100% Italian, organic, whole grain, no palm oil, no added sugar, vegan. TheImmagino Observatory, through food label claims and sales data, shows us the evolution of the Italians’ shopping cart.
Imagine Observatory no. 5, 2018 data
Nielsen GS1-Italy’s Immagino Observatory, now in its fifth edition, cross-references label information of more than 100 thousand references (over 68 thousand food items) with consumption and sales data in Italy. ‘Product labels tell the story of Italians’ consumption,’ reads the introduction. Previous reports have intercepted some rising stars in the bud, such as Made in Italy labeling, ‘without‘ products, and products inspired by intolerances (real or alleged). As well as the emergence of ‘identity’ consumption, in that it evidences adherence to a lifestyle that includes certain food choices. It is so for organic and biodynamic, fair supply chain, vegetarian and vegan, kosher and halal.
The 2018 shopping cart, as revealed by the report of the Immagino Observatory no. 5, deserves attention in several respects. In pills:
– organic continues to grow, along with whole grain and no added sugar products,
– the
free from
slows down slightly, in consolidating the boom seen in past years. There are new entries, such as the
clean labels
which are not easy to monitor, however (since they are essentially distinguished by the simplicity of ingredient lists, as opposed to ultra-processed foods),
– new trends are emerging, such as the claims ‘antibiotic-free‘ – for which Coop has charted the way – and ‘
sustainable agriculture
‘,
– the indications ‘
not fried
‘, ‘rustic‘, ‘flavored‘ appear on an increasing number of products. Details follow.
‘Free from’, market trends Italy
‘Even in 2018 . the largest ‘family’ in supermarkets and hypermarkets is ‘free from’ products. ‘Palm oil-free’ and ‘GMO-free’‘ (on animal products), we recall, are the guarantees most demanded by European consumers and not surprisingly ostracized by Big Food lobbies. ‘Dye-free‘, ‘preservative-free’, ‘additive-free‘ are added to the list. ‘They are 18.4 percent of the 64,800 food products monitored by the Immagino Observatory [27 percent by value, ed.] and realize a turnover of 6.8 billion euros. But in 2018, for the first time, this stopped growing (+0.1% vs. +2.3% in 2017), and there was rather a revision of the many claims used.’
‘Palm oil-free‘ is one of the phenomena whose growth is fading. +3.8 percent in 2018, although it continues to record excellent growth results on cookies, snacks and candy. ‘Preservative-free,’ ‘dye-free‘ and ‘hydrogenated fat-free‘ also decline, perhaps partly because they have become the norm in many food categories.
Other claims, such as those that emphasize cutting sugar, grow faster. The expansion of ‘low sugar‘ (+5.1%) and ‘no added sugar‘ (+5.4%) claims continues, including on new FMCG categories. No longer just on carbonated soft drinks but also on snacks and jams, milk and Greek yogurt, flat drinks and milk substitutes, to cereals and dried or shelled fruits. Increasing, again, are ‘additive-free‘ and ‘glutamate-free‘. Good start for ‘antibiotic-free‘ as well.
Made in Italy and ‘100% Italian,’ the real champion
Italian-ness, along with ‘without…’, remains the most prominent phenomenon in the promotion of prepackaged food products. Although it too is experiencing a slight decline after years of outstanding success. So also for the boast Made in Italy – which unites more than 25 percent of the more than 72 thousand products in the food basket analyzed and generates a total turnover of 6.8 billion euros – ‘The expansionary trend in sales (+1.9% compared to +4.5% in the previous year) and the growth rate of new product offerings slowed in 2018‘.
‘An 2018, too , the most used visual on packs to signal the Italian-ness of a food product was the Italian flag, which appeared on more than 10 thousand products. This also made it number one in terms of turnover, with more than 4 billion euros in sales, up +1.7 percent annually‘, reads the Imagine report. But the ‘
100% Italian
‘ is the real champion of 2018, ‘entering overwhelmingly and crosswise into Italian households.’
Whole grain, ‘source of‘ and ‘richin’, gluten and lactose free
Sales of products that highlight a nutritional plus on the label-e.g., ‘withvitamins,’ ‘with Omega 3,’ ‘rich in iron,’ ‘source of calcium‘-have in turn lost some of their luster. +1.6 percent growth in 2018, compared with +8.0 percent in the previous year. With some distinctions, as sales of products with ‘whole-wheat‘ and ‘fiber-rich‘ claims continue to grow very well. Also worthy of attention is the growth of the probiotic.
Slight decline in demand for ‘gluten-free‘ and ‘lactose-free‘ +1.7% in 2018 compared with +4.4% in 2017. However, such endorsements are present on more than 13 percent of the products in the assortment in super and hypermarkets, with turnover exceeding 3.4 billion euros in 2018.
Lifestyles, unstoppable organic
Organic foods now occupy nearly 10% of the food products considered by the Immagino Observatory. 6,656 references, substantial growth in sales (+6.4 percent) also stimulated by a substantial expansion of supply (+9.0 percent). ‘Eggs, breakfast cereals and jams were the products that made the largest contribution to the growth in organic claim turnover, although the increase is fairly generalized and involved almost all food categories.’
‘Identity’ products included in the lifestyle category – e.g., ‘vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, as well as organic – put up +5.5 percent in 2018, reaching 2.4 billion euros in sales between super and hypermarkets. Although the development of the category has slowed down, compared to +10.7 percent in 2017, lifestyle in fact covers 13.4 percent of products and 8.6 percent of the total packaged food turnover. Among the emerging claims-with still little data but positive performance-is the claim ‘sustainable agriculture‘(often at risk of deception, ed.).
Finally, food to go, the ‘ready-to-eat’ with a high service component that enables easy preparation or reheating of ‘gourmet’ meals, also seems to be emerging successfully. Sales of such products grew by 12.3 percent to over 1.3 billion euros.
Dario Dongo and Sabrina Bergamini
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Journalist. Consumption, rights, nutrition, social, environment. Head of Consumers Help. She collaborated with ResetDOC, Il Riformista, La Nuova Ecologia, IMGPress.
