The Agreement

Italian organic honey lands in 800 McDonald's Italia restaurants

Initiative promoted by the Qualivita Foundation, the Federation of Italian Beekeepers and McDonald's Italy. 2 million sachets will be marketed

by Giorgio dell'Orefice

27 January 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Italian organic honey lands in the 800 McDonald's restaurants in Italy. The agreement by which the US multinational has undertaken to buy 8 tonnes of acacia honey from Italian organic producers was presented this morning in Rome at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.

After having valorised various Italian PDO products from Grana Padano to Parmigiano Reggiano, from Asiago to Speck Alto Adige, from Balsamic Vinegar to Trentino apples, now the famous US brand also opens up to organic products and does so with another product of excellence: organic honey made in Italy.

The project involves the purchase and distribution by McDonald's of 2 million sachets of organic Italian acacia honey over the next 12 months to support the beekeeping supply chain. This action will be reinforced by a communication campaign involving McDonald's restaurants, social channels and the main national media, with the aim of spreading awareness about the value of organic Italian honey and the role of bees in our ecosystem.

The initiative is part of the path started with the Qualivita Foundation to support Italian agri-food chains in difficulty. A commitment that has seen as its first steps the agreement with the Pachino IGP Tomato chain and the support to the Consortium for the Protection of the Emilia-Romagna IGP Pear, and that today continues with the promotion of Italian organic honey.

'Small Italian supply chains,' commented the director general of the Qualivita Foundation. Mauro Rosati - need to be valorised, especially when they choose to engage in regulated certification paths such as organic, which is a concrete sign of responsibility. And if the chain to be supported is that of bees, the benefit is double, because pollinators indirectly support a large part of Italian agriculture, including the production base of many PDO and PGI foods' .

'Making honey known as an identity product,' commented the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Francesco Lollobrigida, 'in a place frequented daily by many young people, such as McDonald's, means increasing awareness of our production traditions. Promoting a healthy, high-quality product supports the national beekeeping supply chain and helps to protect bees, which are essential for the balance of ecosystems and agricultural productivity. This initiative therefore has a double value, it is a concrete opportunity for our beekeepers who see their work valued and it is also a cultural investment aimed at the younger generations'.

Honey is an important sector within Italian agriculture. In fact, 77,000 beekeepers operate in our country, 20,000 of whom are professionals (moreover, between 2019 and 2024, this number increased by 12%). The bee population is made up of 1.7 million bee colonists for a production that in 2024 amounted to 21,870 tonnes for a value of approximately 100 million euro. The production of organic honey amounts to 2,840 tonnes or about 13% of the total. Territorially, the regions with the largest number of hives are Lombardy and Piedmont.

Consumption in Italy amounts to about 500 grams of honey per year (mainly acacia honey) against an EU average of 800 grams (in Germany consumption reaches 1.5 kilograms per capita).

About 50% of consumption is related to the use of honey as an ingredient, the other half concerns the consumption of honey as such.

Giorgio dell’OreficeVicecaposervizio
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Luogo: Roma
Lingue parlate: italiano, inglese
Argomenti: agricoltura, agroalimentare, made in Italy, vitinicoltura, olio
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