Despite the numerous challenges faced by the food and agricultural industries, 2013 has been a big year for the Abruzzo based company De Cecco, with a turnover in excess of 400 million euros. The exact figure was 411 million and the forecast for 2014 is an impressive 461 million euros. The group’s 2013 Ebitda value was a record 45 million euros, including figures from Pmi Usa and Desemark. These figures make De Cecco the third largest producer of Durham wheat pasta in the world and the top company in the Premium Foods sector in terms of pasta sales. The above figures are the totals for the entire De Cecco group, including their recent acquisitions in Russia. Pasta under the De Cecco brand is only manufactured with the purest water – taken straight from source at Maiella and the finest grade Durham wheat – in Fara San Martino and Caldari di Ortona, in the heart of Abruzzo. The only exception to this rule is in Russia, where the focus is still on the manufacture of high quality pasta, but using soft wheat flour in their local branded products, which meets traditional consumer expectations.
De Cecco’s chairperson Filippo Antonio De Cecco and ceos Giuseppe Aristide De Cecco and Saturnino De Cecco are at the helm of a company that employs over 1,200 individuals, of whom 800 are based in Italy. De Cecco’s core business is, of course, pasta and their best-selling product in 2013 remains the classic spaghetti, with 7,000,000 kg sold at home in Italy and 3,000,000 kg sold overseas. The overall volume of pasta sold was 231.7 million kilos and the principal end markets, outside Italy, were the United States, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium. The future looks even more promising, as forecasts predict continued growth to 253.4 million kilos.
For some years now De Cecco’s premium foods range has also included tomato-based products, pasta sauces created by celebrity chef Heinz Beck and an assortment of olive oils. This side of the business grew exponentially in 2013, with just over 9,000,000 kilos sold, with an export quota of 25%.
In addition to Pasta, tomato-based products, pasta sauces and olive oil, De Cecco have recently introduced a new range of premium savory baked goods. Amazingly, the all-new “I Grani” brand by De Cecco, has already been voted Most Innovative Product of the Year 2014 in a survey of 12,000 consumers. There are nine different products in the range, which includes Pan soffice (sliced soft bread), Grissini, Crackers, Grissinotto (mini breadsticks), and Tarallini (an Italian pretzel-type snack) all made with pure extra-virgin olive oil and free from colouring, preservatives and hydrogenated fats. Furthermore, a third of these are made from Kamut flour, which is indicative of De Cecco’s affinity with this ancient yet increasingly popular grain (the company is already at the forefront of Italian sales of Kamut-based pasta).
