Oysters, mascarpone and anchovies: those providential sales spikes at Christmas and New Year
In addition to panettone and sparkling wine, there are products that experience their golden moment during the holidays: from Culatello di Zibello, which makes 40% of sales in December, to caviar and clementines
4' min read
4' min read
Besides panettone, spumante and dried fruit on Christmas tables there is much more. In fact, there are many food products that record a peak in sales at the end of the year, even concentrating 58% of the annual turnover in the month of December alone. They are mainly gastronomic specialities (such as oysters and caviar) but also indispensable ingredients for traditional recipes (e.g. mascarpone for tiramisu), and seasonal products that add colour to the mise en place, such as clementines.
What do Italians buy, then, especially at Christmas? Pre-cooked products, such as cotechino and zampone, which in December 2023 grossed more than 36 million euros in large-scale distribution, i.e. 58% of the total annual turnover, as shown by NiQ calculations. Accompanying them on the table is mustard, which in fact realises 41% of its takings (over 3.6 million euro) in the very last five weeks of the year. Mostarda remains one of the most important references for the festive table, both for large-scale distribution and for delicatessens and restaurants," confirms Clelia Tropea, senior seasonal brand manager Sperlari, a company that achieves 95% of the sell-in of its seasonal products between September and December. "We want to strengthen its presence in all channels, seizing the opportunities offered by the evolution of the market and the renewed attention to this traditional product that is also increasingly included in contemporary recipes.
If stuffed pasta and pot charcuterie are at the heart of the festive menu, it is above all in the hors d'oeuvres that the table becomes sumptuous, with the most prized cured meats, such as Culatello di Zibello Dop, which develops 40% of sales during Christmas, and fish specialities, such as anchovies in spicy sauce from Rizzoli. "35% of their turnover is concentrated in December and almost all of it in Lombardy," explains Federica Siri of marketing at Rizzoli Emanuelli, which closes 2024 with a €50 million turnover and a +25% increase in the volume of anchovies sold between Italy and abroad. Tradition has it that on the table there is also the gastronomic panettone, prepared at home or purchased ready-made in the delicatessen or in the large-scale retail trade. Esselunga makes and assembles over 30,000 of these by hand (to order) thanks to a special production line that only works a handful of days a year.
What better occasion than Christmas and New Year's Eve to celebrate with fresh oysters (40% of turnover in December) and caviar, which increasingly comes less and less from Russia and Iran and more and more from China, where sturgeon species other than European ones are bred and from which a less valuable product than Italian caviar is obtained? "Italy produces some of the best caviar in the world but also imports the Chinese product,' emphasises Giada Giaveri, marketing manager of Caviar Giaveri, which has been breeding 10 species of sturgeon for 40 years, sells it in Italy (50% under Christmas) and is one of the world's biggest exporters. 'Chinese caviar arrives unbranded and is packaged, branded and sold here at normal market prices. It would be a good idea to always check the country of origin on the label (e.g. IT stands for Italy and CN for China) and to buy from companies that breed sturgeons and produce and package their caviar directly'.
Even in the end-of-meal area, it is Made in Italy that triumphs with fruits in spirit, 37% of which are sold in December, and are also much appreciated as gifts. "Gifting is one of the most significant drivers of increased sales and reflects the propensity of this period for quality products that recall tradition," emphasises Susanna Toschi, trade marketing manager of the Modenese company. An equally usual gift is pralines and chocolates (36% of December receipts), where the surprise effect plays an important role in stimulating the purchase. "Last Christmas we introduced chocolate eggs under the Tesori dell'Arca brand and they went very well, so much so that we have decided to offer them again this year," says Chiara Arceri, Pam Panorama's celebrations product manager.
