The canning market - Italy

1.2 The growing global market

The global canned food market reached a value of about $***.** billion in ****. The market is expected to grow further in the forecast period ****-**** at a CAGR of *.**% to reach nearly $***.** billion by ****.

The development of the market is driven by an increase in canned foods by consumers, among the drivers of this trend is the fact that workers have little time for food preparation and consequently increase consumption of convenience and ready-to-eat foods. Another trend concerns the growing demand for canned seafood among fitness- and health-conscious individuals because of the many health benefits of these foods for human health[***].

Global market value of canned foods World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

Major players

In the international landscape, the major players are: Ayam Sarl, Bonduelle, Campbell Soup Company, CHB Group, Danish Crown AmbA, Del Monte Foods Inc, JBS SA, Nestlé SA, Princes Foods (***), Thai Union Group PCL, The Bolton Group, and The Kraft Heinz Company.

1.3 An extremely important market

The canned food industry is quite relevant to the Italian economy by virtue of the wide distribution of these products and their cultural value.

Those vegetable ones from fruits and vegetables, in particular, occupy the first place with a turnover of **.* billion euros in ****, according to Istat data searched with ateco code **.*. In ****, according to data released by GDO, canned vegetables generated a turnover of **.* billion euros from the processing and storage operations of fruits and vegetables in the Italian territory[***].

ANICAV, the national industrial association of vegetable food preserves, states that in **** the turnover of tomato and legume vegetable preserves was * billion euros ANICAV.

In general, the canned food market not only includes the processing and preservation of fruits and vegetables, but also those of meat, fish, shellfish, and mollusks. The following graphs show the turnovers produced by canned goods, searched by the following ateco codes:

**.**; Processing and preserving of meat, excluding poultry **.**; Processing and preservation of fish, shellfish, and mollusks **.**; Processing and preservation of fruits and vegetables

Turnover from meat processing and preservation (***) Italy, ****-****, in billion euros Source: ****

Turnover from processing and preserving fish, shellfish and molluscs Italy, ****-****, in billion euros Source: ****

Turnover from processing and ...

1.4 A surplus trade balance

The following graphs show the evolution of imports and exports of the following products:

Prepared or preserved meat, offal, blood or insects (***) Preparations of vegetables n.e.c.; prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading **** (***) Tomatoes, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid (***)

The graph below shows that from **** to ****, the value of exports is always been higher than the dollar value of imports for each product category.In general, during the period under consideration (***) there is a trend of tradegrowing, which has not contracted as a result of the COVID pandemic and the resulting restrictions imposed, which, on the other hand, negatively affected other markets.

Preserved tomatoes, whole or in pieces, are the product that is traded the most in terms of volume and the one with the highest trade value. In ****, exports from Italy amounted to $*.* billion.

The coverage rate, shown with the solid blue line in each graph above, is important because it measures the percentage of exports covered by imports. it is calculated as the percentage ratio of the country's exports to imports. This value can be greater or less than ***, and means that ...

1.5 Impact of COVID-19

During the COVID-** pandemic, manufacturers of metal cans for food preservation benefited, along with the canning market, from consumer habits. The latter resorted to canned goods and other canned products to fill their pantries as they feared food shortages and therefore considered resorting to foods with a long shelf life. In particular, in the early days of the pandemic, panic buying saw many consumer items such as beans, soups, and other canned foods accumulate .

In Italy, a country that saw one of the worst outbreaks, only ** percent of consumers said they have not purchased canned food since the disease struck, while ** percent say they buy more canned food now than before the virus. Ultimately, Italians have observed a change in their purchasing habits.

Analyzing sales data collected by data analytics firm Nielson, the National Association of Metal and Allied Packaging Manufacturers (***) of the lockdown due to the Covid-** health emergency, sales of long-life foods in large-scale retail stores experienced double-digit growth; In ****, canned and glassed tomatoes grew by **.* percent, canned meat by ** percent, and canned tuna in olive oil by **.* percent, compared to the same period in ****.

Despite this temporary increase in pantry food, however, demand for canned food had normalized ...

2.1 Demographic characteristics of demand

The demographics of demand for canned food in Italy can vary depending on several factors, including age, gender, geographic area, and income level.

