In Rome the States General of the Food & Beverage Market on the challenges of the sector

The annual event is organized by Italgrob, the Italian Federation of Horeca Distributors, in collaboration with the Italian Exhibition Group

ROME - The challenges, opportunities of the distribution chain and the main consumption trends of the sector in a constantly evolving economic context.These are some of the topics addressed in Rome, at the Confindustria headquarters, at the annual event of the General States of the Food & Beverage Market in Italy, organized by Italgrob, the Italian Federation of Horeca Distributors, in collaboration with the Italian Exhibition Group. Present, among others, Antonio Portaccio, president of Italgrob, Dino Di Marino general director of Italgrob, Flavia Morelli, Group Exhibition Manager of Italian Exhibition Group, Alessandro Fontana, director of the Confindustria Study Center, Carlo Alberto Buttarelli, president of Federdistribuzione, Vittorio Cino, general director of Centro Marca, Roberto Calugi, general director of the Italian Federation of Public Businesses (Fipe), Giangiacomo Pierini, president of Assobibe, Federico Sannella, vice-president of AssoBirra, Ettore Fortuna, vice-president of Mineracqua, Corrado Peraboni, CEO of Italian Exhibition Group.

During the meeting, the presentation of the study by the market research and analysis company Circana was held with Marco Colombo, Global Solution delivery of Circana, who focused on trends and critical issues for 2024.According to data released by Circana, after the difficult years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the recovery of the beverage vending sector was supported until the end of 2023 by the positive climate of confidence and an increase in domestic demand despite the inflationary brake but above all, by climate dynamics, by the continuous growth of tourism, both national and international.The challenge for distributors was to manage product availability emergencies in season and the continuous increase in purchase prices.
The first signs of difficulties recorded at the end of 2023 were then confirmed over the following months, and although the main macroeconomic indicators have remained in positive territory, the consumer confidence index, although better than at the beginning of 2024, remains at the lowest level of the last 7 years, gradually reaching a level of worry.This index is directly correlated with the propensity for out-of-home consumption measured through visits to final consumption points, which remain substantially stable, and with average spending, the growth of which appears to be progressively contracting over the course of the year.In this context, the effects on volumes in the first nine months of 2024 show critical stability for the Away from Home Food and Beverage sector (+2.4% in Distributors, -6.9% in Cash&Carry), against a compression in domestic consumption (-0.8% in Modern Distribution);at the same time, turnover is affected by the return of the inflation factor and a component of reduction in the value of the mix.

With regard to inflation, the long channel shows greater inertia also in the progressive reduction, settling at around 4%, higher than the 1.7% of the large-scale retail trade (January-September 2024), but in recent months in a marked decline compared to the Istat data on the price index per consumption of Hospitality and Catering Services between 5.5 and 5 points.The drinks distributor operates, once again, as a price limiter for price increases that are particularly impactful in the high season, this year characterized by highly variable weather conditions.2024 represented a turning point for beverage distributors who had to operate by balancing the construction of a distinctive value proposition on assortment, price positioning, service level and portfolio characterization, with market needs in order to support a growth no longer taken for granted.

The mix (or portfolio) factor was decisive in the results up to September 2024:the growth in volumes was achieved on products with a per liter price lower than the category average, as the consumer moved towards choosing 'cheaper' products with a distributor forced by its customers to adapt.This was particularly relevant for alcoholic beverages, Spirits, Wine and Sparkling Wines which had driven growth in recent years and which in 2024 showed the first signs of suffering.The role of innovation becomes even more important as it continues to grow in terms of contribution to sales with a more proportional turnover-volume ratio which still weighs relatively little in the overall offering (only 12% of the 2024 turnover is linked to products launched in the last six years).

The senator Matteo Gelmetti, presenter of the DDL National Horeca distribution register, explained with a video message that 'with this DDL we wanted to design the new path for the recognition of Horeca, a highly important and strategic sector which unfortunately has remained invisible for too many years.A sector that has important, very significant numbers, which must have the right attention from the Government.This bill puts a point on a topic that has been reported for too many years and allows access to all the offers that the Ministry of Business and Made Italy can provide to those registered in a regularly registered register.

Second Antonio Portaccio, President of Italgrob, 'today's appointment highlighted the synergistic and inclusive aspect of Italgrob on some aspects.First of all, the vitality and constant research, at an institutional level, to open dialogue tables to achieve political recognition of the category that had been dormant for too many years on the edge of invisibility.Secondly, the concern about the contraction in consumption in relation to the sharp decrease in the purchasing power of families.Finally, a warning to all the players in the supply chain on the commercial policy choices relating to the price increase, to be implemented next year so as not to further contribute to a reduction in consumption with all the dramatic consequences, primarily in terms of employment, that would arise from this scenario'.

