Summary

Since 2020, the Italian market for smoked salmon has continued to show a strong preference for fish consumption, especially during the Christmas holidays, with 78% of Italians upholding the tradition of having fish on the table, despite the pandemic. Italy's consumption of fish is above European and global averages, with over 28 kg per person per year, and smoked salmon remains a notable favorite. The pandemic, however, has significantly impacted the restaurant industry, with restrictions leading to a drastic drop in the turnover index in 2020 compared to previous years. During this period, the large-scale food retail sector saw an uptick in sales, likely due to increased home cooking amidst lockdowns. Meanwhile, the smoked salmon market is marked by high imports and very low exports, with Italy importing the majority of its salmon from countries like Poland, Lithuania, and Germany, and exporting a smaller fraction to Malta, France, and Slovenia. The market has also been considering more sustainable options, such as lab-grown smoked salmon, to address the environmental concerns of intensive farming..Italian Cravings for Smoked Salmon: Market Trends and Consumer Behavior In recent years, Italy has embraced smoked salmon with a fervor that matches the nation's renowned passion for fine foods. Witnessing a steady climb, the smoked salmon market has burgeoned, displaying a growth of 5.9% in value and 7.1% in volume as of 2019. Cold smoking remains the favored method, seizing a large slice of the market at 66.74% as of 2018. When narrowing down to a country that harbors a zest for the fish, Germany, France, and the UK lead the European smoked salmon consumption, but Italy is close behind, ranking as the fourth largest consumer. Significantly, in 2019 alone, the European countries' combined consumption accounted for 38%, with Germany leading the way at nearly 40,000 tons, followed by France and the UK at around 25,000 and 20,000 tons, respectively. A closer look at Italian consumption habits reveals that nearly half buy smoked salmon impulsively, while a notable 28% would be delighted to have it on their menu daily. The Italian relationship with smoked salmon seems to have morphed from an occasional indulgence, seen commonly during the Christmas season, to a more regular one, with an increase of up to 680% in online interest from April 2011 to April 2020. Yet the Italian market is unmistakably seasonal, with surges observed during traditional holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Remarkably, during the 2020 festive period, a staggering 78% of Italians stayed true to their tradition of showcasing fish, with smoked salmon being a recurrent favorite. Zooming in on imports, Italy's demand for the delicacy is met through international trade, quantified by a towering import value which reached between 594 and 618 million dollars over the years 2017 to 2019. In stark contrast, Italy's own export of smoked salmon is minimal, focusing on a few countries, with Malta receiving the lion's share. Finally, the pandemic, which has wracked industries globally, did contribute to altering Italian consumer behavior. With the nation under lockdown, the appeal of smoked salmon rose sharply, peaking during Easter 2020—the demand for the delicacy only underscored Italians' enduring love affair with the smoky, rich fish..### Profiles of Key Market Participants in the Smoked Salmon Industry The smoked salmon market involves a variety of players, each performing a critical role within the industry chain, from fish farming and processing to distribution to the end consumer. Here, we delve into some of the key companies that have been mentioned in the text above, outlining their main activities and their place in the market. #### Specialized Processing and Production Companies - **Agroittica**: Known for their expertise in the fish industry, Agroittica is involved in both the production and processing stages of smoked salmon. They focus on quality and sustainability, which is evident in their careful approach to aquaculture and fish processing. - **Alles Fisch**: Emphasizing a thorough processing strategy, Alles Fisch deals with various fish products, including smoked salmon. They are recognized for ensuring a high-quality product through meticulous production processes that meet consumer preferences and industry standards. - **The Meeting**: While the exact nature of The Meeting's operations in the smoked salmon market isn't specified, it's likely that the company plays a role either in processing or the production aspect, potentially offering specialized smoked salmon selections to its clientele. #### Leading Distributors - **Conad**: As a widely recognized retailer, Conad is one of the top players when it comes to distributing smoked salmon and other fish products to Italian consumers. Their role is essential to make smoked salmon accessible in households especially during peak seasons like Christmas or Easter holidays. - **Coop**: Another major distributor with a strong presence in Italy, Coop has a significant share in bringing smoked salmon to the market. As a cooperative, they might also emphasize sustainable sourcing practices and offer a variety of smoked salmon options, including potentially organic and environmentally friendly choices. - **Esselunga**: With a strong retail presence, Esselunga ensures that smoked salmon, among other products, reaches consumers effectively. Their emphasis on quality and customer service likely extends to their selection of smoked salmon offerings, catering to the variegated tastes of their shoppers. #### A Closer Look at the European Market Apart from the domestic Italian market, the European scene is dominated by countries like Poland, France, and Norway, each contributing greatly to the smoked salmon industry. Poland, in particular, stands out for their substantial production value, dwarfing even that of countries renowned for their salmon, such as Norway, albeit the figures mentioned focus only on the smoked product. #### Market Evolution and the Role of Players The smoked salmon industry has undergone significant changes, with players adapting
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Summary and extracts

1 Market Overview

1.1 Definition and presentation

The smoked salmon market identifies all farmers, fishermen, producers, distributors and sellers of smoked salmon. Usually salmon of the species Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon) are used. After being caught, smoked salmon is produced by gutting and removing the head of the fish and subjecting it to a smoking process, which can be of two types:

  • Cold-smoking: the salmon is filleted and salted in wooden containers and then smoked for 12 hours at a temperature not exceeding 20 °C.
  • Hot smoking: the salmon is filleted and salted and smoked over birch wood at a maximum temperature of 120 °C which is gradually lowered to 75 °C.

