The food consumption of Italians in the 10th edition of Osservatorio Immagino

Made in Italy, without antibiotics, not fried and low in calories: it is the trend of food consumption tracked by Osservatorio Immagino in June 2021.

The publication, now in its 10th edition, monitors over 125 thousand mass-market products in the Immagino database and products sold in large-scale retail tracked by Nielsen.

The metaproduct of Osservatorio Immagino

To record the evolution of the nutritional profile of daily Italian diets, Osservatorio Immagino uses an innovative statistical indicator, the Immagino metaproduct.

The indicator is calculated based on the average nutritional values of the 75,454 monitored food products. Between June 2020 and June 2021, there was essentially an increase in fiber quantity and a reduction in carbohydrates.

The average nutritional table

Energy. The energy value decreased by -0.9%, to 178.7 calories per 100 g/ml.

Fats. Unchanged values for total fats and saturated fats, compared to +1.9% and +1.8% of the previous survey.

Carbohydrates and sugarsThe levels of carbohydrates and sugars, on the metaproduct Immagino, have decreased respectively by -1.3% and -1.4%, continuing a trend ongoing for years.

Proteins. The protein component consolidates (-0.2%), after the appreciable increase of the previous year (+2.9%). The average protein content is 6.6%.

Fiber. The growth of fiber restarts (+0.8%, after -1% of the previous year), which today accounts for 2.1% on the metaproduct Immagino.

The statistical tool unfortunately does not consider  Salt, although the indication of its value (understood as 'equivalent sodium') is mandatory in the nutritional declaration and its excess intake is widespread and represents a risk factor for health.

Made in Italy

The Italianness  of the product continues to be successful, with a growth of +1.8%, for 8.7 billion euros in turnover.

On the shelf there are over 22 thousand products with geographical references on the label linked to Italy:

– tricolor flag (+0.2%). It is the recognition mark of the  Made in Italy most widespread, thanks especially to frozen pizzas, extruded (potatoes), sliced roasts and tea-based drinks,

– 100% Italian, substantially stable (-0.3%). Increasing on alcoholic beers, sliced roasts, ricotta, still water and tomatoes,

– produced in Italy. Compared to the previous year, its weight remains unchanged, supported in particular by alcoholic beers, sliced roasts, ricotta, still water and tomatoes,

– geographical indications (DOP, IGP, STG, DOC, DOCG, IGT). The basket of products is relatively limited, 2.7% of the total, but sales register double-digit growth (+11.5%).

European geographical indications

Among the European geographical indications, the best seller is the DOCG, +17.1% on 877 wines and sparkling wines, in addition to Prosecco.

The IGP  proceed well, with a brilliant trend in sales of sliced speck and bresaola, potatoes, red onions and piadina.

The DOP, 1,134 products, instead record a  performance weaker. Increasing sliced raw and cooked ham, buffalo mozzarella, table cheeses and dried garlic. Decreasing grana cheeses and similar and extra virgin olive oil.

The value of regionality

Food products With indication of regional origin on the label continue to capture consumer interest, sales +5.4%. Wines and sparkling wines, speck, yogurt and mozzarella top the charts. Piedmont, Tuscany and Sicily lead for the number of products.

By size of the turnover, the podium is:

- Trentino-Alto Adige, oltre 367 milioni di euro su 943 prodotti, +4,3%,

- Sicily, 328 million euros mainly concentrated on wines, ready sauces and oranges,

- Piedmont, 300 million euros from a basket of 1,213 products, among which red DOC and DOCG wines, third bovine processing (hamburger), crescenza, robiola and mineral water stand out.

Lazio, in 13th place with 25.5 million euros, instead marks the growth record, +17%. Perhaps also thanks to support policies to local products enacted by the Lazio Region.

I free from more dynamic

Among the 17  claims reporting the absence of an element monitored by Osservatorio Immagino, six perform very well. The most dynamic of the year are

- without antibiotics, +18.4%, with good performance of sliced roasts, natural frozen fish and eggs. The claims still appears only on 0.2% of products, unfortunately, although solutions to reach it in Italy are within reach (e.g. Algatan),

- not fried, +16.5%, on 374 products (0.5%). The claims is mainly driven by extruded products and salty snacks, followed by crunchy bars.

- low calorie, +11.5%. The indication accompanies 0.6% of the monitored products. Greatest growth is in supplements (where such claims should not even appear), energy drink and jams.

The other 'free-from' monitored by Osservatorio Immagino

Others claims of the kind  free from perform well.  Low sugars e no added sugars  record respectively +7 and +7.6% sales. The first (on 3% of products) grows mainly in fruit-based drinks, colas, Greek yogurt and chamomile. The second (present on 1.7% of products) thanks to Greek yogurt, oat and fruit-based drinks, jams.

Growing  also sales of foods ‘without glutamate’, +4.2%, on 0.9% of products. Among the best results those of cooked ham cold cuts and roasts. Less marked is the advance of ‘without additives’, +1.7%, on sliced and extruded cold cuts/roasts.

