Tariffs obstacle does not stop Sabelli's landing in the US

The fresh cheeses of the Sabelli Group - driven by the success of burrata and stracciatella, but without neglecting the 'hard core' of mozzarella - recorded record exports in 2024, with an annual increase of 25%, worth 50 million. A result accrued above all in Europe and which the Ascoli Piceno-based company - actually a national big with the Stella Bianca brands (the last one acquired),Bustaffa, Natura Sincera and Val d'Aveto, six production sites, nine distribution platforms and about one thousand employees and collaborators - wants to increase and also thanks to the expansion in the USA, where it has just landed despite Trump's tariffs (in July it made its debut at the Fancy Food, the most important trade fair in the sector in America).

"Of course tariffs do not help anyone, but 15% is not such a high barrier to significantly compress the demand coming from US consumers, who are looking for and appreciating Italian-made products, not only dairy products, and are willing to pay more for them. Our plans therefore do not change, also considering that importers are confirming orders. Moreover, the market for our sector is more dynamic and less mature than that of other products that have been on the US market for longer, where we expect to see the first concrete results in the first months of next year," Angelo Galeati, CEO of the Sabelli Group together with Simone Mariani, both descendants of the family of Archimede Sabelli who founded the company in 1921, told Food24.

"We are experiencing strong development in Germany, where large quantities of mozzarella are produced, but where consumers also greatly appreciate Italian quality. We still have interesting perspectives,' explains Galeati, 'in established markets such as France (the leading importer of Italian mozzarella, ed.), England and Northern European countries in general. Even in Ukraine, purchases continue despite the war. While not neglecting growth in Europe, the time has now come to reach non-European markets as well, where there is great interest in products such as our burrata, a masterpiece of traditional Italian dairy art and the heart of Sabelli's identity because it encapsulates attention to raw materials, traditional craftsmanship and contemporary taste".

Fordilatte and the various types of mozzarella are still largely dominant in absolute terms and cover, between retail and horeca, 60% of the value of the Group's production, compared to 15% for burrata and stracciatella (which, however, grow much faster and have higher margins) and a similar share of stracchino and robiole.

Totally different music, however, on the domestic market: 'The first part of the year was negative, especially in out-of-home consumption, for example in the pizzeria market, which is very important for us. Retail,' he continues, 'also did not shine. Not even in August, usually a very positive month for consumption, did we see a change in direction. Inflation has hit purchasing power hard and we see, for example, a decline in our private label brands. If you add to this record high milk prices, you cannot hide the effects on margins. If you consider that milk accounts for more than 50 per cent of costs, you can understand how even a few cents per litre can make a difference.