Italy

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…

As consumers look for new and innovative ways to save money, they try to save as much as they can by cutting expenses on anything that is not considered a strict necessity. Polishes oftentimes fall into this basket, considering that priority is…

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…

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…

Premium and luxury cars is set to record current value growth of 10% to total EUR11.6 billion in 2023. This growth stems from the strong demand from higher-income consumers whose expenditure is proving more resilient in the face of macroeconomic…

Premium beauty and personal care registered double-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, following a similar trend seen in 2022. Growth was driven by the dynamism of premium facial make-up and skin care with these categories benefiting from…

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…

With shelf stable fruit and vegetables accounting for more than two thirds of packaging units in processed fruit and vegetables, and metal food cans being the dominant pack type in shelf stable fruit and vegetables, metal food cans is also the…

In 2022, packaging volumes of thin wall plastic containers used in chilled processed meat increased as they are durable and cost-effective. Moreover, the heightened awareness of food safety and hygiene standards saw manufacturers adopting packaging…

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…

After a 2022 marked by a drop in consumption in retail volume terms, the pulses category returned to growth in Italy during 2023. This positive signal involved both the production and consumption of pulses in the country. On the production side,…

2023 has been another tough year for sales of refrigeration appliances which have continued to decline for the second year running. There has been a particularly significant slowdown in demand for freezers, with the category posting a heavy decline…

Italy’s ageing population continued to support value sales in retail adult incontinence in 2023. Here we also note cross-category trends which focus on wellbeing and helping to enhance the quality of consumers’ lives and their overall holistic…

Retail e-commerce in Italy posted a relatively moderate increase in current value terms in 2023, with growth largely driven by foods, beverages and beauty products. After a steep increase in market penetration of fast moving consumer goods sold…

High inflation rates continued to negatively affect producers, distributors, and most importantly consumers in 2023, despite inflation being slightly more stable than in the previous year. Indeed, as issues in the supply chain, logistical space, and…

Value sales in retail tissue were supported by inflationary pressures surrounding the paper industry in Italy in 2023. The paper industry is highly energy intensive, including in terms of water volumes used, thus costs have skyrocket for…

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…

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…

RTDs saw volume sales stagnate in Italy in 2023. Two main factors constrained the performance of RTDs in both the on-trade and off-trade channels during the final year of the review period. Significant price rises deterred consumers from purchasing…

Rx/reimbursement adult incontinence remained in a slump in Italy in 2023, as the government continues to reduce its spending in the healthcare system. In 2024, public expenditure in hospitals and so-called “Community Health Houses” will be further…

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…

Glass continues to be the leading pack type in sauces, dips and condiments. Glass packaging has been rooted in Italian cuisine for decades, often associated with natural, healthy and home-made products. These pack types are also regarded positively…

Savoury snacks are seeing a positive performance in Italy in 2024, in both volume and value terms. This is strongly supported by the “snackification” trend, whereby consumers eat fewer, full, sit-down meals and, instead, snack more often during the…

After a strong recovery in demand in 2022 as COVID-19 measures were relaxed the number of transactions through self-service cafeterias started to decline again in 2023. This decline was in part due to the fact that more consumers are now spending at…

Skin care dynamic growth in current value terms in 2023, registering stronger growth than that seen in the previous year. The category continued to perform well despite the challenging economic environment thanks in part to skin care routines…

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…

Within small cooking appliances there are a large number of local and foreign manufacturers selling both online and in stores, alongside a myriad of options brought to the table by wholesalers and importers that bring their low-cost products directly…

Smal local grocers continued to suffer from fierce competition from other retailers in 2023, including larger format grocery retailers, but especially discounters. Despite this, small local grocers maintained a positive growth trajectory in current…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco was the winning category in Italy in 2023, seeing good volume and value sales. However, we note the absence of moist snuff, chewing tobacco, and smokeless tobacco, thus, the category consists of…

Sales in snacks in Italy in 2024 are being characterised by growth in terms of value, while volume tends to be a little lower due to lingering inflationary pressures. That said, inflation is notably easing in 2024, thus heralding a gradual return to…

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…

While the 1,500ml bottle is the most popular size in bottled water and 500ml is the most widely used size among the smaller pack types in this category, there has been strong growth recorded by smaller pack sizes in bottled water, such as 250ml or…

Sales of spectacles are set to see continued current value growth in Italy in 2024, with growth being supported by the recovery in Italians’ purchasing power. Indeed, the spectacles category is expected to see volume sales grow faster than in the…

Spirits saw volume sales decline in Italy in 2023. Strong price rises and pressure on purchasing power had dire effects on demand for spirits through both on-trade and off-trade channels during the year. Indeed, consumers became more and more…

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…

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…

Overall, sportswear is expected to see healthy growth in retail current value terms in 2023. All categories of sportswear are predicted to continue their retail current value growth trajectories, albeit at a slower rate, compared with 2021 and 2022.…

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…

In 2022, volume sales of starchy roots declined in the Italian market. Meanwhile, from a production point of view, yields had been lower than expected and investments had been made. The main cause was the effects of climate change, with the weather…

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…

2023 was another good year for street stalls/kiosks with the category seeing an increase in value and volume terms but also in terms of the number of outlets. Chained street stalls/kiosks saw more dynamic growth than independent street stalls/kiosks…

The sugar supply chain in Italy had to face various problems related to costs and raw materials in the last two years of the review period. Firstly, the production costs of sugar are already high due to the need to use advanced technologies to…

Sugar confectionery is achieving positive sales in both value and volume terms in Italy in 2024. However, performance differs between categories, with boiled sweets and pastilles, gummies, jellies and chews seeing good growth in both value and volume…

Sun care saw a slow start to the year in 2023 due to a milder than usual spring and a belated start of the summer. However, the summer season started to pick up from July onwards, with sun care sales performing extremely well in the key month of…

Sunglasses is set to see slight current value growth in Italy in 2024. After two years of double-digit growth in both value and volume terms, sunglasses sales, since 2023, have returned to their historical sluggish growth pattern represented by…

Supermarkets is the grocery retailers channel with the highest penetration in Italy and it saw moderate growth in current value terms in 2023 as inflation started to show signs of stabilising, albeit prices continued to rise. Aside from the impact of…

Surface care suffered a third consecutive year of declining volume sales in 2023, in contrast to the surge in demand seen in 2020. The advent of the COVID-19 virus in Italy had a very strong positive impact on retail sales in both volume and current…

Recycling and reducing food waste is well-established in Italy, and a high proportion of Zero Wasters are willing to pay more for sustainable goods. While the majority of consumers aim to positively impact the planet, over half feel their actions…

Sales of biscuits, snack bars, and fruit snacks in Italy in 2024 are being supported by a particular emphasis on protein/energy bars. This phenomenon can be attributed to several reasons. Firstly, there is a growing awareness of the importance of…