The 'free-from' at a standstill

‘Without preservatives’, the claims most widespread among the  free from (5.7% of products), first in sales incidence (9.3) remains substantially stable (-0.6%). Similar the  performance of the second claims most widespread (on 3 thousand products, 3% of the total monitored) ’without palm oil’, also due to the sales contraction of products that may contain it (croissant, shortcrust cookies, ready-made cakes, filled pastries, sweet spreads).

Stable the third claims most present ‘low fat’ (-0.1%), while it grows a little (+0.9%) ’without saturated fats’, present on 0.4% of products with greater momentum in frozen meat, bases and snack cakes. ’Without colorants’, quarto claims (on 2,110 products) it spreads on frozen breaded prepared fish, smoked salmon, base and tea-based drinks, frozen main courses, ice pops and breakfast cereals.

And also, grow ‘without aspartame’ (+4.6%), ‘without polyphosphates’ (on cold cuts) and the more generic ’without additives’ (+2.8 and +2.7%) on sliced and extruded products.

Foods ‘rich in’

Overall 11.9% of references label one or more of the 12 claims classified by Osservatorio Immagino in the ‘rich in’.

The presence of fiber accompanies 4.6% of monitored products. It is the claims most present and drives sales by +3.5%, especially enriched rusks, frozen animal protein substitutes, wholemeal/multigrain cookies, enriched wholemeal cookies, UHT oat drink, snack sweet cereal-based, enriched breakfast cereals, cracker and muesli. The claims related ‘whole’ increases sales by 1.9%.

The best: children and proteins

In the group of the  claim rich in, the best  performance mainly concern the  claims smaller, by incidence and turnover. It concerns

– zinc, +10%, on dried fruit and supplements,

– potassium, +6.7%, on supplements,

– magnesium, +8.4% in preparations for supplements and chamomile.

Continues to grow  the business volume related to the indication of ‘Proteins’, +8.5% mainly thanks to Greek yogurt, ready-made vegetable dishes (burgers/nuggets), fresh and fermented milk/kefir, vitamin/mineral complexes, sliced cold cuts, energy products for athletes.

Good ‘vitamins’ (3.5%), ‘lactic ferments‘ (+3.8%), ‘Omega-3‘ (+5.7%). Down for iodine, calcium, iron.

Allergen free

The products suitable for those with food intolerances are more than 10,000 on supermarket and hypermarket shelves. In the year ended June 2021, sales grew by +1.8%, exceeding 4 billion euros.

Among the 6  claims monitored, the two dedicated to people intolerant to gluten remain the most widespread, although their share has decreased, from June 2018 to June 2021, from 11.4% to 10.6% of products monitored by the Immagino Observatory.

6 claims for intolerant

The ranking as of June 2021 is as follows:

– ‘gluten free’, the most widespread (8,367 products), marks +2.9%. The most active categories are cold cuts and sliced roasts, speck and bresaola, hamburgers, salami and tea-based drinks,

– ‘gluten free’ logo  issued by the Italian Celiac Association. Present on 1,952 maintains a stable, unchanged trend,

– ‘lactose free’, the second claims most relevant is present on 2,246 labels maintaining a positive trend (+0.9). The most dynamic products were: fresh and fermented milk/kefir, bresaola, infant milk, vitamin/mineral complexes and UHT oat drink.

Lively  is the trend of the  claims smaller and more recent appearances: ‘without milk‘ (on sliced cold cuts), ‘without yeast‘ (flatbreads and breakfast cereals) and ‘without eggs‘ (on mayonnaise and fresh pasta), respectively characterized by sales increases of 4.4%, 4.2%, 6.1%.

Vegetarians and vegans

Consumption ‘identity’ foods, as classified by Osservatorio Immagino, total sales of over 3.3 billion euros.

Among the six  claims in the sector, the strongest is ‘veg‘, applied to products suitable for vegan and/or vegetarian diets. There are 4,515 products with 2 billion in sales, with a +4%.

Among the 1,891 products with claim ‘vegetarian’ the most important were frozen potatoes, infusions, Greek yogurt, almond milk and oat drink. Sales grew by 5.3%. Positive trend also for  claims ‘vegan’, +5.7% in revenue, rising to over 872 million euros.

The categories most popular are frozen potatoes, Greek yogurt, almond milk, oat drink and ice creams.

Organic in stand-by

The foods offered with the claims ‘organic’ are 8,177 references, 9.3% of monitored products. In the year ending June 2021 they lost -0.3%, stopping at a turnover of over 1.1 billion euros (one third of veg).

It is inevitable to observe how diets veg neglect the  plus of organic farming, despite the harmful news about the persistence of pesticides in plant-based foods. Bananas, onions, fruit and vegetables in general, tea, to cite the most popular cases.

Kosher and halal

The rundown of identity foods is completed with kosher labels for people of Jewish religion and halal for Muslims.

Kosher foods are more numerous (1.7%) but less dynamic (0.3%) than those halal. Foods suitable for the Muslim faith represent 0.5% of monitored products, but sales grow by 3.9%.

Beneficial ingredients

The macro area The products with label evidence of the presence of beneficial ingredients account for over 6,000 references. Overall, sales increased by +2.6% in value, reaching nearly 1.4 billion euros.

