Unione Italiana Food has warned that sales of chocolate eggs and festive Easter cakes have been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the association, which represents more than 40 Italian confectionery companies, unsold goods are beginning to pile up, which could result in a 30% to 40% drop in turnover this year, with negative effects on employment levels.
On average, 31,207 tonnes of chocolate eggs are produced in Italy, generating turnover of about €275 million, while Easter cakes production reaches almost 23,000 tonnes, and a value of €160 million.
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The director general of Unione Italian Food, Mario Piaccialuti, told daily La Repubblica that the market is struggling to take off, stressing that for some companies Easter accounts for half of annual turnover.
He appealed to the large-scale retail trade to “side with the producers, especially small ones” and keep festive products in stores a little longer, adding that the response from consumers will certainly be positive.
Sales Impact
Elsewhere, the CEO of confectionery company Maina, Marco Brandani, told Ansa that the business has seen a 40% drop in product sales, while the commercial director of Paluani, Gianluca Cazzulo, claims his company’s sales have fallen by 20-25%.
Both also agree that e-commerce, which is worth €350 million to €400 million, is too small to compensate for lost sales. For Paluani, the channel accounts for only 1% of sales, or around 30,000 Easter cakes out of the three million the company produces annually.
The only hope, according to Brandani, is for a surge of sales in the coming days.
© 2020 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
