Italy

Fresh unpackaged bread still accounts for a dominant proportion of volume sales in the leavened bread category. The main drivers of choice in this area are taste and freshness, which are important in bakery products because fresh products are…

Italian consumers are increasingly including breakfast cereals in their diets. The growing interest in breakfast cereals is being underpinned by a number of factors, with the demand for convenient meal options in the context of hectic consumer…

In recent years, a significant increase in legume consumption has been observed in Italy. This trend is largely attributed to increased awareness of the health benefits associated with consuming these types of foods, as well as a growing interest in…

Processed poultry continues to grow in volume terms across chilled, shelf stable and frozen formats. Italy is amongst the leading poultry breeders and producers in Europe, and Italian consumers are tending to increase their consumption of poultry…

In recent years, the consumption of noodles in Italy has seen a notable rise in demand, both in terms of classic noodles and instant noodles. This trend can be attributed to Italian consumers’ growing appreciation of food from other culinary…

Overall, 2023 was a challenging year for the staple foods sector in Italy, characterised by stagnation in retail sales volumes. However, the market saw considerable current value growth driven by persistent inflationary pressure. During the second…

This briefing examines how the pharmaceuticals and medical equipment industry is performing globally and in the largest countries in terms of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment output. The report also provides data for production, market size,…

Consumer credit registered positive, albeit modest growth in terms of gross lending and outstanding balance values in Italy in 2023, as ongoing economic uncertainty led many consumers to retain a conservative approach towards borrowing. While the…

Consumer lending in Italy maintained positive, albeit modest growth in current value terms in 2023, as ongoing economic uncertainty led many Italians to retain a cautious attitude towards borrowing. Factors such as high inflation rates, increasing…

The effects of inflation and the general economic crisis are still evident In Italy in 2023. This is reflected in an increase in current value terms across all categories within cooking ingredients and meals in 2023. However, this is contrasted with…

Olive oil is an important part of the traditional Italian diet but the category has continued to see declining sales in retail volume terms in 2023, although elevated inflation and a sharp rise in prices has ensured the category has continued to see…

Meal kits are becoming increasingly popular among Italian consumers. This trend is winning over more and more people because it offers many advantages. First, meal kits are very convenient and practical because they save time and effort. There is no…

Cooking and table sauces has been particularly impacted by the high inflation that has hit Italy in 2022/2023, with the price of mayonnaise, for instance, spiralling upwards. The increase in the price of sunflower oil, a key ingredient in the…

Sales of honey have continued to decline in 2023 in retail volume terms. This decline has mainly been seen in sales of larger jars (over 400g), which represent the largest share of the market. Smaller pack sizes (less than 400g) and single formats…

Charge cards continued to register a healthy performance in 2023, with a rise in the number and value of transactions. This was linked to the growing popularity of cashless transactions, as consumers become increasing confident about making digital…

Despite a decline in the number of cards in circulation, credit cards in Italy registered dynamic growth in terms of both number of transactions and transaction value in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. This was driven by the growing…

The enduring consumer preference for debit cards over credit cards continued throughout 2023, with the former accounting for the more than 10 times the value of the latter in terms of transactions. Such cards are easy to obtain in Italy, as well as…

Financial cards and payments performed well in Italy in 2023, both in terms of the number of cards in circulation and the value of transactions. Growth was underpinned by the growing trend towards cashless payments, even for smaller amounts, thanks…

Pre-paid cards continued to be one of the most popular types of financial card in Italy, particularly in the case of young adults or those without a bank account. However, as with other financial cards, the rise of contactless payments expanded usage…

Store cards continued to register a negative performance in 2023, in terms of both the number of cards in circulation and the value of transactions, continuing the trend established during the review period. This was due to strong competition from…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

The briefing examines how the milk commodity performs globally and in the largest countries in terms of supply and production. The report also provides data and analysis on milk price dynamics, as well as trends across key commodity consuming…

Even bottled water sales are falling into a slump in off-trade volume terms in 2023, although this is expected to be remedied over the coming years as the category inches its way back into small, expected, positive growth. The same cross-category…

