From Froneri new investments for Ferentino and Terni sites

Froneri, the British ice-cream multinational producer of, among others, Maxibon, NUII and Coppa del Nonno, continues to grow and is ready to invest a further EUR 30 million in its two Italian plants in Ferentino (Frosinone) and Terni. The two sites 'play a prominent role in the group's strategic landscape,' explains Luca Regano, managing director of Froneri Italia. "Of all the countries in which Froneri operates," he adds, "Italy is one of the few that can rely on two factories, which together count 35 production lines - 22 for Terni and 13 for Ferentino - and which in 2023 alone produced a total of over 130 million litres of ice cream. Another element of which we are particularly proud,' he points out, 'is that the Ferentino plant can be considered the pole of excellence at international level as far as 'sandwiches' are concerned, since we produce Maxibon ice creams for 12 countries worldwide and Oreo ice creams for the entire European market.

Froneri, as a multinational company, had a turnover of almost 5.6 billion in 2023 (approx. 4 billion in 2020) with more than 13,000 employees in the 25 countries in which it operates. Froneri Italia in 2023 had a turnover of 375 million (+15.7% compared to 2022), with 1,350 employees (including direct, seasonal and sales force employees) to which must be added the approximately 150 people who work for Froneri through services provided by other companies. In Ferentino there are 469 employees (salaried and seasonal employees), while in Terni there are 604 (also salaried and seasonal employees).

After the double-digit growth of 2023, 2024 should also maintain positive numbers: 'Despite a season that, from a meteorological point of view, initially put the market in a difficult position,' explains the CEO, 'we expect to grow by around 2 per cent compared to the turnover of 2023. Especially thanks to the great success that our flagship brands, NUII and Maxibon, are having at the moment'.

Precisely in order to maintain these levels of development, the company will be betting more and more on 'quality and innovation': 'Today's consumers,' Regano emphasises, 'are very attentive to what they choose and will be even more so in the coming years, with a particular propensity towards innovative, high quality products. We have already invested a lot,' he points out, 'to support the growth, sustainability and technology of both the Ferentino and Terni plants. From 2016 to date, the amount invested is over EUR 50 million. As far as future prospects are concerned, I can confirm that we are currently working with the authorities to support a major investment plan, which will be divided into three lines of action. The idea is to put a further 30 million on the plate over the next three years, to reduce electricity consumption and CO2 emissions by between 15% and 25%, make current processing systems more efficient, and increase the flexibility of production capacity, especially to make products made in Italy more competitive on international markets'.

Also because, despite the obvious seasonality of the ice cream market, the prospects for the sector are 'excellent', as Froneri Italia's CEO says: 'The industrial ice cream category worldwide has experienced an absolute growth trend over the last 10 years. In Italy alone, in the retail sector, this category is worth around EUR 1.5 billion to date and has grown by 8.0% over 2023. We are confident that this trend will continue in the coming years, especially thanks to a specific category of industrial ice cream, which is snacking. 'Snacking' ice creams,' says Regano, 'are having, and will continue to have, a very strong impact on the market, and this is certainly also the result of the driving force of some of our main products. Suffice it to say that the three brands with the highest growth in the portioned ice-cream category are the mainstays of Froneri, which in the snacking category can count on remarkable results thanks to Maxibon and NUII, which grew by 34.6% and 11.7% respectively in 2023 compared to the previous year'.