The global smoked salmon market has been growing in recent years and is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 5.1% till 2025. In terms of smoking technique, cold smoking accounted for 66.74% of the global market in 2018. In 2019, the European countries that consumed the most smoked salmon were Germany (39K tons), France (26K tons), and the UK (24K tons), which together accounted for 38% of the total consumption.

Italy is the fourth largest European consumer of smoked salmon. In 2019, the market grew by 5.9% in value and 7.1% in volume. In terms of consumption habits, 44% of Italians said they buy this product on impulse, while 28% said they would consume it every day. Moreover, smoked salmon is a very seasonal product, as it is traditionally consumed during the Christmas holidays.

In terms of origin, smoked salmon comes from Canada, Norway, Scotland and Ireland. In particular, Norwegian salmon is very important in Italy, and its imports in 2018 grew by 18% compared to the previous year, reaching a record 100 thousand tons.

Smoked salmon has been criticised on numerous occasions because of the potential health risks it may pose to its consumers. In fact, it is believed that some nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may have carcinogenic effects, even if only in case of habitual consumption of smoked foods.

1.2 The European market

This part of the study focuses on the European market for smoked salmon and not the world market, as world consumption of the product is largely concentrated in Europe. It should be noted that the figures in the section for market values are given in relation to the producer price of ...

1.3 Size of the Italian market

In recent years, the consumption of smoked salmon in Italy has experienced constant growth. Salmon has lost its winter connotation, also thanks to the success of the restaurants offering Japanese cuisine. In fact, in these places, fresh salmon is used for the different types of sushi and sashimi, but frequently also ...

1.4 Imports and Exports of salmon in Italy

This part of the research focuses on the Italian market and its characteristics over the last ten years. In Italy, the smoked salmon market is characterized by a high amount of imported product and a very low amount exported. 

In recent years, especially since **** [***], the demand for smoked salmon has increased ...

1.5 COVID-19 Impact

The pandemic has had an impact on all sectors and in all markets. Obviously, it also created consequences in the fish market and, more generally, in the food market. In Italy, during the lockdown period, which lasted from March to May ****, people were forced to stay indoors. In addition, bars and ...

2 Demand analysis

2.1 Growing trend for the Italian market

Italian demand for smoked salmon is highly seasonal, although interest is slowly growing even during non-holiday periods. Demand and interest in this type of fish reached and still reaches peaks during the Christmas season. Smoked salmon is in fact a constant presence on Italian tables during this period, used in many ...

2.2 What do Italians prefer?

In ****, despite the pandemic and the related crisis, * out of ** Italians did not give up the tradition of putting fish on the table during the Christmas holidays. In light of this, **% of Italians have confirmed following this tradition.

Italians who ate fish during the Christmas holidays Italy, ****, % Source: ****

Menu chosen by ...

3 Market structure

3.1 The smoked salmon market: a concentrated market

In Italy there are no salmon farms, so every year tons of this fish are imported both already processed and ready to be sold and to be processed. There are not many companies that process salmon in Italy, so the market is fairly concentrated.

Some of the companies that process the ...

3.2 The production process

Smoked salmon can be produced in two different ways: a hot smoking process, traditionally used in North America, and a cold smoking process, mostly common in Europe.

There are several steps in the production of smoked salmon. First, the fresh or frozen raw material is stored in special cells or immediately ...

4 Analysis of the offer

4.1 Price analysis

As the interest and demand for smoked salmon are somewhat seasonal, so is the price. During holiday periods prices tend to increase, while during the rest of the year they stabilize again. The prices found in the market for the end consumer tend to be as shown in the table ...

4.2 Product classification

In Italy, there are three criteria for differentiating smoked salmon products:

The geographical origin of fish: Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Alaska The raw material quality: wild salmon, farmed salmon, organic salmon, red label Brands and labels: never frozen, thawed, handmade, no brine injection 

The factors that differentiate good quality salmon from ...

4.3 Market history and sustainability

Italians are used to having salmon on the table both at home and at restaurants. Italy consumes tons of salmon a year, until recently mainly during the holiday season, but gradually we are moving towards seasonal adjustment, with daily consumption.

Salmon certainly has considerable nutritional benefits. In fact, its meat is ...

4.4 A glimpse into the future

Given the unsustainability of intensive farming, there is a growing interest in meat produced in laboratories. There are several start-ups around the world studying this new sector and trying to develop it at affordable prices. One example is Wild Type, a start-up founded in San Francisco in ****. The company aims to ...

5 Regulation

5.1 Regulations and certifications

In Italy there are several certifications that protect the consumer and help him to make informed choices, they are mostly shared internationally or at European level. The best known and most common are:

MSC (***) IFS (***) quality and environmental safety standard. It was created to create a uniform and transparent evaluation approach ...

6 Player positioning

6.1 Market segmentation

  • Conad
  • Esselunga s.p.a
  • Agroittica
  • Coop
  • alles fisch
  • La Riunione
  • Upstream

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Companies quoted in this study

This study contains a complete overview of the companies in the market, with the latest figures and news for each company. :

Conad
Esselunga s.p.a
Agroittica
Coop
alles fisch
La Riunione
Upstream

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