The research, commissioned to Nielsen IQ, now includes forecast data for the upcoming Christmas season. For 2023, an increase in volumes is estimated at 26.7 thousand tons, with a growth in the artisanal channel ranging from 3% to 8%.
Milan, December 5th, 2023 – CSM Ingredients, a global player in research, innovation, and production of food ingredients, has presented the new data from the research "The evolution of panettone consumption in Italy", commissioned to Nielsen IQ. In its fifth edition, the Observatory aims to provide an accurate overview of the whole panettone market, supporting both industrial entities and pastry chefs/bakers in capturing the desires of end-consumers by monitoring the size, characteristics, and growth opportunities of the sector.
Forecasts for Christmas 2023
While in the first editions the focus was primarily on analyzing data and trends from the previous year, this year the Observatory — the only one in Italy investigating both the industrial and artisanal sectors — includes important forecast data for Christmas 2023: indeed, an increase in volumes of approximately 26.7 thousand tons is predicted. Moreover, market growth is expected to be driven mainly by artisanal panettones, with an estimated increase ranging from +3% to +8%, while the industrial sector remains robust.
Key data for 2022
CSM Ingredients, an ideal partner for all stakeholders in the panettone production sector thanks to its ability to innovate and create tailor-made solutions combining excellent performance and consistent quality, recognizes the importance of fully understanding the trends and dynamics of the panettone market, an iconic Italian sweet experiencing significant development and internationalization. For this reason, CSM Ingredients' research begins with an analysis of the data from the last Christmas campaign.
The panettone market in 2022 recorded an economic value of 291.1 million euros (+15.7%), with 54% generated by the Artisanal segment (+18%) and the remaining 46% by the Industrial segment (+13%), showing double-digit growth in value for both sectors.
The data also confirm that panettone is gaining increasing popularity and appreciation in Italy. The number of buying families increased by 100 thousand units compared to the previous year, reaching 11.4 million families, with a significant increase in new adopters in the artisanal category — 7 out of 10 consumers increased their purchases of artisanal panettone compared to 2021 (+282,000 families). It is interesting to note that home consumption entered the Top 3 reasons for purchasing artisanal panettone for the first time this year. At the same time, the industrial sector recorded substantial stability, with Northeastern and Central Italy being areas where this product finds more consensus and growth.
Italians also remain loyal to tradition, with 59% of consumers preferring traditional panettone in the artisanal segment and an even higher percentage of 77% in the industrial segment, compared to filled and free-from options.
Panettone: Symbol of Christmas, Home and Sharing
The research results emphasize the deep connection between panettone and the holiday season, even though a significant number of consumers purchase panettone throughout the year (30% of the total). Artisanal panettone is predominantly purchased during Christmas, while the industrial variety attracts interest in the preceding months and especially in January, a month which accounts for more than 10% of total revenue.
Furthermore, panettone remains an ideal gift for the vast majority of respondents: 10.6 million families received panettone as a Christmas gift (45% industrial, 41% artisanal, and 14% both channels). Of these, 3 million represent families that had not purchased a panettone, and it is interesting to note that nearly half of those who received an artisanal panettone liked it so much that they expressed the intention to buy one in the future.
Regarding sales channels, the results of the latest campaign highlight a further increase in consumers choosing to buy industrial panettone at the Large-Scale Retailing stores (a channel already on a noticeable rise last year), with 95% of buyers turning to large-scale distribution, in 73% of cases as the exclusive channel and in 22% alongside other channels.
The most important purchasing channel for the Artisanal segment is represented by pastry shops, both for offline and online purchases. On the web, consumers of artisanal panettone strongly prefer pastry shop websites.
The whitepaper
To provide as much information as possible to all panettone industry stakeholders, CSM Ingredients has decided to release a whitepaper containing the main data from the fifth edition of the research, which can be downloaded directly from the website at the following link: csmingredients.com/it/it_it/whitepaper-panettone-2023
