If food is made in Italy, sales in supermarkets fly

More 'tricolour' products in the Italians' shopping trolley. 39% of our compatriots declared their intention to buy more local products in the next six months, reveals an international survey on new purchasing strategies conducted by YouGov. This percentage is 25% higher than the EU average and confirms the attachment of our compatriots to the territory and its typicality. In fact, despite the fact that Italians say they want to pay more attention to not missing out on promotions and to control prices (in both cases with a higher incidence than the European average), the orientation towards made-in-Italy products remains in first place among the behaviours adopted to reconcile the pleasure of good food with the limits imposed by the cost of living.

Already in 2024, the basket of products that recall their Italian character on the label (for example by displaying the tricolour flag, PGI or the claim 'made in Italy') was the most important in terms of sales among those monitored by the GS1 Italy S Immagino Observatory. In the next edition, which will be published in June and which we previewed, between super and hypermarkets the world of Italian products is made up of 30 thousand products, which in 2024 grossed EUR 11.6 billion, slightly up on the previous year against stable volumes.

But what are we talking about when we speak of 'Italian' products? Of that 17.4% of references on the shelves that bear the Italian flag on the label, of a 9.1% made with at least one 100% Italian ingredient, of a 5.7% that is declared as being made in Italy, but also (and above all for the consumer) of almost 5 thousand products protected by a European geographical indication. After all, we are the number one country in the EU for the number of DOC, DOP, IGP and IGT foods and beverages, with 856 recognitions, 27% of all those registered in Brussels, which in 2023 (latest available data, ed.), according to the Qualivita Report, will develop over 9 billion euro in production value, which will become twice as much at consumption, contributing 19% to the turnover of the national agro-food industry.

The best known and most 'prestigious' of European geographical indications is the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), awarded to 410 wines and 174 food products. The Immagino Observatory searched for it in shops, finding it on 1,467 products that, compared to 2023, increased sales by 2.7% in volume and 5.8%, in value, reaching close to 803 million euros between supermarkets and hypermarkets. Among the categories, the best performances were recorded by portioned table cheeses, apples and extra virgin olive oils.

Among the products that stand out are Gorgonzola, which in 2024 reached a production record (5.2 million wheels), and above all Parmigiano Reggiano, which increased by 5.2% the volumes sold in Italy for a consumer value of 1.55 billion euros. Direct sales continue to grow (+13%), but they represent only 5.5% of the total, far from the 65% of the large-scale retail trade, which remains the first channel where Italians buy it. And it is precisely in order to make the characteristics and variations of this cheese better known to modern distribution operators that the Protection Consortium has launched a specific training activity (2,000 students by 2024) in Reggio Emilia.