Food

Five companies in the new fresh pasta hub

Food Excellence is the thematic private equity fund entirely dedicated to the Italian food sector launched by Alkemia sgr: Convivio is born

14 August 2025

4' min read

Key points

The pole
The protagonists
Targets

4' min read

Five companies specialising in high quality typical products merge into a new company: the five owners who transferred ownership remain at the helm of the businesses they led to success and in turn invest in the new company, which can exploit synergies and collaborations for growth.

The Pole

This is the formula of Food Excellence, the new thematic private equity fund entirely dedicated to the Italian agri-food sector launched by Alkemia sgr: the project, with a co-investment by Banca Ifis, has seen the establishment of Convivio, a new operational holding controlled by the fund, created to aggregate and enhance leading quality food realities, with a focus on fresh pasta and ready meals. The companies involved and whose 100% acquisition has already been completed are Valsugana Sapori (Trentino), Parmachef (Emilia-Romagna), Casanova Food with the Pasta di Venezia brand and Pastificio Cecchin (Veneto) and Poggiolini (Tuscany).

The operation was created with the aim of responding to market needs by creating an industrial player in the food sector, capable of consolidating the best regional Italian traditions and positioning itself over time as a leading international player. According to the most recent data, in fact, the Italian fresh pasta and ready meals market will exceed €2.7 billion in 2025, with stable growth driven by the demand for premium products, while globally, the sector is growing between 3.3% and 7%, driven by the spread of Mediterranean food styles and the demand for quality fresh products. However, the sector remains highly fragmented, dominated by local realities - often family-run - with strong regional roots, constituting a diffuse and not very centralised production fabric with limited means to emerge in a world scenario that is as crowded as it is complex.

The protagonists

In detail, Valsugana Sapori nwas founded as a production plant at the foot of the mountains, on the border between Veneto and Trentino. From the very beginning, it develops typical mountain products, canederli and spatzle, with an artisanal production process (the canederli are even finished by hand). From a local wholesale distribution (through small supermarkets) and retail (restaurants, village festivals, directly managed events with catering), the product begins to gain notoriety and, following collaboration with a number of agencies, to be distributed in neighbouring regions. Decides to participate in the project to strengthen its own commercial strength in the conviction that it has an excellent quality product suitable for greater distribution throughout central and northern Italy and also abroad. The company's aim was to promote the product in the region of the United States and abroad.

The Cecchin laboratory of the Cecchin brothers produces smooth and filled fresh pasta and crespelle (ready-made pasta). The product quickly established itself locally, becoming a best seller in the quality large-scale retail trade in the Veneto region. Carlo Cecchin, who has always been an innovator and the commercial soul of the company, falls in love with the Convivio project that allows management continuity and commercial drive with the support of the financial and organisational strength of a group that, thanks to its size, allows a better and more complete approach to all distribution channels (in particular abroad).

Parmachef is a well-known Emilian company in the food catering industry. Founded by Gianni Terzi and managed in continuity of both values and commitment by his sons Andrea and Giuseppe, it combines the ability to innovate with traditional Emilian recipes, offering quality semi-finished products to industry and restaurant chains and ready meals (mainly main courses, vegetables and side dishes in general) to large-scale distribution and local restaurants. The Terzi brothers have great skills in recipes and the study of 'tailor-made' products with the customer.

Poggiolini is a symbol of Tuscan pasta. Idrio Poggiolini founded the company from a small village shop run with his brother, and today, in a modern and efficient factory, he runs a production of excellence that he distributes locally (mainly in Tuscany and Lazio). The quality of the product and the local characterisation, both in terms of the type of pasta and the recipe of the filling, make the product a typical element of Tuscan taste. Handmade pici cannot but be combined, by anyone who knows Tuscany, with the typical dish all'aglione served in all the local osterias. Idrio, with his son Pablo and grandson Alessandro, saw in the Convivio project the possibility of expanding the company's territorial presence with a growth that did not discount the quality of the product.

Finally, Casanova Food, better known for its Pasta di Venezia brand, represents a unicum on the national scene. Federico Gobita, already a decade ago, chose to develop the 'without' product: because all products are made in a dedicated factory with a view to 'Gluten Free' and 'Lactose Free'. Constant research and development have led to the selection of a 'base' for the pastry that can compete with gluten-free products in terms of quality, cooking resistance and, above all, taste. Plain and filled pasta and ready-made dishes (such as lasagne, cannelloni) are certified products for coeliacs and people intolerant to gluten and lactose but, thanks to the quality in texture and taste, can also be enjoyed by the palate in competition with traditional products. The product, originally marketed in pharmacies and specialised shops, can grow in foreign markets, which it is already successfully approaching.

The objectives

Convivio's mission is to enable the companies it heads to meet the challenges of the modern market by offering a broad and diversified product portfolio, emphasising quality, innovation and the Italian culinary tradition.

The ambition of the holding company - which starts from a perimeter of around EUR 27 million in aggregate turnover 2024 with significant profitability - is to develop a turnover of EUR 100 million in five years, integrating new players who share the project's values and vision.

For the investee companies of the holding company, at the helm of which the founding families and historical managers will remain, Alkemia sgr foresees significant commercial synergies, implementing a development strategy, supported by investments in production, marketing and communication, and commercial expansion at an international level, with the aim of becoming the benchmark for excellence in the world of fresh pasta and gastronomy, through an innovative industrial model.

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