Italy

With the COVID-19 pandemic seeing consumers spending a lot more time at home, and with consumer foodservice outlets closed for extended periods, this boosted demand for some products in ready meals. For example, with consumers preparing and eating…

Glass continues to be the leading pack type in sauces, dressings and condiments with a strong showing in product areas such as pickled products, dips, mayonnaise, ketchup, barbecue sauces and tomato pastes and purées. Glass packaging has been rooted…

Laundry care is one of the largest (in terms of volume) and fastest-growing categories within home care in Italy, with sustainability a key trend in this product area in 2022, as Italian consumers continued to move towards “green” products that used…

Italy’s high public debt is a threat to stability and negatively affects economic freedom, but anti-corruption legislation has been reinforced. Economic growth is forecast to be subdued, as rising borrowing costs bite, and foreign investment is…

In the post-pandemic period, people are spending a lot more time outside their homes, helping to boost the use of colour cosmetics in 2022. Make-up as a concept was also starting to be seen as a form of self-expression and self-care, promoting mental…

With the COVID-19 crisis, many consumers purchased new computers and peripherals to set up home office spaces or for distance learning, which led to unprecedented peaks in demand. This has been reducing demand for new products over time, given that…

Consumer electronics is trending downwards in Italy for several reasons. The high rate of inflation prevailing towards the end of the review period and the marked rise in the prices of food and energy have forced consumers to rethink their spending,…

Sales of headphones in Italy are benefiting from the growth of the sports and health industries. As consumers increase their participation in regular sports and physical exercise, they are making greater use of headphones on the go, particularly…

Italian consumers make considerable use of audio content, from audiobooks to podcasts to listening to music. In recent years, podcasts have seen staggering growth in consumption thanks to the fact that several platforms, such as Spotify, have…

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the importance of the quality and duration of sleep for people’s health and wellbeing, which has been reflected in popular books and the mainstream media. Research has included studies that have…

The COVID-19 crisis and the significantly increased amount of time that Italians were forced to spend at home considerably bolstered consumers’ digital engagement. People turned to digital devices for work, study, shopping, entertainment and…

Car sales in Italy have been slowing down for various reasons, including an increase in long-term rental and growing use of rental apps as consumers adopt a car-as-a-service attitude, and more people spending longer periods at home for working and…

Sales of smartphones have been trending down in volume terms in recent years, as consumers perceive that the latest versions do not incorporate sufficient new and compelling technology to justify the expense of a new product. Lack of inventory due to…

Wireless speakers will continue to exhibit volume growth in 2023, with some of this rise in sales coming at the expense of portable media players, a category in steep decline. Smartphones and streaming content are cannibalising portable media…

With both the ageing of the population – and Italy already has one of the oldest populations in the world – and the general rise in consumer health consciousness, health monitoring has become one of the key features that smart watches have been…

Airlines is seeing strong growth in 2023 both in terms of the number of passengers but also in terms of value sales. New routes, more connections and a stronger presence in Italy is all fuelling the dynamic growth being recorded by airlines, with…

Travel intermediaries and direct suppliers are both seeing strong growth in current value terms in 2023, with strong sales seen through online and offline and in business and leisure. As a result, booking sales are set to see a full return to…

Hotels have seen a strong recovery in 2023 although the recovery has been at different speeds between the different categories, with the recovery certainly being driven by an increase in average daily rates (ADR). The exception to this is hotel…

Tourism flows in Italy have performed very well in 2023 with figures expected to come close to pre-pandemic levels in terms of number of trips. The Easter weekend contributed to the recovery of tourism in Italy, with domestic and foreign tourists…

Travel in Italy is performing very well in 2023, with increasing travel flows both inbound and domestic. Domestic trips are seeing a particularly fast recovery with consumers looking to take holidays in closer proximity to their home with the…

In the retail channel’s packaging unit volumes of alcoholic drinks in Italy, metal beverage cans were becoming more popular during the review period, albeit with the exception of 2022, with this pack type expected to also continue gaining share over…

2022 was a year of overall stagnation for mobility in Italy. The increase in fuel prices, the high inflation in the Eurozone, as well as some persisting health concerns have slowed growth rates across nearly all mobility segments. While light vehicle…

Analgesics is expected to see a single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023. Sales are benefiting from the stable demand for analgesics and unit price increases linked to rising price lists as a result of the higher cost of production faced by…

Consumer health is set to record moderate single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023. With the pandemic officially over, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Italians are keen to get back to their pre-COVID-19 lifestyles and this…

Cough/cold remedies are set to see high single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, with sales likely to benefit from a high number of cases of cold and flu in the 2023/2024 season. Furthermore, value sales will likely also be boosted by unit…

