The most popular options are Fettuccine and Tagliatelle (so-called pasta “nests”), with the best-stocked shelves offering at least half a dozen varieties. But increasingly, the biggest european retailers are requesting that suppliers complete their ranges with a number of egg pasta products.
The experience of leading suppliers like Pastificio De Matteis illustrates this trend. While De Matteis no longer sell egg pasta under their own brand, they have closely guarded their manufacturing expertise, supplying a complete private label range to a number of international retailers. Key markets include Northern European countries (Belgium, Holland and the United Kingdom in particular), where their private label products are on sale in some of the top supermarket chains. “Our USP is flexibility”, Marco De Matteis, ceo of the family company explains.
“While standard products contain three to four eggs per kilo, we can offer recipes containing anything from two to six eggs per kilo, with different cooking times and in a wide range of pasta shapes, including regional varieties”.
Foreign expansion plans are also on the agenda for Pastificio Luciana Mosconi, for whom exports make up 5 % of overall sales. “I am certain that the new projects launched in early 2014 will have a significant impact, particularly in the United States, where we are also poised to start working with retail, Canada, Brazil and most of Europe”, Andrea Pennazzi, ceo of the company states.
“The Russian market is also showing positive signs, with our products enjoying a fantastic level of appeal”. Meanwhile, the Granoro brand is currently available in Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, the United States, Hong Kong and Dubai. “Egg pasta represents about 3% of our export volumes”, the marketing department at Pastificio Attilio Mastromauro inform us. “The aim is to consolidate our position on existing markets and expand into emerging markets”.
