World markets, trends in the shopping cart, wine (with Tuttowine by Uiv): it’s Tuttofood, in Milan

Food and drink are increasingly weighing in the shopping cart of Italians, who choose more and more fresh packaged products and higher quality, with the organic that boosts the growth of recent years. Eating and cooking are also becoming more and more social and lifestyle elements, with an impact on consumption, encouraging the search for innovative and original products. Trends that will be the focus of “Tuttofood”, the “business to business” event signed by Fiera Milano (with the debut of the “Tuttowine” format, directed by Unione Italiana Vini, ed.), which will be staged from 6 to 9 May in what, with many in-depth studies at the fair and many events in the “outside the fair”, becomes the Milan Food City. And if so much attention will be given to exports (more than 20% of expo and visitors in 2017 came from abroad) that, for the made in Italy, seems to have started well in 2019 (+6.6% in the first two months of 2018, according to Istat), the focus will also be on the domestic market, from which arrive mixed signals. According to IRI data, in the first two months of the year, at least in modern distribution, sales in volume are substantially stable compared to 2018, even if the values increase by 2.5%, reaching almost 7 billion euros.
The growth is mainly in packaged meat (+12.8%), but also in so-called recurring products (+10.3%), and pre-cooked products. The organic sector is also doing well, which is no longer a novelty, so much so that growth is “only” 3%, and a strong signal comes from the entire beverage segment, with a strong and encouraging +9.3% in January. Signals that hopefully improve the final balance 2019 compared to 2018, which recorded sales of 65.6 billion euros in consumer goods, which is essentially the same as in 2017 (+ 0.1%), compared with, however, of a contraction in volumes (-0.6%). And this, despite the growth in the weight of food and drink, in the last 10 years, in the shopping cart of Italians: taken as an index 100 in 2009, in fact, in 2018 the figure reaches 110 for food and 102 for drinks, while it stops at 98 for personal care and drops to 87 for home care. Among the fastest-growing categories, fruit and vegetables (+ 5.6%), fresh products (+ 2.1%), fresh eggs (+ 10.3%), but also gastronomy (+ 6.6%) and seasonings (+ 4.4%). These categories suggest growing consumer interest in ready-to-use products with high service content. Overall, the Premium segment stands out: +2.9% with a peak of +9.9% for the “high” brands of the distributor (premium, organic, eco and functional). However, what emerges, in general, is a request for innovation along the entire supply chain, as demonstrated by a research by Labcom of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan in collaboration with the University of Pisa. From which emerges, for example, how in the last five years the act of cooking has evolved from a functional activity into a form of gratification that combines the development of personal abilities and social representation of one’s lifestyle project. A change that is also reflected in purchasing habits, increasingly in search of innovative and original products. Four macrotrends emerged: food and innovation, novel food, food and technology and new frontiers of organic food. But with a light-dark picture. Regarding novel food, 50% of companies are not aware of the latest developments and 25% believe that the country is not culturally ready to embrace new ideas. However, 41% of interviewees believe that the information should not be generic, but product-specific, suggesting that almost half of the companies have identified particular investment niches. Particularly interesting, in the technology chapter, is the use of 3D printers for food, which will grow over the next 3-5 years, and with a substantial increase in investments in nutrigenomics, i.e. genomics applied to foods to enhance their nutritional characteristics. On the subject of technological innovation, 50% of company representatives believe that future developments in vertical farms and aquaculture are also significant.
All topics that will be discussed and deepened Tuttofood, including conferences (with much space for traceability of the supply chain through digital and blockchain), seminars, focus on markets (with particular attention to China and Asia), products (from meat to extra virgin olive oil, from dried fruit, with the first Nut Forum, pasta) and trends (from vegan to “free from”, from halal to organic), with spaces dedicated to the “Evolution Plaza”, dedicated to the future “4.0” also in the food sector, and the “Retail Plaza”, with particular attention to the theme of “Retail & Shopper Revolution”, and there will be no lack of show cooking by star chefs such as Andrea Aprea and Antonino Cannavacciuolo, but also TV stars such as Alessandro Borghese and Ernst Knam, to name a few, and many events of the “outside the fair” in public spaces, restaurants and more.
Among the curiosities, the joint initiatives of the Consortia of Pecorino Romano DOP, Pecorino Sardo e Dop and Fiore Sardo DOP, which arrive after the protests of Sardinian shepherds a few months ago, who will launch the campaign “3 Pecorini”, to promote and enhance the characteristics and virtues of the three denominations in five strategic countries, are worth mentioning: as Italy, United States, Germany, England and France, under the motto of “Not the usual sheep, not the usual cheeses”, while the spotlight will also be on French beef, in the campaign “Our Passion, our commitment”, with show cooking and tasting, and also the unprecedented combination of different cuts and meat preparations with cocktails. And, as mentioned, the space dedicated to wine, a salon in the salon, or “Tuttowine”, will also be inaugurated, thanks to the partnership between Fiera Milano and Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv), with business to business events at the fair, around the “Enoteca di Tuttowine”, with business meetings with the exhibiting wineries (names ranging from Frescobaldi to Ruffino, from Schenk to Zonin, from Cavit to Mezzacorona, from Marchesi di Barolo to Mandrarossa, from Torrevento to Cantina La Vis, from Caviro to Terre Cevico....), masterclasses on some of the most important Italian wines, from Barolo to the great reds of Tuscany, passing through “world” Prosecco and beyond, focus on market developments and many events dedicated to the nectar of Bacchus also in the off-show, to tell, once again, to operators and enthusiasts, the richness and variety of Italian wine.