Canned foods may be in demand among a wide range of age groups, but they may be especially popular among older people. The latter tend to be more oriented toward foods that are easy to preserve and require less preparation. However, it is important to note that people of all ages may appreciate the convenience of canned foods, especially in the hectic lifestyles typical of working people.

In addition, the demand for canned goods in Italy is not strongly influenced by gender and can be found among both men and women. The choice of canned food may depend more on individual preferences and specific dietary needs rather than gender.

Finally, Income level may influence the choice of canned food. People with lower incomes may opt for affordable canned foods, such as canned fruits, vegetables, or canned fish. On the other hand, people with higher incomes might be willing to spend more on gourmet canned goods.

Since ****, there has been a slight increase in per capita household incomes. The following graph shows the trend of per capita incomes by ...

2.2 Determinants of demand

Italians' choices

The data in the graph below show that Italians consider several aspects important when choosing food, with a strong emphasis on freshness, taste, quality, and seasonality. The aspect of shelf life occupies a median position in the list of priorities. It is significant for about a quarter of Italians. This may reflect the need for foods that can be stored for longer periods, for example, to reduce food waste or for convenience reasons. Another determinant for the canned food market is its easy preparation, which was found to be important for ** percent of Italians. This can be attributed to hectic lifestyles or a preference for foods that require less time and effort to prepare. Finally, overall, these data highlight a desire for balance between practical and qualitative aspects in food selection.

The most important aspects for Italians in food selection Italy, ****, in percentages Source: ****

The increase in foreign demand for Italian products and domestic demand for preserved tomatoes

According to data from Unione Italiana Food, global demand for Italian food is increasing from ****. In particular in foreign markets, demand is focused on the following products:

Source: ****

In ****, throughout Italy, sales of preserved tomato by-products saw tomato puree ranked first ...

3.1 Market structure

Considering that canned foods are foods in airtight containers, the market can be segmented by type, thus into canned meat products, canned fish/seafood, canned vegetables, canned fruits, and others. Based on distribution channel, the market is accordingly segmented into supermarkets/hypermarkets, convenience stores/grocery stores, online retail stores, and other distribution channels.

By searching for data on food processing and preservation enterprises with Ateco codes **.*, **.*, **.*, it is possible to observe the variation in the number of enterprises active in processing and preservation and their legal form. In general, the data show some stability or slight fluctuations in the number of enterprises active in processing and preservation of meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables over the years considered. These changes may be influenced by factors such as market demand, industry competitiveness and economic dynamics.

Number of enterprises active in food processing and preservation with Ateco codes **.*, **.*, **.* Italy, ****-****, in units Source: ****

Looking at the legal form of enterprises through Istat data, the top three most frequent forms are in order:

Limited liability company is the predominant form in all three sectors. It was chosen by **.* percent of firms in category **.*, or **** firms. This form is the most common probably because of the ...

3.2 The production cycles

Production cycle of canned tomatoes

The production of vegetable preserves begins with the harvesting process, which for tomatoes is almost exclusively done by mechanical harvesting. During harvesting, pre-sorting takes place and green, split, rotten or characterized by other impurities is removed. Harvesting takes place over ** days, usually from July ** to September **, and within ** hours it is processed and transformed into the final product.

In the intermediate stages of processing there are different operations, which vary depending on the product to be made. In the beginning, the raw material is received, quality and weight are assessed, and it is sent to the production, washing, and sorting lines.

the product is then canned in jars and sealed to be sterilized. Then they are labeled and packaged ready for shipment[***].

Preservation techniques

heat treatments used for the preservation of products are processes designed to preserve the nutritional and organoleptic characteristics of the products, but also to allow them to be consumed at a later time after processing. The main heat treatments for canned goods are:

sterilization/pasteurization in order to achieve their microbiological and enzymatic stabilization so as to allow their deferred consumption, since it makes the ability to alter the product very close ...

3.3 Distribution channels

In Italy, canned food, including canned tomatoes, is distributed through different distribution channels. As for canned products and tomato derivatives (***) alone is worth ** percent of the turnover of the entire sector[***].

On the other hand, with regard to preserved legume products, *** thousand tons of products with legumes worth *** million euros were sold in the retail channel (***) [***].

