In Italy there are 13,153 kinds of food that communicate the absence of certain nutritional components, equal to 18.3% of the total Italian food assortment with a turnover of almost 7 billion euros. This is the picture of the ‘free from’ food economy trend according to Nielsen’s Osservatorio Immagino GS1 Italy.
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Claims that have most boosted sales in Italy
| CLAIM | VAR. % (2019 on 2018) |
| without antibiotics | +62% |
| without added sugar | +9.1% |
| rich in fiber | +6.3% |
| not fried | +6.1% |
| rich in proteins | +5.7% |
| without glutammate | +4.9% |
| without yeast | +1.9% |
The analysis compares the performance of food companies (from 2018 to 2019) that have focused attention on free from. Among the claims that have most boosted sales we can find “without antibiotics” (+62%), “without added sugar” (+9.1%) and “without glutammate” (+4.9%), but there are also the emerging new entries “without yeast” (+1.9%) and “not fried” (+6.1%). As many Italians have rediscovered the pleasure of cooking at home during the pandemic lockdown, many recipes proposed by chefs and influencers were “gluten free”, “lactose free” or linked to whole wheat and protein ingredients.
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The rich-in trend is also experiencing a growth in consumption. The products that communicate the presence of certain nutritional components in 2019 were 8,015 (11.2% of the assortment) and generated a turnover of over 3 billion euros, equal to 11.9% of the total recorded. The study has in fact confirmed the interest of Italian families for products rich in proteins and fiber, which grew by 5.7% and 6.3% respectively.
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A HEALTHY GLOBAL TREND
This exponential increase is linked, according to experts, to a more widespread global attitude to buying foods that guarantee greater well-being and a healthier lifestyle.
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According to a recent analysis conducted by Allied Market Research, in 2018 the world market for free from food was estimated at $90.1 billion. In 2026 it is estimated that it could exceed $161 billion, with a growth of almost 80%.