The food segment, including beverage and pet products, drove growth in Italy’s FMCG sector in the period from January to April 2017, according to data from Nielsen Italia.
Food sales increased by 3.4% year-on-year, while sales of non-food products were down by 2.5% in the same period. The overall growth of the FMCG sector was 2.1%, while the value increased by 2.2%, which represents the best result of the last five years.
The health and natural segments accounted for 41% of the overall growth in the FMCG sector.
Growth trends
Growth in the food segment was led by products defined as 'natural and healthy', such as dried fruit (+12%), Greek yogurt (+12%), dehydrated fruit (+10%), vitamin supplements (+9%), and smoked salmon (+7%).
Organic products had a turnover of nearly €1.3 billion (+19.8%), with 5.2 million households buying them every week, up by one million compared to 2015. The boom in wholemeal products generated sales of €435 million (+11.3%), while gluten-free reached €170 million (+26.3%), lactose-free €376 million (+6.3%), and vegetable beverages €198 million (+7.4%).
Growth in the macro categories was as follows: fruit and vegetables (+9.6%); cold foods (+5.8%); bread, pastry, pasta (+5.7%); and pet food (+3.8%).
There was also a positive performance by products that offer superior taste experiences or high service content, such as freshly prepared soups (+33%), freshly prepared sushi (+25%), and coffee capsules (+20%).
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
