José Antonio Moreno

Forty years ago, in rural areas, people would eat chickens from their own backyard or buy them from a neighbor. An entrepreneur from La Vera thought he could raise them specifically for sale — and that idea laid the foundation for a business that never stopped growing. Today, Veravic is the third most influential company in the province of Cáceres, ahead of electric utilities, major agricultural cooperatives, and industrial plants. Headquartered in the small town of Cuacos de Yuste, the company slaughters, processes, and packages 80,000 chickens per day, delivering them across Spain within hours. Its manager, José Antonio Moreno, explains how they make it happen.

Veravic was officially founded in 1990, but the activity began 40 years ago. It started as a bold move by our founder, Juan Antonio Moreno Barrios — my father — in what was then a budding sector. At that time, no one in the rural areas was processing chickens for sale. Here in Cuacos, like in many rural parts of Spain, families raised their own animals for consumption. First, he focused on the local market, then expanded to Aldeanueva, Jaraíz, the whole region… and from there, it just kept growing.