Food Industry Monitor 2024: 10 successful years of Made in Italy Food&Beverage celebrated in Pollenzo
On June 27, 2024, the 10th edition of the Food Industry Monitor (FIM) was held, an event dedicated to the macro trends taking place in the food & beverage sector and the analysis of growth prospects in the next two years, organized by the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo together with Ceresio Investors, with the media partnership of Pambianconews, Foodcommunity.it and Consilium Hub.
The theme of the conference, “Ten Years of Italian Food,” offered an in-depth analysis of the transformations and trends that have characterized the landscape of the food industry in Italy from 2014 to the present; at the opening of the event, moderated by Sebastiano Barisoni, Deputy Executive Director of Radio 24, the results of the research were presented by Gabriele Corte, General Manager of Ceresio Investors, Michele Antonio Fino, UNISG Professor, and Carmine Garzia, Scientific Manager of the Observatory.
This was followed by a panel discussion among managers, entrepreneurs from leading Italian food companies, who commented on the excellent results achieved related to the factors of growth, exports, profitability, productivity and financial structure, continuing with the sharing of perspectives on the future evolution of the sector. The conference conclusions were entrusted to Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food International and president of the University of Gastronomic Sciences.
The results
The Italian food sector has seen significant growth over the past decade, rising from a value of 53 billion in 2012 to about 90 billion in 2023. Exports have seen continuous growth, rising from 23 billion to 44 billion in the same period.
“It is necessary to emphasize the absolute excellence of the sector, which, in 10 years has known how to overcome several economic crises, a pandemic, geopolitical tensions and deglobaliztion processes, while continuing to grow above the national average, increasing exports and generating continuous interest in merger and acquisition transactions.” – commented Gabriele Corte, Managing Director of Ceresio Investors.
In particular, the 2023 earnings data showed an extremely positive scenario for the food sector, with 10 percent growth due to both the good resilience of the domestic market and the excellent performance seen in exports.
“The sector continues to grow due to both good domestic consumption and strong dynamism in the international market. Quality exports are a decisive driving force of the Italian food sector.” – explained Carmine Garzia, Scientific Manager of the Observatory.
The forecast for the 2024-2025 biennium
FIM is not only an opportunity to analyze historical data, but also to outline future trends. By analyzing more than 850 companies operating in 15 different sectors, it provides valuable insights into the profitability, productivity and business models that are driving the growth of the food and beverage industry.
Growth in the food & beverage sector will continue in the 2024-2025 biennium with rates exceeding GDP. In more detail, growth of +4.8 percent is projected for 2024, and 5.2 percent for 2025. Growing the most in 2024 will be typical Made in Italy sectors such as coffee, oil, spirits and wine, mainly due to good results on the international market. The positive trend will also affect other sectors such as pasta, milk and derivatives, and sweets, although with a lower growth rate due to the tensions generated by the distribution system and the contraction of consumption in some segments of the Italian market.
