With a turnover of €58 billion in 2024 and exports nearing €23 billion—40% of the total Italian food sector—the food industry represented by Unione Italiana Food continues to invest heavily in innovation and sustainability, allocating €3 billion annually to improve supply chains, processes, and products.
Paolo Barilla: "Proud to Create Value for People and Country"
During the 7th annual assembly held in Pollenzo, Paolo Barilla, President of Unione Italiana Food, emphasized the crucial role of the food industry: "We live in complex times, but we must not lose sight of trust and vision for the future. We are proud of our 'industry' identity and want everyone to understand what lies behind this term. Our know-how translates into hard work, daily commitment, continuous improvement, and innovation. The world recognizes and appreciates this dedication to quality, which we translate into high-service, safe, sustainable, and accessible products."
The choice of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo as the assembly venue is highly symbolic, representing the convergence of business, culture, tradition, and research. Unione Italiana Food is a Strategic Partner of this "university of taste," promoting the identity and quality of Italian food worldwide.
A Growing Sector: 2024 Figures and Trends
The Unione Italiana Food Annual Report highlights the sector's robust health, encompassing 24 product categories and over 900 iconic Made in Italy brands. The industry provides 100,000 jobs and consistently addresses consumer needs and new market trends.
2024 results underscore this vitality:
- Turnover: €58 billion (+2.6%).
- Exports: €23 billion (+11.4% on 2023), accounting for 40% of Italian food exports.
- Investments: €3 billion annually in innovation, improvement, and sustainability of supply chains, processes, and products.
The Unionfood product basket is categorized as follows:
- Traditional (50% of turnover): pasta, festive baked goods, chocolate, coffee, teas, and infusions.
- Evolved Traditional (30% of value): single-serve coffee pods, frozen foods, ready-to-eat fourth-range vegetables, sauces and ready meals, new confectionery products.
- Innovative (20%): high-service foods and beverages that meet nutritional and health demands (light foods, dietary supplements, products for specific categories like coeliacs or diabetics).
Top-Performing Sectors in 2024
Despite an uncertain climate, some Unione Italiana Food sectors showed particularly strong growth, driven by exports:
- Pasta: Over 4 million tons produced (+5% in volume), with an export share of 58%, confirming Italy's global leadership.
- Confectionery: Nearly €19 billion (+2.5%), with exports offsetting the decline in domestic consumption.
- Frozen Foods: €5.7 billion (+1.8% on 2023).
- Coffee: €4.7 billion (+8.5%).
- Vegetable Products: Stable at €4.8 billion, with a peak for fourth-range products (fresh washed and ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables, purees, soups, and ready-made broths), reflecting trends towards convenience, freshness, and waste reduction.
- Food Preparations: €5.3 billion (+5.1%), with a preference for premium products like broths, soups, sauces, and ready-made condiments.
- Dietary Supplements: Excellent figures with a significant growth of +5.9%, with peaks for probiotics, mineral salts, and supplements for insomnia and mental well-being.
The Future of Italian Food: Good, Healthy, and Fair
Paolo Barilla reiterated the vision for the future: "Ours is an industry that combines tradition and innovation, that has brought Italian craftsmanship into the future, and that invests in technology, exports, health, and sustainability. Our future depends on our ability to create value for Italian and global consumers, for businesses, and for Italy. And this value is called quality, which consumers recognize through their purchases."
Unione Italiana Food's exports in 2024 achieved extraordinary results, nearing €23 billion, representing 40% of the total exports for the entire Italian food sector. Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Poland remain the primary destination markets, drawn by the quality and authenticity of Italian gastronomic tradition. New opportunities are emerging from Asia, Northern Europe, and the Middle East, especially for healthy and plant-based products.
Despite positive prospects, the issue of US tariffs remains a concern, potentially hindering exports to the largest non-EU market. Carmine Garzia, Professor of Management and Scientific Director of the Food Industry Monitor Observatory at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, commented: "For 2025, we expect a rebound, but we will not return to 2023 values, when growth exceeded 6%. The prospects for 2025 are positive but will certainly need to be revised downwards if customs duties are activated. What is happening should make us seriously reflect on the opportunity for Italian food companies to significantly accelerate their internationalization strategies, with foreign direct investments requiring both financial resources and managerial expertise."
Unione Italiana Food: Italy's Leading Food Industry Association
Unione Italiana Food is the largest direct representative association for the food sector within the European Union. It brings together small, medium, and large food-producing companies operating in Italy.
The association represents 530 businesses across more than 20 product sectors, employing 100,000 people and generating a turnover exceeding €58 billion, of which €23 billion comes from exports.
UIF – Gelato Ingredients Group: A Key Sector within Unione Italiana Food
Among its members, the UIF – Gruppo Prodotti per Gelato (Gelato Ingredients Products Group) includes the leading Italian producers of ingredients for gelato and pastry. This group alone accounts for a turnover of €1 billion, representing 80 percent of the total turnover for the artisanal ice cream ingredients sector.