Gourmet purchases, fresh fish and the most popular bubbles are flying in Q1 2021

The increase in domestic food purchases in the first quarter of 2021 is proceeding, albeit at a slower pace. According to the Ismea-Nielsen panel, the expenditure of food and drinks, after closing last year with a + 7.4% , registers a further growth spurt of almost 3% over the first three months of 2020, still reaching 12% above a normal year such as 2019. The increase in 2021 is still affected by the persistence of restrictions on sociality and restrictions of the Horeca channel. A trend destined to fade with the progressive reopening but which – according to Ismea – will not be completely exhausted, also due to the widespread use of home-working, which has moved part of the consumption of non-domestic appliances within the walls of the house. The first part of the year is distinguished by some opposite trends compared to the picture of the beginning of the pandemic: for the first time, the growth is driven by fresh products in bulk compared to packaged products (+ 3.7% against + 2.5%) and above all, drinks (+ 13%) compared to food (+ 1.7%). The context of greater confidence towards an ever closer exit from the restrictions imposed by the pandemic gives new impetus to products that act “as compensation for deprivation”. Gourmet products such as fish and spirits fly: wines, sparkling wines, beer and in general the whole category of aperitifs. In fact, among the top sellers we find wines and sparkling wines (+ 14.5%) driven above all by bubbles (+ 55%) as a result of the renewed desire to celebrate and fresh fish products (+ 21%). The animal protein sector, after the restart in 2020, (+ 9.8% meat, + 8.3% cured meats, + 14.5% eggs) recorded a new increase in 2021, albeit with less momentum (+ 1.3% for meats and + 4.2% for cured meats) and with some segments in folding. Eggs, which in 2020 had been the most dynamic segment, opens 2021 with an expected decline (-4.3%) while maintaining a positive gap on the spending levels of the pre-covid period.