The market for aperitif biscuits - Italy (2023)

1.2 A growing global market

To understand the aperitif cookie market, we need to look at the larger snack market. The graph below shows the revenues in the snack market, which amounted to US$*** billion in ****. The market is expected to grow every year at a CAGR of *.**% during the forecast period ****-****.

Snack market revenues Italy, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

The cookies (***) account for **.*% of total market revenues, or $**.* billion. Moreover, for the forecast period ****-****, these segments are expected to grow and maintain the same position in terms of revenues generated in the market.

Share of snack market segments World, ****, in % Source: ****

The volumes sold of cookies and crackers will also increase during the period from **** to ****. In ****, volumes sold totaled ** billion kg. The latter was the highest volume compared to all other segments of the market, which saw volumes of: **.* billion kg for tortillas, flips, and Pretzxels and *.* billion kg sold for chips.

Volumes of cookies and crackers World, ****-****, in billion kg Source: ****

1.3 Geographic and key player analysis

The following chart allows us to look at the main countries with the highest revenues. There are four main countries: the United States, Japan, India and China. Italy ranks twelfth in the world classic for revenues from the cookies and crackers segment.

Main countries by revenue World, ****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

Key players

Key companies operating in the global savory cookie market are Mondelez International, Parle products, Britannia Industries, Pladis Foods, Roma Food Products, Sapidum, Kellogg Company, General Mills, Kambley, and many others [***].

1.4 The Italian market

Revenues in the cookies and crackers market amount to *.** billion in ****. The market is expected to grow annually with a CAGR of *.**% for the forecast period ****-****. In ****, revenues observed the highest growth, or **.*% over the entire analysis period. In addition, in relation to the total population data, per capita revenues of €**.** were generated in ****.

Cookies and crackers market revenues Italy, ****-****, in billion euros Source: ****

In the cookies and crackers market, the volume amounted to *.** billion kg and is expected to reach *.** billion kg in **** with a volume growth of * percent compared to ****. In addition,the average volume per person in the cookies and crackers market is expected to reach *.** kg in ****. In ****, however, it amounted to *.** kg [***].

1.5 A trade balance in surplus

The following graphs show the development of imports and exports of the most coveted category of:

Bakery, pastry or biscuit products, including those with added cocoa; wafers, empty capsules of the kinds used for medicines, sealing wafers, dried sheet pastries of flour, starch or starch and similar products.

This category includes semi-salted, salted cookies and crackers. The chart below shows that from **** to ****, the value of exports has always been higher than the dollar value of imports, with values steadily increasing except for imports in the year ****. Imports, in ****, contracted most likely due to the effect of the COVID pandemic and the subsequent restrictions that halted international trade. However, in ****, the value of both exports and imports grew by a lot, reaching $*.* billion (***), respectively.

The coverage rate, shown with the solid blue line, 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 it means that the trade balance is in surplus or deficit, respectively. For the market of bakery, pastry or biscuit products, even with the addition of cocoa, etc., Italy has always had a coverage ...

2.1 Demand characteristics

Italian population and consumer characteristics

In ****, the Italian population amounted to just over ** million individuals. The population is mainly distributed more in northern Italy and the South. This figure will remain unchanged throughout the forecast period until ****.

Italian resident population by geographic distribution Italy, ****-****, in millions of individuals Source: ****

Il Sole ** Ore reports that Millennials, that is, those born between **** and **** (***), are now the most populous generation in the world. In **** there were *.* billion Millennials in the world, or **% of the world's population [***].

this figure is important because many people, now especially Millennials, replace one meal a day with snacks. The Sole ** Ore writes that Already **% of millennials replace at least one meal a day, with one or more snacks. And perhaps they do so with salty snacks which have seen a considerable increase in sales compared to sweet snacks. There is also a greater focus on quality, going beyond the classic potato chip. Even more mature consumers are looking for lunch solutions, convenient and quick, suitable for diets with a high protein intake [***].

Aperitif consumers are mainly concentrated in urban areas and tend to have relatively higher than average incomes. In addition, the typical consumer falls in the **-** ...

2.1 Determinants of demand

Change in consumption habits

With the return to normalcy in the post-pandemic period, there is a real deconstruction of main meals with the consequent increase in new products designed specifically for this purpose. This is a trend whereby consumers would increasingly resort to snacks (***) outside of main meals. Specifically, In ****, salty snacks recorded an annual growth of **.*% versus +*.*% for sweet snacking [***].

Change in purchasing

An analysis carried out by the Immagino Observatory on the nutritional tables of nearly ** thousand products on sale in supermarkets showed that Italians are buying on the one hand foods with less sugar and fat, on the other hand, foods with more fiber [***].

The importance of the aperitif

seventy-five% of Italians go out for an aperitivo at least once a month. In fact, according to a survey, three out of four Italians frequent clubs to consume aperitivo. Bars, are the most popular venues for the occasion, chosen by four out of five Italians [***]. The aperitivo originated in the ****s, in which the habit of the aperitivo made at the bar near meals (***) became something really typical in Italy, taking root in the country's lifestyle and customs but differing from north to south. each region has its own ...

3.1 Market structure

The market for cookies and more generally for appetizer snacks is highly segmented and characterized by the presence of numerous players. Gluten-free, sugar-free, multigrain, wheat, etc. products can be found. They are distributed in different channels: supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, retail (***) and even vending machines.

In Italy, the total number of companies engaged in the production of rusks, cookies and preserved pastry products amounted to *** in ****. In the graph below, it can be deduced that the total number of companies in this sector has decreased dramatically from a total of **** entities in ****. Companies in this sector have been affected by the COVID-** pandemic and now by the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war conflict on the agribusiness industry, and in particular by the rising prices of flour, a key ingredient in the market for cookies and other related products.