Immagino Observatory monitors the trend of 27 super-ingredients.

Superfruit

The category most important is that of Superfruit, cited in 2,322 products (3% of monitored references). The revenue leader remains the  almond, which boosts sales by +7.3%. Followed by  blueberry (+1.8%), the  coconut (12.9%), compared to a collapse in sales of  coconut water (-22.4%).

Avocado  is unstoppable. The 43 shelf references generate nearly 16 million euros in sales, +34.6%.

The super cereals

The super cereals/flours represent the second most important group. Eight  claims for a total of 2,046 references represent a business turnover that remains stable at 450 million euros.

Oats continues to grow, +3.9%. The offer includes beverages (used as an alternative to milk), breakfast cereals, snack sweets, rusks, yogurt, and wholegrain cookies.

Negative are the results for the other 7 super cereals.  Wheat germ (-22.2%),  rice oil (-10.4%),  kamut (-5.9%),  spelt (-4.2%),  quinoa (-3.5%),  rice flour (-2.1),  corn flour (-1.1).

The success of seeds

All with positive trend the 5 claims related to the presence of seeds on 493 references. The most important is ‘pumpkin seeds’ (+6.3), followed by ‘flax seeds’ (+7.5), ‘chia seeds’ (+0.5).

The widest offer matches the demand for ‘sesame seeds’, +19.2, in all categories, especially in buns for hamburgers. The best performance of the year goes to ‘hemp’, +22% value, especially in infusions.

trend bitter for sweeteners

Sweeteners  continue to lose ground. The 514 products lose 5.1% of sales.

The claims ‘cane sugar’ drops by -5.9%, the  stevia loses 3%, due to declining sales of products containing it (colas, candies, chewing gums) and a reduction in assortment (-4.9%).

The spices

Flat trend for the 3 claims related to spices, which overall account for a turnover of over 91 million euros.

The only one to grow is ‘cinnamon’, +10.4%, for over 15 million euros. Noted on the labels of 153 products, it has grown especially in ice creams and infusions.

For ginger a decline of -1.7% is noted, while the turmeric drops by 3%, also due to a nearly -6% reduction in supply (now at 228 references) on yogurt and fresh pasta.

Superfood, goji performs poorly

That of Superfood is perhaps the area most sensitive to food trends. Overall the four claims examined show a -10.4% drop in sales, worth 10.6 million euros.

Goji very bad, which loses 24.9%, almost a quarter of its turnover, amounting to 6.3 million euros. Shelf supply has decreased by almost -30% (101 shelf references) while demand continued to grow (+4.4%), with dried fruit and snack gluten-free among the most prominent categories.

Boom of spirulina

Very good The claims ‘matcha‘, +11.5%, especially due to the success in tea and ground coffee in capsules. Sales at +12.4% for ‘açai‘, grown especially in functional yogurt and dark chocolate tablets and bars.

The claims ‘spirulina’ stands out clearly from the group. The turnover increases by +63.2%, exceeding 2.6 million euros. The success is favored by the offer increased by +50% (reached 27 references).

The processing method

The recall to the processing method appears in over 3,000 products (+8%) but only produces a +0.2% boost in turnover.

Among all, the claims most common is ‘extruded’, typical of pasta, stable at +0.1%. The related recall ‘drying’ instead marks –4.5% in sales.

Negative is also the trend of ‘cold-extracted’ (-3.9%), ‘slow/natural leavening’ (-18.2%), with frozen pizzas, snacks and Christmas products in decline, in the first two cases due to lower use of claims.

Passion without filters

Passion for ‘unfiltered’ beer is growing. The related claims present in 138 products marks a +17.8% increase in sales, totaling 139 million euros. Good results also for ‘handcrafted’, +6.7%, especially present on tuna and canned fish. On these last, as well as on cheeses, for a total of just 85 references, is frequent the claims related to ‘smoking‘, linked to a 17.4% increase.

The ‘artisan’ processing groups 642 references across various categories (such as chips, breadsticks, holiday products and mozzarella), whose sales increased by +11.8%.

The texture of the food

11 claims refer to the food texture. The most common is ‘crunchy’, linked to a +5.8% increase in turnover of the nearly 1,500 products boasting it. Sales of the 1,284 products labeled as ‘creamy‘ (-5.1%), due to lower demand for whole yogurt, fresh ready sauces, crescenza cheese and jams. Also down are the results linked to the recalls ‘soffice’ (-3,5%), ‘tenero’ (-6,3%), ‘ruvido‘ (-1,4%), ‘sottile‘ (-13,6%), ‘vellutato‘ (-3,4%), ‘fragrante‘ (-4,6%).

Aumento di vendite di +2,6% per i 907 prodotti con claim ‘morbido’. Trainano pane da tramezzini, basi, caffè, formaggi, merendine, praline e cioccolatini a fare da traino.

Bene anche ‘ripieno’ (+0,6%) e ‘farcito’ (+5,3%). Il primo è trainato da pasta fresca ripiena, snack dolci, ovetti di cioccolato e pasticceria. Il secondo soprattutto da dolci surgelati, basi e snack salati.

La X edizione di Osservatorio Immagino è disponibile a questo link.