Food consumption in Italy in 2019 is photographed, with the highest definition ever, in the latest report from the Immagino Observatory.
Italians favored purchases of foods presented as beneficial to health and those made in Italy, including those with regional indications of origin. Without giving up their lifestyles, expressed in their choices of organic, veg, halal and kosher products.
Immagino Observatory, an unparalleled insight into market trends in Italy
The Immagino Observatory, conducted by GS1-Italy and Nielsen, publishes semi-annual reports about sales of food, cosmetics and household products in Italy in the modern distribution channel. The reports can be freely accessed and offer an unparalleled level of insight, in Europe and around the world. Precisely because Italy is the first country to have applied the Immagino standard-which records all information and immortalizes the 6 sides of the labels of each reference on the shelf, before donating the relevant samples to the Food Bank – on almost all GD, DO and GDO (large-scale retail trade) chains.
This level of insight allows for disaggregating overall sales data by product category and observing market trends related to different label claims. Measuring the prevalence of various claims (nutritional, health, geographic, quality) in on-shelf assortments and their impact on sales.
Imagine Observatory, the 2019 report
The latest report from the Immagino Observatory analyzes retail sales of the approximately 112 thousand FMCG products in the Immagino database as of December 2019. A basket that represents about 36 billion euros in sales (H1, 2020), accounting for 82 percent of the total on FMCG in Italy (hypermarkets and supermarkets).
The three trends on which the quali-quantitative analysis focuses concern the nutritional-health side, the geographical-territorial side, and lifestyles. ABC to follow.
A) Nutrition and health. More protein and less sugar
Analysis of nutrition tables on the packaging of 67,660 food products allows us to observe changes in the nutritional intake of products and new trends in Italians’ eating habits.
Protein is the most popular nutrient. Their consumption recorded 1.5 percent growth, up from 0.8 percent in 2018. This finding is associated with increased consumption of foods that in various ways combine taste and health. Eggs, mozzarella, sliced meats (ham, bresaola, roasts), grana cheese, beef burgers, wheat flours,poultry meat(poultry and rabbit), low-fat yogurt, whole-grain cookies, and shelled nuts.
Conversely, sugars and carbohydrates show a decline (-3% and -2.1, respectively). The other items in the nutrition table, however, remain almost unchanged. Fat consumption maintains a positive dynamic (+0.6%) as does fiber consumption (+0.3%), whose overall consumption (on total food purchases) is not growing as in past years (+2.4 in 2018) and yet stands out among the claim nutrition in some product categories (cereals and cereal products). Almost unchanged energy value (kcal in nutrition table, -0.5%).
A) Nutritional claims
‘Rich in (…)‘, ‘integral‘. Sales of rich-in foods-i.e., with evidence on the label of high content of one or more nutrients or micronutrients, i.e., defined as‘whole grain‘-grew by 2.4 percent (1.6 in 2018), exceeding 3 billion euros.
Fiber claims, the most popular among voluntary nutrition claims, drive sales in this segment (+6.3%, vs. 5.8 in 2018). Closely related to high fiber content are whole grain products, which also registered +4.3 percent on sales (albeit at a slower pace than in 2018, +7.7 percent).
Protein (+7.4 percent) and potassium (+5.7 percent) claims emerge. Omega3 (+2.4 percent) continued well, cited on smoked salmon and canned fish, infant formula and milk enzymes (+3.8 percent). Products rich in vitamins and calcium are down (-1.1 and -2.8 percent), while ‘iron-rich’ foods plummet (-11.5 percent).
A) Superfood and beneficial ingredients
The phenomenon of superfoods and ingredients considered beneficial to wellness and fitness maintains a positive trend. The 26 foods with these prerogatives are classified into 6 groups:
– seeds (flax, pumpkin, sesame, chia and hemp) collectively sell 28.5 percent more, mostly as ingredients (in sandwiches, crackers, etc.).
– spices are the second best performing group (+9%). Turmeric and ginger at the forefront,
– superfruits (almond, blueberry, coconut, coconut water, avocado) are the largest segment by turnover. Nearly 762 million euros in sales, +5.3% over 2018. The 2019 champions are avocado (+92.9%) and matcha tea (+99.8%),
– ‘Super grains’ and their flours (oats, spelt, quinoa, kamut, rice flour, rice oil, cornmeal, wheat germ), on the other hand, slow down, -4.5 percent on 2018. The worst performance concerns kamut, wheat germ, to a lesser extent spelt and rice flour,
– sweeteners considered ‘beneficial,’ brown sugar and stevia, are losing out at the shelf. -3.4 and -8.8 percent, respectively. Italian stevia is unfortunately struggling to establish itself,
– superfoods goji and spirulina lose share dramatically (-18.6 percent and -17 percent). A disaffection that can be explained by a lack of trust in the berries of distant origin (although organic goji is also grown in Italy) and the exorbitant prices of the microalgae, which are still mostly sold in tablet form.
A) Free from stable, ‘antibiotic-free‘ in the limelight
The free-from phenomenon, the protagonist of a real exploit in past years, is steadily consolidating. Products with one or more of the 15 ‘without (…)’ claims most tracked by the Imagine Observatory recorded an overall growth of 0.5 percent in 2019 (0.1 in 2018).
‘Antibiotic-free’ is the free-from claim that is the exception. Products referring to it on the label increased (on eggs, processed poultry and sliced meats) and overall saw a 62 percent increase in sales.