Evolution of the number of companies operating in the sector Italy, ****-****, in units Source: ****

It is also appropriate to make a distinction between the different legal forms of Italian companies. In ****, the graph below shows that the vast majority of operators in the sector under analysis are Limited Liability Companies (***): these are multinational groups that have a number of subsidiaries under their ...

3.2 Value chain

The value chain and operation of the market for cookies and baked goods in Italy are summarized as follows. Since aperitif cookies and related products (***) are part of this broader market, their specific value chain does not differ substantially from that shown below.

3.3 Distribution channels

Savory cookies, crackers, and other snacks can be distributed through different channels: supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, retail (***), and even through vending machines or vending machines. In particular, convenience of purchase and easy accessibility are attracting consumers to buy from the convenience store. The supermarket is seeing significant growth due to discounted prices on bulk purchases and the availability of a variety of products. Finally, the online segment is also seeing growth, capturing attention due to the spread of digital technology [***].

Nowadays, the most popular supermarket chains in the country hold their own private labels for cookies and baked goods such as Carrefour, Conad, and Coop. Therefore, it is crucial to take this fact into account, especially since people who are looking for cheaper products may prefer to buy these brands rather than more famous brand products.

Vending machines

In Italy, in ****, **% of vending machines are located in manufacturing plants, **% in offices, and **% in stores as well as in schools and universities [***].

The graph below shows that snacks and foods purchased amounted to *** million units in ****, a figure that could easily be increased in subsequent years given the latest trends.

Total annual consumption in the vending machine industry Italy, ****, in millions of ...

4.1 Supply analysis

Cookies along with crackers, chips are among the most popular snacks worldwide. They are usually made from flour, sugar, cheese, butter, eggs, yeast and other components. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be salty or sweet. For example, they can be high in dietary fiber (***). Altroconsumo researched the ** most popular savory snacks on Italian supermarket shelves and came up with its own ranking of the best products, also listed below.

Source: ****

4.2 The prices

The price of cookies and other even baked goods depends on a number of elements. Since they are mainly baked using cereals (***), it is worth expecting a correlation between the change in the prices of cookies and other products and that of the price of the previously mentioned ingredients.

The graph below shows that the southern Italian marketplaces (***) have the cheapest grain prices per ton.

Wholesale cereal prices - broken down by marketplace Italy, ****, in euros per tonne Source: ****

Considering the point of sale, the price of cookies also depends on the brand, the type of product and the distribution channel in which they are sold. For purchases made in supermarkets, the following indicative values can be used as a basis: Product Brand and functional characteristics Distributor Taralli Homemade Taralli: €*.** per kg Carrefour Tarallificio Mediterraneo Taralli Napoletani: ***.* Kcal x ***g *.**€ per kg Carreforur Crostini Carrefour Classic Crostini Classic: *** kcal x ***g € *.** per kg Carrefour Savory Biscuits Tuc Original: *** kcal x *** g *,**€ Deco Arena Group Tuc Sfoglie, crackers with Extra Virgin Olive Oil & A Pinch of Salt: *** kcal x *** g **.**€ per kg Carrefour Savory Snacks Cameo Snack Friends: *** kcal x *** g *,**€ Deco Arena Group Breadsticks Caserecci * Cereals: ***kcal x *** g *,**€ Carrefour GrissinBon ...

4.3 Supply trends

During the past decades, the food processing industry has undergone a series of revolutions and technological upgrades, especially related to automation and safety devices. Therefore, in the cookie production process, people are mainly called upon to supervise the machines, and they have a special role in sanitizing all mechanical supports. In particular, hygiene is a key factor of production in the food processing industry, especially after the pandemic.

In addition, considering the new demand trends listed above, agribusinesses are now looking for new ingredients to be used to obtain products with better and healthy functional characteristics, as well as new types of packaging and production methods that can be considered environmentally sustainable. Thus, the need for operators of large conglomerates to support customers in the greater need to make informed choices is a real one that has partially manifested itself during the Covid-** [***].

The aperitif is also spreading outside the typical places where it is consumed. And so that lately companies are creating partnerships to offer consumers new ways to socialize. In ****, in Action, which has been specializing in contests and sweepstakes for more than ** years, created a bespoke Aperitivo Box for customer Carlsberg Italia, and specifically for its * Luppoli Lager ...

5.1 Regulatory framework

Food information

it is important to talk about the regulation on the origins and sources of ingredients. Regulation (***) No. ****/**** states that, within the business structure, the operator in charge of consumer information about the food must indicate the country of origin or place of origin of the primary ingredient used in the production of the good under consideration. In addition, they must provide practical information, for example, on substances that may cause allergies or intolerances, net quantity, expiration date or minimum shelf life, and storage method. In addition, the label must contain nutritional information, including energy value, amounts of fat, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, and salt.

This regulation is applicable in Italy from April *, ****, and was derived from the guidelines issued by the European Commission on January **, ****, "Communication from the Commission on the application of the provisions of Article **(***) No. ****/****." Specifically, the country of origin is defined as:

The country where the product is wholly obtained, or The country where the product, while not wholly obtained, undergoes its last economically justified substantial processing or working.

Production, marketing and safety

For example, Legislative Decree No. *** of January **, ****, concerning the provisions on the labeling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, stipulates that ...

6.1 Segmentation

Source: ****

• Mondelez Italie
• Conad
• Coop Italia
• Carrefour Property Italia S.p.a
• Grissin Bon
• Barilla Group
• San Carlo