Bufala, there's more than just mozzarella, burrata and ricotta are growing. And now it's the turn of stracciatella
According to Nielsenq data better results than the cow's milk sector. Fattorie Garofalo invests in a 100% buffalo milk stracciatella reference still absent in supermarkets
5' min read
Key points
5' min read
If one speaks of buffalo, one immediately thinks of mozzarella. At least, obviously, in the food sector. The Campania PDO has conquered Italy and abroad, with exports approaching 40% and a total turnover of around 800 million. But buffalo milk has always also been used to make ricotta, whose PDO is experiencing a moment of great growth. As has been the case with burrata, which in recent years has grown in parallel with the success of that made from cow's milk. And now it is the turn of stracciatella, of which there are very few references, but which could accelerate after the debut of the one launched by Fattorie Garofalo, a leader in buffalo production.
Bufala better than cow?
.The time for introducing new products to the market does indeed seem propitious, with buffalo milk products doing better than their cow's milk cousins over the past year. In fact, according to a NielsenIq analysis, the sector comprising mozzarella, ricotta, burrata and stracciatella - produced with all types of milk - saw an overall increase of 3% in volume between November 2023 and November 2024, against a 1% drop in value and a 4% drop in average price.
"In addition to a significant decrease in price, demand and promotions have negatively affected the performance of cow's milk products, resulting in a drop in value sales over the past year. The 100% buffalo milk versions, on the other hand," notes Alessandra Cuomo of NielsenIq, "showed growth of 7% in volume, 5% in value and an average price drop of 1%. The analysis by reference shows an even more marked difference: buffalo mozzarella grew by 6 per cent, outpacing the average 3 per cent for the mixed segment; buffalo burrata confirmed itself as one of the main drivers of growth, with +20 per cent, compared to a 1 per cent contraction in the overall category (buffalo and cow); buffalo ricotta (dop and non, ed.) marks +21 per cent compared to +3 per cent for the aggregate figure, which also includes sheep and cow (volume figures, ed.). The turnover is concentrated in mozzarella, which has now reached 90% penetration of Italian households. However, the double-digit growth of buffalo for all four categories shows a consumer focus on the whole perimeter. This is probably a reflection of the ever-increasing demand of Italian families for premium products and high service content.
However, it should be pointed out that the 'buffalo sector', considering only the sales of large-scale distribution monitored by NielsenIq, represents 17% of the total, i.e. an expenditure of about 270 million out of 1.6 billion. If we limit ourselves to buffalo products alone, however, mozzarella weighs in at over 94%, burrata 5% and ricotta 0.5%. Meanwhile, cow's stracciatella has boomed: it is now worth over 43 million in sales and in 2024 grew by 8% in value and 12% in volume.
The Fattorie Garofalo stracciatella
"The success of stracciatella is evident, so we felt it wasthe right time to invest in a new plant and focus strongly on a new 100% buffalo reference," says Alfio Schiatti, chief commercial officer of Fattorie Garofalo. "Consumers are increasingly asking for quality references that are tangibly different from the rest of the offer, and distributors will thus have another type of stracciatella available in addition to having only more brands. We have worked a lot on packaging with a linear and vertical impact that will allow us to stand out on the shelf. Our goal is to be the reference brand for buffalo and we believe we can repeat the success achieved by burrata, with the objective of reaching a 20% share of the total stracciatella market".
