Less domestic consumption due to the recovery of the restaurant industry, but also changes in the habits and demands of consumers, especially the younger ones, who are more and more attentive to environmental sustainability. These are the changes that the Consortium for the Protection of Grana Padano PDO identifies in the market trends in the first seven months of 2021. “Sales figures, while remaining much higher than in 2019, are lower than in 2020” – explains Stefano Berni, general manager of the Consortium. “Price dominates the choices of low-receipt catering, which, in the volumes of food consumed, is the most relevant part”.
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However, customers in the restaurant segment are not informed about the type of cheese they find on their plates or table. “That’s why Grana Padano PDO producers are asking for more intense collaboration and rules to inform those who dine in foodservice outlets,” – emphasizes the general manager of the Consortium. “This transparency will certainly benefit the most valuable PDO products, with very strict production rules but also with higher costs”.
Good news, on the other hand, comes from exports, where the restaurant industry is betting decisively on fine Italian PDO cheeses, both for tradition and guarantees of quality, as well as for the success in sports in recent months that have made the ‘Italy’ brand grow. From January to July 2021, 42% of Grana Padano PDO was consumed abroad and 58% in Italy. This trend has also been matched by production, in a slight and deliberate decline but with adequate compensation for producers. These months have shown a new trend in the choices of consumers, which will therefore condition the production of the most consumed PDO cheese in the world (with over 5.2 million wheels produced in 2020). “The pandemic has given us different attentions and sensitivities towards the environment and people’s well-being. So, what will make companies grow will be zootechnics and precision agriculture, sustainability, respect and protection of the environment, health, and animal welfare” – says Berni.