The cold storage market - Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The refrigerating room is a temperature-controlled environment, which acts as an intermediate storage for certain products between the moment they exit from the factory and the moment they enter into the logistic chain, to avoid interrupting the cold chain. The refrigerating room market is a sub-segment of the wider industrial refrigeration market. The products in question are divided into two categories:

• Food products (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and fruit and vegetables);
• Pharmaceutical products.

Cold storage can be: positive cold storage (between 0°C and 15°C); negative cold storage (less than 0°C); multi-temperature storage (positive or negative cold and storage of dry products).

The European market shows signs of weakness and is expected to grow at a slow pace in the coming years, but it is based on a solid assumption: 60% of food must be kept cold. The international situation is also reflecting in Italy, with figures showing that the market is experiencing difficulties in growing rapidly. Several factors seem to play a role in weakening demand, including changes in the eating habits of the new generations and a greater focus on responsible purchasing of fresh products - the volume consumption of frozen food dropped by 0.3% in 2018. The market also has to cope with the considerable energy consumption of equipment, and is in fact committed to finding alternative solutions that are expected to either complement or replace today's cold stores. The driving factor for a positive evolution would seem to be Italian exports to developing economies, whose demand has recently prospered.