona Solís is a family business, a project that involves the whole family. My parents started with a small grocery shop where we all grew up, helping out and supporting one another.

We’ve always had the ambition to take that family business further, to where we are today. Our aim is to be closer to our customers every day, so they feel part of Narbona Solís too, while continuing to develop a high-quality catalogue that meets each client’s needs.