More Italians are giving priority to practicality and time-saving techniques in the kitchen, a new study has found.
An IRI study has identified 'ready dishes' and 'easy food' as dominant trends on the tables of Italian consumers.
The sales of ready-made, main course dishes based on fish and fresh products have increased by about €100 million each over the past four years.
The sales of ready-made sauces in the same period grew by €50 million.
There has also been double-digit growth in sales, in terms of volumes, of ready vegetable dishes, side dishes, and salads.
The demand for ready-to-eat foods or 'easy food' is also growing, albeit at a more moderate rate.
Italians are also consuming more happy hour products including salted snacks, sparkling wines, and other "bubbly" drinks, and dried fruit.
Other Categories
The demand for breakfast-at-home products and post-meal sweets is constantly decreasing. However, this observation excludes items like jams, marmelade, biscuits, and gluten-free products.
The demand for fresh milk and long-life milk has dropped significantly, the study pointed out.
In the out-of-home, after meal segment, there has been a growth in value for various chocolates, chocolate-based products, pastry, spreads, fresh snacks, and Greek yoghurt.
A negative trend has been observed for products like candy, other types of yoghurts, and ice creams.
The progressive ageing of the population and the continuous reduction in birth rate have reflected in the drop in sales of baby food and the increase in demand for healthy food.
In recent years, there has also been a growth in spending for high digestibility milk and dairy products, sugar-free drinks, wholemeal and gluten-free pasta.
The consumption of functional yoghurt contracted after the boom of recent years.
© 2019 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.
