The canning market in Italy

Canned food famously refers to those foods of various kinds (fruits, dairy, legumes, vegetables, meats, fish) prepared and placed in airtight containers in such a way as to ensure their preservation for long periods of time ranging, normally, from one to five years, with the aim of preserving not only the food but also all the nutritional values it contains.

In 2018, the global canned food market was worth $91.4 billion but is expected to reach a value of $124.8 billion by 2026 growing at an annual growth rate of 3.9 percent. Specifically, in terms of foods, the highest market share was held by meats and fish, segments that account for about one-third of the total market value. In terms of geographic distribution, Europe is the region with the highest consumption of canned food, while the Asia Pacific region is expected to experience higher growth rates in the coming years.

The Italian canned food market has been characterized by relentless growth in recent years. In fact, the Italian population appears to be increasingly inclined to prefer long-life foods. Moreover, the fact that the value of exports, especially to Britain, Germany and the United States, has increased considerably confirms the consideration of Italian food as one of the most appreciated globally. Imports, on the other hand, have declined despite the relatively stable trend by which they have always been characterized.

Despite the growing concerns regarding this type of food, caused mainly by the possible presence within these foods of substances harmful to the body from the containers in which they are contained, the market has good growth prospects.The main drivers of the market's growth certainly include the growing inclination of the population to prefer convenience foods and people's more hectic lifestyles.Canned foods are, in fact, an excellent solution to these problems as they do not require significant cooking and preparation time.