Corrado Peraboni, CEO of Italian Exhibition Group, observed that 'the partnership between Italgrob and Italian Exhibition Group has a very important strategic value.The holding of the 14th edition of the International Horeca Meeting, which will be held in Rimini as part of Beer&Food Attraction in February 2025, is confirmation of this.International Horeca Meeting is an event of great importance for IEG and represents the beacon of orientation for the future of the Horeca sector, where every year the state of the art of the Beverage Industry is traced, protagonist of our Beer&Food Attraction fair.

Second Dino Di Marino, General Director Italgrob 'the bill establishing the special list of Horeca Distribution companies represents a fundamental initiative not only for distributors but also for the market.This special list will give a precise identity to the Italian Horeca distributors who register, a recognition that will allow them to take advantage of administrative and fiscal political initiatives with the aim of improving the services offered to companies operating in the Horeca channel distribution sector and to their users finals.Italgrob will always be at the forefront of this path aimed at innovating, finding new solutions and implementing positive synergies, as we wanted to write clearly in the claim of the next edition of the International Horeca Meeting.The role of the distribution operator appears increasingly central within a value chain, such as that of the out-of-home consumption market, which represents a fundamental asset for the country's economy, as well as a sector of extraordinary cultural and social value '.

Flavia Morelli, Group Exhibition Manager of the Italian Exhibition Group, noted that 'International Horeca Meeting is one of the flagships of Beer&Food Attraction, which reaches its tenth edition after last year's success witnessed by the presence of over 41 thousand operators from the Horeca world.IHM will highlight the Beverage chain combined with Food in a trade fair context that will involve the entire Bar Industry with the two new features of the Mixology Village and the Sparkiling & Mix area.During the three days, business meetings will alternate with professional development opportunities thanks to the extensive talk program offered by IHM'.

Alessandro Fontana, Director of the Confindustria Study Center, explained how 'the Italian economy is showing signs of resilience given the unfavorable context.For 2025 we have estimated a +0.9% of GDP, however, numerous unknowns remain linked to the international context.In this sense, the economic choices of the new Trump administration, the slowdown of the German economy and the consequent political crisis and the evolution of the ongoing wars are notable.A particularly significant issue concerns European demand which remains structurally low due to inflation and still high rates.

Following the speech by Luca Pellegrini, President of TradeLab, focused on an analysis of the outlet channels for Food & Beverage consumption and the impact of some factors such as inflation, albeit decreasing, on consumption dynamics.From the pre-pandemic value of 85 billion euros (2019) and after the fall to 53 billion in 2020, there has been a progressive recovery:68 billion in 2021 up to 99 billion euros in value in 2023, while for 2024 there is a forecast of 101 billion.From TradeLab's ongoing analysis of visits, it emerges that there was a decline in the period from March to June, with a temporary recovery in July and a new decline between August and September.Breakfast is growing, lunches and dinners are stable.On the channel front, better performances for take away and for pizzerias and restaurants above 35 euros for an average receipt, while bars are the channel most in difficulty.This is also due to a saturation of the bar market:since 2017 they have reduced by 23,000 units.The restaurant sector, which has had a major expansion having doubled the number of outlets from 70,000 in 2010 to almost 150,000 in 2024, is now stabilising.Even the chains, although growing in recent years, show signs of saturation in the main markets and are increasingly looking towards emerging areas.Positive forecasts for 2025 on visits +0.9% with a value of +2.8%.

The report was also presented Antonio Faralla, CEO of Formind, on the different occasions for eating out:'We find a stability in breakfast with an orientation towards healthy products, a remodulation of lunch with an increase in service formats, a criticality in the daytime aperitif due to its positioning which is reflected in the consumption of single-dose aperitifs.The situation in the evening aperitif is complex, where traditional alcoholic aperitifs are faced with a decline in demand, due both to the positioning of the food and beverage offer and to the quality and innovation of the service.In the evening, attendance holds up, but style and spending are remodulated, for example, for draft beer, drinks in 0.20 glasses are increasing, while those in 0.40 glasses are decreasing;this is an indication both of how the resident consumer limits spending but also reflects a decisive attitude of the new generations who tend to drink less alcohol, a trend also confirmed in the spirits segment, where except for a few categories, we are seeing clear signs of decrease.The channel net of the contribution of non-resident consumers reflects a negative sign of the order of -4%.