Searching with ateco code **.**, it is possible to observe information on the wholesale trade, which plays a significant role in the distribution of canned goods in Italy. Wholesale trade companies purchase large quantities of food products, including tomato derivatives such as passata, pulp, peeled tomatoes, and others, directly from producers or distributors and supply them to retailers, restaurants, hotels, bars, and other food service businesses. This channel is critical for large-scale distribution of canned goods and to meet the demand of commercial customers.

The most recent data released by Istat regarding the turnover, expressed in billions of euros, of the fresh or preserved fruit and vegetable trade in Italy in the years **** to **** are shown below. The graph shows a relative stability in the turnover of the fruit and vegetable trade over the period. Despite some fluctuations, the sector seems to have remained basically solid ...

4.1 Supply analysis

The main inherent feature of canned foods, which has made them widely common in the market, is their long shelf life. Because of this feature, canned goods have long shelf lives and minimal quality decay, both of which are achieved through modern food preservation technologies[***].

The term preserves refers to a wide range of products on the market. In general, pathogenic microorganisms should be absent; in addition, no harmful or toxic substances should be present in quantities greater than would be normal for the fresh product in question. Based on the type of raw material used in the production processes, one can distinguish between canned products of animal or vegetable origin.

Using environmental conditions as a distinguishing criterion, one can find on the market:

Semi-preserves, whose stability depends on environmental conditions (***) and the preservation process. Preserves, which are packed in containers through the use of gases, liquids, microorganisms in food processing, such as heat treatment and others. These treatments are intended to irreversibly inactivate enzymes and destroy microorganisms that may alter the food or otherwise make it unfit for human consumption.

Furthermore, looking at the type of technology used in pH treatments, preserves can be segmented into:

hypo-acid preserves (***): legumes, dairy ...

4.2 Price analysis

The following graph shows the consumer price indexes for the whole community on the following products indicated by COICOP code:

******: other preserved or processed products and meat preparations ******: other preserved or processed fish and seafood ******: preserved fruits and fruit products ******: other processed or preserved vegetables

Consumer price indexes for the entire community are a statistical measure of the trend in prices of goods and services over time, used to monitor inflation and changes in living costs for the general population. Indices are calculated by comparing the prices of a representative basket of goods and services over different time periods, expressed in base ***, and with a reference year specified as the base. In this case, the base year is ****, so monthly consumer price indexes are calculated with respect to **** prices, which are assigned a value of ***. Subsequent indexes then reflect price changes from the reference level in ****.

For example, the monthly consumer price index for preserved or processed products and meat preparations is ***.* in May ****. This means that the prices of goods and services in the period increased by **.* percent compared to ****. Similarly, the index for canned fruits and fruit products is ***.* and indicates a recorded increase of **.* percent compared to ...

4.3 Supply trends

Major market players are focusing on providing organic and healthier canned food products to meet the growing needs of consumers. As a result, they are providing new product variants with higher quality, taste, and nutritional value to the market. Some new launches are shown below.

Source: ****

5.1 Current regulations

Current regulations on canned food in Italy are regulated mainly by Legislative Decree No. *** of January **, ****. This decree provides general provisions for the labeling, presentation and advertising of food products. . Some key points of the legislation include:

*. Labeling with related mandatory information to be included on the label of canned food. This information includes the name of the product, list of ingredients, expiration date or shelf life, storage method, directions for use, and any warnings or allergens.

*. Control and licensing of canned food production and marketing activities by competent authorities. Requirements are established for the licensing and registration of businesses operating in the canned food sector to ensure compliance with applicable regulations.

There are other specific regulations that may be applicable to certain categories of canned food. For example:

Regulation (***) No. ***/**** on specific hygiene for food of animal origin covers more specifically the production of food of animal origin, including meat and fish products. It provides detailed requirements for the processing, storage, labeling and control of food of animal origin.

6.1 Segmentation

Source: ****

• Agricola Tre Valli
• Bolton Group: Rio Mare, Palmera, Simmenthal
• Conserve Italia: Cirio, Valfrutta, Yoga, Derby
• Mutti
• Saclà
• Star
• La Doria
• Nova