The food remains an authentic passion for Italians: even if they have to pull the case crisisin fact, the budget for the food sector "holds" (14.2% of family spending, two percentage points more than the average European) as taste remains the driving factor in the choice of food for 78 out of 100 Italians. Instead, the to cook like a little less. The time spent in the kitchen has been drastically reduced: 37 minutes average per day against 60 of twenty years ago. In parallel, purchases have increased ready meals (from salads in a bag to cooked dishes) and electric pots (instant pots) for quick cooking. And then more and more often we eat outside the home (36% of food spending). But above all the habit of ordering is spreading lunch or dinner on the phone or on the web and app to have them delivered directly to your home, as more than one does Italian out of four. It was the edition that photographed the habits of Italians 2019 of the Coop Report, Which explores the evolution of our country, both in terms of consumption and lifestyles and attitudes social. An observatory that, year after year, has become an important compass to understand how it is changing Italy just starting from the supermarket cart and the articulation of the expenses of the families.

Sushi is the sprinter among the "fast" dishes
Rapid and protein: these are the three characteristics of Italians' favorite food in the last year. The search for a difficult one equilibrium between private life and large load of work (400 hours a year more than the Germans), coveted by one Italian in two, pushes to prefer ready-made foods short while and with little effort. And so in a year the sales of "Instant food" increased by 9.3% to € 1.6 billion. And the offer has also increased: from the carpaccio di meat or fish with pizza, from stuffed pasta to meatballs, from pasta salads to polenta, from the fruit ready to the shelled dried fruit, there is only the embarrassment of the choice. The one that stands out on all these proposals is the sushi: 42% of those who do the super shopping usually buy it when they go to do the expense.

The menu turns into a single dish. Single
The Italian meal, with courses well marked by the appetizer sweet? Filed for the holidays. In everyday life the main dish wins, better if ready, even in a more meaningful sense large (from the first or second courses ready to fourth range fruit and vegetables) and without preclusion towards the most meal solutions modern, represented by replacement bars, by snacks sweet or savory. All product categories with growing sales, often in double digits. Something is also on the beverage front changing. We remain the land of wine, we continue to love the "bubbles" (and so we buy more and more sparkling and prosecco), but we are more and more "Beer lover": we bought them 7 million of hectoliters in 6 months.

Italian? It is always better
THE'Italianness is another key theme reported by the Coop Report. Half of Italians when shopping must be guided by the values ​​of "made in Italy" and the supply chain. And these attributes come to count even more than taste and taste price. 78% of consumers are reassured from products with 100% Italian origin, whose sales in 2018 are grew 4.8% compared to the previous year. Another 42% believe that a controlled / safe supply chain is synonymous with quality. Therefore, the area of ​​security is the predominant one in the choice of what buy and consume, and is worth more than double compared to pleasure e gratification (20%).

Gourmet always, more and more healthy
There is another basic trend that has been accompanying us for some years: it is the salutismo, which drives food spending by 27% of Italians. For 71% of Italians eat with quality food it is the most important habit to cultivate one's well-being. And this attitude is expressed in many ways different. Among those that emerged in the last year, the first is the preference for foods rich in fibers to the detriment of those who mainly supply fats and carbohydrates. In fact the food that has seen more purchases increase has been vegetables (+ 8%) and even fruit was purchased more than in 2017 (+ 2.2%). The second phenomenon of the year is the boom of the flavored waters (+ 164.7% sales by value) that goes hand in hand with the parallel collapse of the sodas carbonated. The advance of dried fruit continues (+ 4.1%). And then there is the "sanctification" of the protein, linked to physical form, performance and tone. You are in the shopping cart more cold cuts (+ 2.9%), more cheeses (+ 1.5%), more dairy products (+ 1.1%) and even more meat which, after years of crisis, has returned to growth (+ 3.5%). Also in 2019 the increase in sales of meat continues (especially packaged (+ 13.2%) while collapse those of substitute products, such as vegetable frankfurters, frozen ready meals veg, tofu, seitan and croquettes vegetable.

Also in Italy comes the "Greta effect"
The most recent novelty is concrete ecologism, that is the adoption of choices and styles of consumption that are attentive to the sustainability environmental, which in the case of food drives the expenditure of 22% of Italians. From the growth of the shared mobility (adopted by 4 out of 10 Italians) to the preference for fashion clothing sustainable (1 Italian out of four) to finish with the attention to search on the labels indications, stamps and information on sustainability (one Italian in two). And this sensitivity green is even greater in young people, who fall fully within the definition of "generation Greta ", and in the over 40s, the so-called "perennials", which are much greener than the millennials. Yet this desire for purchases "Ecological" he is not yet completely satisfied with what is on the market. Only 16.4% of the companies proposes eco-friendly products and so 14% of consumers find it difficult to make a purchase "Green".

Manuela Soressi
October 2019