It is not surprising that the specialization of Italian companies in exports has also favoured specialties such as gnocchi and chicche. However, outside of Italy, in places where made in Italy is already long established and there is room for more unique recipes, gnocchi and chicche are even starting to be distributed as private labels.
This trend is confirmed by Grandi Pastai Italiani: “We export 60% of our production to over 50 countries. Both to Europe, particularly to France, Germany, Great Britain, Eastern European and Scandinavian countries, and to the United States, where our branch offices are located, as well as to many other destinations, such as Japan, the Middle East, Central and South America, and South Africa. We collaborate with the leading international retailers. The most interesting emerging trend in our sector is the practice of cooking gnocchi directly in the pan with a knob of butter to be eaten as a snack or as a side dish to a main course. However, this specialty’s unique preparation method will not be easy to introduce to every country”.
Granoro, the company from Puglia specialized on pasta, is taking advantage of the success of its durum wheat pasta to try to gain control of the gnocchi market in all 100 of the countries currently being supplied as well. Currently, it accounts for 4,5% of ‘non-pasta’ production on the store shelves of Japan, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and the United States.