Sugar: Eridania invests 20 million to boost its logistics and expand in the sweeteners sector

One in every two packets of sugar sold in shops and supermarkets is from Eridania, which has also become the market leader in sweeteners. These two figures clearly illustrate the importance to Italia of this historic brand, founded in 1899 and now wholly owned by the French co-operative Cristal Union, a major player with a turnover of 2.2 billion.

At the Russi plant, in the Ravenna area, sugar has not been produced there for some time (Italia has a structural deficit of around 80 per cent) but it is home to Italia’s main logistics centre, which packages and distributes the raw material arriving from across the Alps (although Cristal Union owns the Srb refinery in Brindisi), as well as the production centre for sweeteners. Thanks to a 20-million investment, this facility will now take on even greater importance on both fronts.

75 per cent of the resources will be allocated to the new logistics centre, which is due to be completed by early 2028 and involves the construction of a new area covering over 10,000 square metres, which, amongst other things, will allow for the installation of a photovoltaic system, which is strategic for an energy-intensive industry, particularly in the current international climate. This represents “a significant improvement in the efficiency of the national distribution network: the new hub,” explains CEO Alessio Bruschetta – will in fact replace the current platform in Cervia and enable the streamlining of relations with the north-western logistics centres, which until now have been served directly by the Group’s French plant. The Group has decided to go ahead with this investment despite thedifficult period currently facing the sugar production sector’. The new configuration will enable distributed volumes to increase by over 20 per cent within three years, from 320 to 400 million tonnes, and will make Russi the sole point of entry into Italia for sugar from France (by rail and, to a lesser extent, by road), making it one of the main hubs in the Mediterranean region.

The remaining 25 per cent of resources will be invested in the expansion and innovation of the sweeteners sector, “by bringing key manufacturing activities in-house that are currently outsourced,” continues Bruschetta, “and thereby supporting a segment that is becoming increasingly important for the company, one that is set to grow beyond its current 5–6 per cent share and which is seeing continuous innovation and new product launches on the market.” In the first half of 2026, the segment grew by 5 per cent in value (to 19.4 million) and by 8 per cent in volume, making Eridania the leading national brand. 

The plan will generate structural savings of around 1.5 million euros a year, a significant contribution towards improving a structurally low profit margin (below 5 per cent) for a commodity whose turnover (217 million for Eridania in 2025) is heavily dependent on price fluctuations on international markets.