Bulgaria is a small market, but also a very promising one for Italian food and beverage products exports. Since 2010, the growth trend has almost doubled. Bulgarian consumers have always shown interest in the specialties and typical ingredients of Italian cuisine.
MEAT, DAIRY AND BEVERAGES ON THE RISE IN BULGARIA
As regards the Italian products that recorded the best performance in Bulgaria in 2019, Italian meat exports stand out exceeding 30 million euros, up 15.6% compared to 2018. The same can be said for the dairy sector, which grew by +24.6% for a value of over 12 million euros.
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For the first time in years, there was a decline in coffee imports (-17.1%), which nevertheless reported a decidedly high turnover of 29 million euros. In the beverage sector, the growth in Italian exports is very strong: +45.5%, for a value of almost 64 million euros. The figure is not determined by wine exports (which, on the contrary, show a decrease of 5%), but by distilled alcoholic beverages (8.1 million euros, up +38.6%), bottled beer (22.1 million euros, up +38.4%) and mineral water (20.9 million euros, up +90%).
Although Italian food products are well positioned on the market, there is still room for new products and new brands. The main development opportunities concern categories such as pasta, rice, sauces and condiments, authentic Italian cheeses, oiled products (dried tomatoes), olive oil, cold cuts, meat, chocolate, biscuits and typical desserts. As far as beverages are concerned, Bulgarians really appreciate Prosecco, sparkling wine and white wine, while it is more difficult to introduce red wine of which Bulgaria is already a good producer.
THE MOST PROMISING SALE CHANNELS: RETAIL AND DELI
The most strategic channel for a greater development of Italian food & beverage in the Bulgarian market is large-scale distribution. To date, the chains that have proved to be more open to the introduction of new Italian products are Metro, Fantastico, and T-Market. Interesting opportunities are also beginning to open up in gourmet shops, especially in Sofia, thanks to high quality products from small producers.
ITA SOFIA: THE EVENTS FOR 2021
Due to the global health emergency, this year the main events that are usually organized by the Italian Trade Agency office in Sofia to promote the products of Italian F&B companies have been canceled. We are talking about “La Dolce Vita Food&Wine event”, dedicated to Italian excellencies producers that are not yet present on the Bulgarian market, and “Interfood & Drink”, the most important event dedicated to Horeca in Bulgaria. Everything will therefore start again in 2021 in Sofia with the promotion of Italian products at the Fantastico chain, from 8 to 22 April.