The trend of ‘no added sugars’ and ‘low sugars’ (+9.1 and +7.6 percent) reflects the growing aversion to the health hazards associated with their excessive intake(diabetes in the first place).
‘Non-fried’
(+6.1%), ‘glutamate-free‘ (+4.9),‘lactose-free‘ (+ 3.6),‘palm oil-free‘ (+2.7), ‘yeast-free‘ (+1.9), ‘gluten-free‘ (+1.7)‘additive-free‘ (+1.6%), in order of growth.
‘Gluten-free‘ foods account for the largest share of the segment in terms of number of references (more than 14 percent of the 71,723 products analyzed) and sales value (13.8 percent of the total food in the Immagino basket). The subgroup accompanied by the crossed-out ear of corn-the certification mark of AIC, the Italian Celiac Disease Association-signaled +2.8 percent.
B) Made in Italy, fatal attraction
Italian-ness appears on the labels of more than 20 thousand products on the shelf. Whether it’s the national flag, the claims‘produced in Italy‘ or‘100% Italian,’ or one of the European geographical indications, the on-label appeal of Italian-ness generated 25.2% of total food revenues in 2019.
Boosting sales are consumer preferences, the increased supply of products with Italian-ness in evidence. And the increased focus on declarations of raw material origin and provenance found on the labels of milk and dairy products, rice, durum wheat pasta, and canned tomatoes. This phenomenon could increase with the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2018/775, among other things.
Among geographical indications, the best performance is PDO (+7.1), driven by Grana Padano. More modest is the performance of PGI (+0.3), although the number of references is significantly higher. Sliced meats, tomatoes, oranges and oil the most popular categories for Geographical Indications (GIs).
Among wines with protected designations, DOCGs doubled their growth, from 2.1 to 4.8 percent, while DOCs maintained the good pace of 2018 (+3.2).
B) Regional origin of food
Regional indications fuel a turnover of 2.4 billion euros. The area most mentioned on labels is Trentino, a draw that marked +1.1 percent on sales (wines and sparkling wines, yogurt, and cured meats).
Sicily reached second place, climbing 4 positions in a year thanks to a +4.2 percent jump (wine and ready-made sauces in the lead). And calls for regions hitherto underrepresented on the label emerge:
- Molise +30.7% (pasta),
- Liguria +12.4 percent (pesto, oil, mineral water),
- Marche +11.2 percent (wines and poultry and rabbit processing),
- Puglia +9.8 percent (PGI wines, pasta, mozzarella and canned vegetables),
- Calabria +9% (liquor, fruit nectars, mozzarella, tuna).
C) The lifestyle at the table
Identity products, i.e., suitable for specific lifestyles, maintain a positive trend overall worth about 3 billion euros. These are 11,300 products suitable for vegetarian and/or vegan diets, the dictates of the Muslim(halal) and Jewish(kosher) religions. As well as to the ideals of ecology and health that are associated with the consumption of organic products.
In order of assortment (number of products on the shelf), here are the performances of the 4 main segments:
- organic +2.1 percent (+6.4 in 2018). Growing supply of eggs, granola cheese, frozen vegetables, gluten-free baked goods, nuts, seeds, infusions, and breakfast cereals,
- veg +4.5 percent (+5.8 in 2018). Just over 3 thousand vegan products, 1,600 vegetarian,
kosher
+2% (+3.9 in 2018). Increasing references of pasta, chocolate bars, pastes, sauces, tomato pulps,
halal
+2% (+29 in 2018), slowing down sharply.
Rough or crispy?
Food texture is a label information in 8.9% of the food products surveyed. The aim is probably to entice impulsive, ‘taste bud’ buying, but the trend (in value) is down overall (-0.7 percent).
‘Crispy’
is the most popular claim, among the 11 considered. Appears on 2% of products and pushes sales by +3.7%. Particularly on industrial filled pastries, chicken cutlets, chips, and frozen pancakes.
‘Rough’
on the other hand, is the champion of 2019, growing twice as fast (+6.1 to +12.4 percent), almost exclusively on semolina pasta.
Among other texture claims, grow‘soft‘ and‘stuffed‘. The former (+2.1%) is driven by portioned lactose-free cheeses and sandwich bread. The second (+1.5%) is used on snacks, fresh salty snacks, and frozen pizzas. Last claim with positive trend (+0.6 percent) is‘creamy,’ the second most popular after crispy, present on 1.7 percent of products.
Logos and Certifications
Logos and certifications are increasingly found on the packaging of products offered by hyper and supermarkets. They provide guarantees on raw materials, production processes, and socio-environmental sustainability of productions.
The flag of the country of origin (almost always Italian) is the most commonly used logo, found on 13.4 percent of the 11,639 products analyzed by Immagino. Its presence on the label increased slightly (+0.7 percent), and so did sales of related products (+0.5 percent). Positive trends also for two European brands:
– EU Organic label (European organic) increased sales by 2.1 percent
– the CE mark (European stamp of conformity), placed on Easter eggs and toothpastes, regained share in 2019 (+1.4 percent, after declining 6 percent in 2018).
Sustainability attested by 8 certifications related to CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) shows a growth of 1.2 percent. The most important by turnover is FSC, imprinted on packaging to attest its sustainability (+1%). Fairtrade product turnover increased by 8.5 percent while Cruelty free turnover declined (-3.4 percent). In the non-food market, Ecocert (+19.6) and Ecolabel (+4.4) on hygiene products and Sustainable cleaning on detergents (+0.4 percent) are growing.
Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