Off-trade volume sales of carbonates have fallen into a slump in 2023, due to three main factors. Inflationary pressures, with the associated price hikes and consumer price sensitivity, is one major factor. Within this context many consumers are…

Coffee sales continue to be suppressed in retail volume terms in 2023, due to ongoing inflationary pressures pushing up unit prices. As such, this supports value sales over volume sales. That said, volume has improved from the sharper dips seen in…

Liquid concentrates manages to perform slightly better than powder concentrates, albeit off-trade volume sales remain in a slight decline, with on-trade performing better thanks to the revival of foodservice. Overall, liquid concentrates have a…

Energy drinks is the big winner in 2023, with healthy off-trade volume sales – despite the inflationary pressures which are causing downwards dynamics across much of soft drinks as a whole. This positive performance is being driven by several…

The performance of hot drinks in Italy in 2023 is being strongly affected by inflationary pressures. Within this context, volume sales are sluggish while value sales are supported by rising unit prices. In addition to inflationary pressures, coffee…

Juice is also seeing an off-trade volume slump in 2023, with a better performance witnessed in on-trade channels. Juice is a very mature category in Italy, which adds another challenging factor to other obstacles affecting the sales of juice (and…

Other hot drinks consists of flavoured powder drinks, chocolate-based flavoured powder drinks, and malt-based hot drinks in Italy, all of which are seeing negative volume growth in 2023. On the other hand, sales of non-chocolate-based flavoured…

RTD coffee is suffering from inflationary pressures in light of rising unit prices, as it is perceived as a rather exotic and niche product in the context of the strong coffee culture in Italy. Indeed, the traditional coffee culture in Italy has…

Despite showing competition to concentrates, RTD tea is also facing competition from other soft drinks categories, notably energy drinks for example. Added to which, RTD tea has seen steep price increases, thus placing further downwards pressure on…

Inflationary pressures leading to price rises are placing downwards pressure on off-trade volume sales of soft drinks in Italy. Additionally, the poor weather in 2023, especially compared to the heatwaves in 2022, has further suppressed potential…

Sports drinks is suffering from cross-category factors which are placing downwards pressure on soft drinks sales overall, leading to a strong off-trade volume slump. To start with, sports drinks is a non-essential category, with products…

Tea is seeing a more sluggish performance than coffee, with retail volume sales remaining in negative figures and retail value barely managing to achieve a positive result. Foodservice volume, on the other hand, is seeing a healthier performance.…

Demand for air treatment products remained high in 2023, continuing the pattern seen in the previous two years. In summer 2023, demand peaked due to heatwaves and above average temperatures. Meanwhile in the spring and fall some regions in the…

In 2022, the newly elected right-wing government in Italy announced restrictions to the stimulus that had been triggering sales of furniture and major appliances in previous years. Consequently, while applications filed prior November 2022 were still…

During the pandemic eating at home was a necessity with consumers working and studying from home and access to foodservice outlets being restricted. Food preparation and mealtimes represented important occasions for consumers to spend quality time…

During the height of the pandemic, consumers were seen to be stuffing their homes with a wide range of food preparation appliances. With foodservice operations disrupted many consumers looked to recreate their favourite dishes at home. Furthermore,…

Sales of home laundry appliances have continued to decline in retail volume terms in 2023, after a steep decline in 2022. This is in part due to high interest rates which have made it more difficult for consumers to buy a new home, as well as making…

Sales of large cooking appliances took off during 2021 with the increased time being spent at home encouraging consumers to invest in home improvements. Unable or unwilling to visit foodservice outlets or go on holiday some consumers took the…

Sales of microwaves have declined in retail volume terms in 2023 for the second year running, albeit sales have remained higher than pre-pandemic levels. Italy’s economy has come under severe pressure due to various factors, with this being…

Personal care appliances are more widely available than most other consumer appliances. These products can be purchased in store and online, through independent and chained retailers, while some products like hair care appliances are also available…