Quick Take — In Altroconsumo’s value-for-money ranking, Eurospin comes out on top among discount stores, whilst Dok, Coop and Famila dominate the supermarket and superstore categories for general shopping

The table to look at is the second one.

The comparison in the first table is not very meaningful, partly because the products sold by discount stores, supermarkets and superstores are not the same.

Conad comes top in terms of value for money if you look only at own-brand products (third table).

Source

Drafted on 2 September, updated on 3 September 2026

Quick Take — The centre of the shelf is disappearing: budget and premium segments are growing. An analysis of ten years’ sales data

An analysis of NielsenIQ reports from 2017 to 2026 shows how inflation, private-label products and new consumer priorities have progressively polarised the market. The mid-range segment is not disappearing, but it is losing its central role…

In 2025, private-label brands will account for 23.3 per cent of the Hypermarket, Supermarket and Self-Service sector and 32 per cent of the total Italian omnichannel market. The most interesting finding is not merely the growth in market share, but rather who is losing ground.

Between June 2024 and June 2025, the leading industrial brands remain essentially stable, rising from 10.55 per cent to 10.68 per cent within the Omnichannel segment. The other brands also remain stable. The ‘followers’, on the other hand, fall from 23.16 per cent to 22.73 per cent, whilst private-label brands rise from 31.79 per cent to 32 per cent…

Quick Take — Ikea is focusing on local presence and B2B. Meanwhile, Swedish food remains a key differentiator in large, traditional stores

It is no surprise that Ikea is focusing on local presence, even though business in its large stores still accounts for 80 per cent of turnover.

The new initiative being developed in Italy, in Carugate, is a B2B showroom run by the Ikea for Business division.

In the larger stores, however, food sales – including own-brand products – have developed very well and account for more than 6 per cent of turnover: customers can take a lunch break or do their shopping, buying products not available elsewhere.

What it certainly hadn’t anticipated was that The New York Times would fall in love with 18 of its food products, among which the chicken meatballs and the small prawns found in the Nordic countries stand out.

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 — Supermarket mozzarella: the Gambero Rosso ranking

The ranking published by Gambero Rosso places Gioiella (produced by Capurso Azienda Casearia) in first place, with a Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle PDO priced at €6.49 for 400 grams. Next come Deliziosa, also with a Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle PDO, and Pettinicchio, a historic brand from the Agro Pontino region now part of the Granarolo group.

Looking at the official ranking, the order (after the top three of Gioiella, Deliziosa and Pettinicchio) sees Todis first, followed by Esselunga, Centrale del Latte di Roma, Conad, Carrefour, Cuomo and finally Francia (which rounds off the top 10). The presence of private labels and supermarket brands is interesting because it shows how, at least in terms of taste, some products from modern retail outlets can compete with better-known dairy brands.