Bauli bets on foreign countries: target 40% of revenues in 5 years. Growth in out of home and gluten free

Not only Pandoro and Panettone. The Bauli confectionery group (which also owns the Doria, Motta, Alemagna, Bistefani and Olivieri 1882 brands) is reorganising itself to face an increasingly competitive market phase and is setting up two business units - one for Italia and one for abroad - with the aim of accelerating development in both directions by leveraging product innovation.

The 2026 financial statements of the Veronese group, founded in 1922 and in the hands of the Bauli family ever since, will close on 30 June next with a slight growth compared to the 548 million turnover 2025 (reclassified according to accounting standard Oic 34, which records discounts and premium transactions as a reduction in revenue), 80% of which is realised in Italia, with an Ebitda of 44 million. There are seven plants in Italia and one in India, and 1,590 employees.

Luca Casaura, chief business officer Gruppo Bauli Italia

Now a new phase begins, announces Luca Casaura, who has just been appointed head of the business unit Italia: 'We are ready to launch high quality gluten-free products under the Bauli brand, in particular bread and focaccine, characterised by the use of mother yeast that differentiates us from our competitors and gives fragrance, softness and digestibility. We are starting distribution, which will be supported by a large multichannel communication campaign with the Bauli Free brand'.

The production of gluten-free products - a fast-growing segment, worth around €500 million in Italia - will take place in the plant in Altopascio (Lucca) inaugurated in 2023, the result of the acquisition of the Alpipan company in 2018 (last year Bauli rose from 80 to 100% of the capital and incorporated it into the group): in the last three years, employees have risen from 64 to 110, while the production of scones, bread and pastries has reached 1.300 quintals per week on three lines. The other development channel in the Italia market will be 'out-of-home' for travel retail, bars, and pastry shops. Together, gluten-free and 'out of home' aim to weigh at least 100 million euros within five years, when the turnover of the Bauli group should reach - according to long-standing announcements - the 1 billion euro mark.

"We confirm the target of 1 billion," Casaura emphasises, "even though the timeframe may be slightly longer than the 2030 target we predicted two years ago, because market conditions have changed in the meantime: inflation has been significant and has led to a drop in consumption, commodity prices have soared, starting with butter and cocoa, which have doubled, tariffs and wars are generating tensions in the markets.