The inventor of the ‘walking’ ice cream was Italo Marchioni, a native of the province of Belluno and resident of New York, who invented a wafer that could hold ice cream on 13 December 1903
Penalties for unfair practices in 2023-2024 amount to only 665,000 euros against estimated damages of at least 350 million annually. in essence on prices and unfair practices the ‘dolce far niente’ of Italian politics continues. Remember this when you see the next tractors in the square or when you hear about the sad affairs of groups like Auchan, Casino, Carrefour Italia and others
“…more than antitrust, I see geopolitics as the main issue here: controlling not only production but also distribution in Europe is a strategic issue…”
Publix has done so well, with much higher margins than all competitors, because it has a strong and enduring culture built in part on share ownership
We are a country of processors: only one pasta dish in five is made from Italian wheat. We import wheat, pulses, milk, oil, tomatoes and beef. But the quality and safety of our food depends on tariff negotiations
It was thanks to the friendship between Guido Caprotti and Marco Brunelli that Esselunga and the GS supermarket chain (now part of the Carrefour group) were founded
“Someone still has to explain to me why, in a retail market that needed concentration [and expertise], the government allowed a group that didn’t even have a delicatessen, to buy GS (which belonged to Sme =IRI= Italian State!) and then resell it quietly to a foreign group (Carrefour) after a few years” Mario Gasbarrino. This also applies to the New Princes operation
Carrefour, in great difficulty, would like to leave Italy
“Auchan and Casino are under pressure from creditors. In a context of falling consumer spending, credit institutions believe that the financial structure of the two leading French retailers needs to be strengthened. According to reports, French banks would like the Mulliez family to inject capital into Auchan’. So should Casino’s main shareholder, Daniel Kretinsky
Farmers, even in Italy, are taking to the streets. They do not feel represented by associations that do not protect their income because, in so many years, no one has tried to solve the problems of food, ‘from the field to the table’. So many words and no deeds. And the situation is aggravated by new taxes
Butter – the cost of which has risen by 83% year-on-year – is made from milk fat and cream and therefore its production requires a lot of milk, the global supply of which has declined, partly due to the diseases that have affected dairy cow herds in Europe, and partly due to the high cost of feed. Then there is the issue of climate change that causes milk prices to skyrocket as Granarolo confirms
