Quick Take — Amazon is the leading distributor in Europe and the third-largest in the United States

Amazon has taken the lead in European retail in terms of sales volume, narrowly overtaking the German Schwarz Group, which owns the Lidl and Kaufland chains.

This figure is interesting but not entirely clear, as it is not obvious exactly which data it refers to: the report only mentions merchandise turnover (does this include non-food items?).

What is truly interesting is the fact that in the US, Amazon is now the third-largest retailer of packaged food and consumer goods (health and beauty, homeware and pet food): it has overtaken major supermarket chains such as Kroger, placing itself behind Walmart and Costco.

This is not a symbolic milestone, like overtaking Lidl, but a serious warning to European retailers: should Amazon decide to step up a gear, it could become the dominant force in the consumer goods sector.

The latest figures from Amazon in the US place it second only to Walmart: Amazon in the second quarter of 2026: net turnover growth of 20 per cent year-on-year, reaching $200.6 billion

Drafted on 26 July, updated on 3 August 2026

Quick Take — Pewex: launches ‘Radici nel Lazio’ in the fruit and vegetable sector

“Radici nel Lazio” is the name of the new project resulting from the agreement with the CAR in Rome. What are the most important aspects of this initiative?

Our agreement with the CAR (Rome Agri-Food Centre) is not simply a procurement initiative. Through this project, we are seeking to adopt a model based on an extremely short supply chain, drastically reducing the time between harvest and display. Suffice it to say that in some cases we manage to get produce onto the shelves on the very morning it is harvested (*)

The benefit for the consumer is immediate: a visibly fresher product that retains its organoleptic properties, flavour and aroma intact. Better-tasting produce that lasts much longer, with the added benefit of reducing household waste. The produce from“Radici nel Lazio” travels a very short distance. No long journeys, no prolonged stays in cold storage: the fruit and vegetables are harvested in the fields of Lazio, transported by lorry and delivered directly to our shops. The agreement currently involves around fifteen producers, but we intend – not least in light of the results – to expand it in the coming months.

Finally, as our company is deeply rooted in this region, “Radici nel Lazio” embodies the aim of bringing the agricultural and food wealth of these areas to our shelves, whilst promoting the work of local producers. For Pewex, local sourcing is indeed a commercial decision, but it is also an ethical one and a choice made by those who produce and provide employment in our region…(says David Cetorelli, commercial director).

(*) Esselunga, for example, would receive its deliveries the following day (the lorries travelled overnight and the goods were received at dawn the next day, before being distributed across the network).

Below: courgettes, a private-label salad – Consilia – by Pewex on sale in Prati (Rome), and the report by Daniele Tirelli (Cx Store Research) showing that the chain ranks second in fruit and vegetable sales in Lazio, behind Lidl.

Overall, the chain ranks first in the region.

Quick Take — Germany: tofu is a good alternative to meat

In 2025, tofu sales in Germany rose by 26.1 per cent compared with the previous year (Circana data), whilst the Rewe supermarket chain reported growth of around 30 per cent. And this growth shows no sign of slowing down, given that by March 2026 there had already been an 11 per cent increase compared with the same month the previous year…

In Italy too, on social media, several consumers have reported temporary difficulties in finding Lidl’s smoked tofu, complaining that it had been missing from the refrigerated shelves of some stores for weeks…