Formec Biffi: 60 years of innovation in a corporate museum. And growth continues in the fresh sauce sector
A 10 per cent increase in sales against a flat market, thanks to innovative recipes and a variety of formats. In addition to Spazio Biffi 3.0, a 10 million investment is on the way for a new production line, following the 10 million spent on a logistics centre and energy efficiency measures
Key points
Innovative products offering a high level of service and extreme flexibility, enabling a rapid response to changing tastes and the needs of customers and retail chains. Just like those in its pasta sauces and other sauces, it is the ingredients that enable Formec Biffi to celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary whilst continuing to grow – Formec was founded in 1966, whilst the historic Milanese brand Biffi was acquired in the 1990s – and the 90th birthday of founder Pietro Casella, who remains at the helm, continuing the innovative approach that has always characterised the company’s history. As recalled and recounted by Spazio Biffi 3.0, a corporate museum due to be inaugurated on Friday 11 September at the San Rocco al Porto site (in the province of Lodi, opposite Piacenza, in whose historic centre, 10 years ago, Galleria Biffi was established – a centre dedicated to contemporary art, now a cultural landmark for the city).
A story of innovation
In 2025, Formec Biffi generated a turnover of 154 million, with around 60 per cent coming from Biffi-branded products (sauces and ready-made sauces, of which 60 per cent is accounted for by pesto alone) and 40 per cent from products packaged for major retailers’ brands (private label). A ratio that, as recently as 10 years ago, was almost the reverse, with 70 per cent coming from private label. Formec was one of the pioneers in this market within the sauces segment – where it remains the market leader for mayonnaise with a 27 per cent market share split between private label (-2.3 per cent) and the Biffi brand (+9 per cent) – alongside its contract manufacturing operations.
Casella realised before anyone else just how successful supermarket own-brand products would become; today, they account for well over 30 per cent of Italians’ shopping baskets. For example, when Giovanni Rana decided to produce ready-made sauces, he turned to Formec Biffi to test the market, and now Biffi is the second-largest brand in the 200-million fresh food market, with a 12 per cent share, just behind Rana, though it is closing the gap.
A journey that demonstrates how the company has been able to capitalise on changes in consumer trends ever since it introduced mayonnaise in a tube in Italia, at a time when not using glass seemed almost heretical. Today, investment is focused on fresh sauces, where Biffi has increased volumes by 9.5 per cent year-on-year (and by 18 per cent over the last 12 weeks), in a segment that, following the growth of recent years, is now stable.
The future lies in the cold
A trend that enables the company to forecast 10 per cent growth for the second half of 2026. How? Thanks to an increasingly varied range of recipes and different pack sizes: a significant industrial strategy for a company that historically owes its success in part to the ‘formula’ that enabled it to stabilise the recipe for Genoese pesto in long-life jars. The market for long-life sauces and condiments is still worth twice as much as that for fresh products, with a turnover of around 400 million, and Biffi is also growing by between 8 and 10 per cent in this segment.
