Pesto, turnover runs towards 330 million (+14% in the last year)
Exports are running: besides the classic basil recipe, there are more variations on the shelf, from broccoli to pistachios, from peppers to sun-dried tomatoes.
3' min read
3' min read
For the Italians it is a sauce for pasta, for the British a dressing for salads or soups, for the Americans a sauce to accompany hamburgers or to dip chips in. But for everyone it is 'pesto', it is the world's most popular green condiment and one of the most popular products made in Italy. "For years now, pesto has shown a steady growth trend both in Italy and abroad, where it is popular everywhere, from Japan to California," confirms Manuela Polli, sales director of Polli, for whom pesto generates 90% of the more than 144 million euros generated by exports (80% of total turnover in 2023) also thanks to an offer that has reached a hundred recipes, of which around forty are just pesto alla genovese.
In Italy, over the past 10 years, the pesto market has been growing annually at around 10% in both volume and value. The expansion continued in 2023 when pesto escaped the cutback in large-scale retail outlets and managed to increase the quantities sold by 5.5% compared to 2022, as NielsenIQ notes.
Including fresh and long-life pesto, the market exceeded 26 million kg for a turnover of more than 328 million euro (+14%), recording an 8% increase in the average price.
"Pesto works because it makes it possible to obtain a tasty first course with a very low food cost," explains Alessandro Bozzini, marketing manager of Formec Biffi, a company that in ten years has doubled its turnover (150 million euro in 2023) and registers annual growth of 10-15% in sales volumes of fresh sauces, in which it has just invested 10 million euro to expand the San Rocco al Porto plant.
News is also coming to the Pedrignano plant where the leading Barilla brand (29% share) produces all its pesto (80% of which is sold abroad). A product that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and remains the first made with basil from sustainable agriculture tracked with blockchain. Thus consumers, by framing the QR code on the jar, can retrace the basil's path in an approach of absolute transparency. After all, the plant-based matrix is one of the pluses of this sauce and is a component on which the expansion of the offer (which has reached an average of 10 products on the shelf) has focused.
New products have arrived and many companies have labelled as 'pesto' even products that were previously presented differently. Today, therefore, this name indicates not so much the basil-based recipe as the category of creamy vegetable-based sauces. In fact, pesto with broccoli or pistachios, with peppers or sun-dried tomatoes can be found on the shelves. And it is no longer only companies in the sauce world that offer them, but also those specialising in vegetable production or processing from Mutti to Sipo. "Pesto has allowed us to expand our shelf space outside the world of vegetables in oil and to enter new countries, starting with Great Britain, soon becoming our most exported product". explains Elena Garnero, marketing manager of Saclà, which recently expanded its factory in the Asti region.
