Intermoma, soaring growth with canned fish

In its first year of operation it had a turnover of just over 555,000 Euro. Three years later it has reached 18 million euros, achieving a Cagr of over 218%, in a market as mature as the fish canning market. A brilliant performance that has allowed Intermoma to take fourth place in the overall ranking of Growth Leaders 2026 compiled by Sole 24 Ore and Statista, as well as pole position in the food category. Behind Intermoma is Luca Intermite, who in mid-2021 decided to use his long experience as an industry manager to become an entrepreneur and present himself to the large-scale retail trade as a specialised supplier of canned fish for private labels. Intermite explains: "Our proposal started from an analysis of the Italian market to try to understand its evolution. And, given that private labels still have a limited presence compared to other European countries, it is plausible that they could grow and enter new market segments with suitable products. Our aim is to provide products that cover all market segments and that are competitive thanks to a more realistic quality/price ratio'.

Intermoma offers tuna and other popular canned fish (such as anchovies and mackerel), specialities (such as fillets of sea bream or sea bass), excellences (such as fillets of bonito del norte tuna caught in the Cantabrian Sea and processed from fresh) and some exclusive innovations. Such as the 80 gram tinned mackerel steaks which, being obtained from smaller fish and with faster processing, manage to be sold at a price 30-40% lower than the fillets of the main brands. Behind this offer is the 'design' of the right products, different from those already on the shelf, and the scouting around the world of suitable suppliers to produce them in compliance with the requirements and certifications demanded by modern distribution. "The beginnings were not easy," admits Intermite, "because the market is mature and the competition fierce. The first customers were the discounters, then came the large-scale retail chains, which were interested in including good quality and reasonably priced canned fish. Today, private labels represent 60% of the offer, while the remaining 40% is made up of the three company brands, positioned in as many market segments. "Also in this case," concludes the entrepreneur, "we have maintained a consistent approach: to offer products that, for the same quality as those already on the shelf, are more affordable. In this way we respond in a concrete way to the attention to prices that is driving consumer choices without forcing them to lower the quality of their shopping".