Shortbread cookies with tea, cantucci with Vinsanto, or baci di dama with coffee. All of these Italian small pastry masterpieces can now be enjoyed as snacks, as a treat, or as a delight at the end of the meal, and satisfy that desire for gratification heightened by the pandemic, allowing people to recreate at home the ritual of the stop in the pastry shop.
In fact, since the shutdown, the sales of these sweets have increased in the Italian large-scale retail trade. This is also confirmed by data provided by Unione Italiana Food, the association which brings together the Italian confectionery producers. In 2020, confectionery cookies (+15%), and shortbreads (+25%) returned to growth, while the production of Cantuccini Toscani PGI rose by 15% as exports totaled 40% of total sales.
Even in the first half of 2021, the signs are positive according to the Italian economic newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Latest IRI’s surveys show that sales have increased by +8.1% in volume (compared to the year ended in June 2020), with peaks of +12% for products with chocolate and +24% for filled sweets. Sales grew also in value (+7.6% per year), for total revenues of almost 539 million in Italy as a whole.
Growing interest on the part of consumers, increasing sales, larger assortments, and shelf space, greater diffusion throughout Italy: everything is there to attract the attention of companies and increase competitive pressure in this crowded market.
ITALY’S CONFECTIONERY CHAMPIONS
Behind the market-leading giants such as Barilla and Mondelez, there is a universe of specialized companies with well-known brands committed to responding to the new post-pandemic mood, such as Bahlsen, or gaining space with new specialties, such as Lago Group or Deco Industrie. “More than good” is the payoff that accompanies Loacker’s brand relaunch since January 2021. Starting with the company’s best sellers (such as wafers and Tortina), this project will soon be extended to all products, including new launches, and supported by a media campaign starting in September.
The Vicenzi Group, the third-largest competitor on the market, also continues to focus on innovation. Particularly with the Grisbì brand, which represents one-third of the revenues generated in Italy and is expected to reach 100 million by the end of the year. The other strategic line is that of Bocconcini, for which in 2020 Vicenzi launched a new 4-million-euros automated line. A 15-million investment is budgeted for the next three years, confirming the ambitions of the Veneto-based group which continues to grow (+12.3% in the first half of 2020) also thanks to the strong recovery of foreign markets.
Exports are the key to the success of Forno Bonomi, a specialized company and historic co-packer which generates 60% of its 56-million turnover abroad. Seventy percent of its sales depend on ladyfingers, of which it is the world’s leading producer. This particular kind of cookie, essential for the production of tiramisu, achieved a historic result in 2020 with sales growing by +20% thanks to the boom in homemade tiramisu.