Dermatologicals is seeing steady single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023. Two of the most important product areas, topical antifungals and vaginal antifungals, are both seeing moderate growth in 2023, although this is largely due to…

Dietary supplements is set to see strong growth in current value terms in 2023. One major driver of this performance is the dynamic growth being seen in probiotic supplements in 2023, which is set to see the second consecutive year of double-digit…

Digestive remedies has been one of the most dynamic OTC categories with it being set to see high single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023. This is being fuelled by the dynamic performance of antacids, the largest product category within…

Standard eye care is set to continue benefiting from the increasing amount of time consumers are spending in front of digital screens. Sales are expected to deliver steady growth in current value terms in 2023, with this being boosted by unit price…

Herbal/traditional cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is expected to benefit from another tough flu season in 2023-2024, with cases expected to be higher than pre-pandemic levels again. This should boost sales of herbal/traditional cough…

Since the end of the pandemic, smoking prevalence rates have been increasing in Italy, reaching 20% of the population in 2023, up slightly on the previous year. Smoking prevalence fell during the pandemic for several reasons. Firstly, media articles…

Paediatric consumer health is expected to see strong growth in current value terms in 2023, with most categories projected to post a positive performance in value and volume terms. Volume sales are benefiting from the increase in unit prices…

Sales of sleep aids continue to decline in 2023 in current value and retail volume terms, following the trend observed in the previous year. Sales of sleep aids soared in 2020 and 2021 following the outbreak of COVID-19 with the pandemic resulting in…

Sports nutrition looks set to see double-digit growth in current value terms in 2023 for the second year running with sales having already exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels. The category had already seen a full recovery in 2022 in Italy after the decline…

Multivitamins is set to deliver moderate growth in current value terms in 2023, representing a significant slowdown from the growth seen during the pandemic. This slower growth is largely the result of the lower demand for multivitamins positioned…

Meal replacement is seeing moderate growth in current value and retail volume terms in 2023, with the category remaining the largest area of weight management and wellbeing in Italy. After having been negatively impacted by the impact of inflation on…

Wound care is set to see moderate growth in current value and retail volume terms in 2023. Sales are benefiting from Italian consumers returning to their old pre-pandemic lifestyles with there being a growing desire to spend time outside pursuing…

Baby food is significantly affected by a high inflation rate in 2022 and 2023. The upturn in the inflation rate, which gained momentum in March 2022 and in subsequent months, is, however, on the downturn in 2023. The rush of Italian consumers to…

During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, consumers found or rediscovered a passion for cooking/baking and the demand for quality, but also traditional, butter increased. Thus, COVID-19 in Italy saw demand increase strongly as consumers stocked up…

The price of cheese in Italy has risen considerably towards the end of the review period. Higher pricing has been affected by several factors. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, its aftermath, and the outbreak of war in Ukraine have had…

In 2022 and early 2023, dairy in Italy was particularly affected by price increases due to inflation. This has seen a drop in consumption in some categories, such as butter and spreads. This situation was aggravated by lower milk production in Italy,…

In 2023, overall milk consumption is projected to see a slight increase in retail volume sales, led by goat milk, fat-free and semi skimmed shelf stable milk and fat-free fresh milk. However, fresh milk, overall, is set to continue to post a dip in…

Having spiked during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, retail volume sales of other dairy products stabilised towards the end of the review period. Retail volume sales of other dairy were exceptionally high in 2020 as consumers spent more time…

Plant-based dairy is projected to see further strong retail volume and current value growth in 2023. While almost all product areas are set to record positive growth, “other” plant-based milk is expected to see the fastest increments (ongoing…

The inflationary climate has had a strong impact on yoghurt, not least in pushing retail current value over volume sales. Indeed, the anticipated drop in retail volume sales of by far the main type, flavoured yoghurt, is expected to lead to…

The demand for dried baby food in Italy has been gradually declining due to the growing trend among Italian parents to feed their babies and infants with fresh and natural foods. This trend is being driven by concerns about additives, preservatives…

Flexible packaging dominates confectionery in Italy, offering numerous advantages, such as easier handling and consumption for consumers, and savings on transportation and storage for manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. The most popular…

In 2022, flexible aluminium/paper was continuing to gain share in the packaging of butter and spreads as it is perceived as an eco-friendly choice due to its recyclability and lower environmental impact. The aluminium also provides excellent barrier…

Even prior to the pandemic, chilled pizza had been recording significant annual declines, which continued during the pandemic and on into 2022. Chilled pizza often loses out to the longer shelf life of frozen pizza. While the packaging unit volumes…

The most heavily used pack type in plant-based dairy products is the brick liquid carton. This is because brick liquid cartons are the main pack type in the biggest category of plant-based milk. Brick liquid cartons provide a longer shelf life and…