It has conquered the main chains of large-scale distribution in the USA, from Costco to Whole Foods Market, with pasta dishes and frozen pizza, desserts. Now, with the opening of two branches, it is preparing to invest in the Middle East, in Dubai, and in South Korea, where it is already present with a network of local distributors. «For us they represent two strategic markets – says Ivan Manfredi, founder and CEO of Emilia Foods -. South Korea is giving very satisfying answers. It is a rich market that quickly acknowledges the trends coming from the United States, and that we know very well. While in the Arab Emirates, and in the Middle East in general, we see a growing attention for healthy food products ».
Emilia Foods is a young company – it was founded in 2013 – since its origins it has been dedicated to exports, which generate almost 100% of its turnover. The domestic market hardly exists for this company that develops food produced by partner companies, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises whose core business is the private label. Since it was born, if we exclude the slowdown that coincided with the pandemic crisis, it has had practically uninterrupted growth, with a turnover that has gone from 1.3 million (2014 budget) to 32 million last year, with the goal of reaching 37 in 2022.
Manfredi, who has always worked in the food industry, has capitalized on the skills acquired in other companies starting from the United States, a market extremely sensitive to Made in Italy but also characterized by habits and styles of food consumption very different from those in Italy. . And it is precisely here that he made a breakthrough with minced cauliflower, making his way onto the shelves of the major brands and then following in the wake of the most popular diets, such as ketogenic, with ad hoc products, and also proposing a line of organic frozen pasta that is having a lot of success. So much so that now the USA, where it has a headquarters and six warehouses, is its main commercial outlet, with an 81% share of exports.
However, the company is present in 22 countries. In North America it is also rooted in Canada (8%), in South America it goes to Brazil and Mexico. It has already arrived in Japan, Singapore, Australia. In Europe it presides over Scandinavia, but also the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal. Markets with good purchasing power, because Emilia Foods is positioned in the medium-high range. “This is also why we are not yet present in large countries such as China and India, where chillers are also not very widespread”, explains Manfredi.
Today the Emilian company has about forty employees and does not rule out the launch of a new staff recruitment plan in line with growth prospects. 37% of its products are private label (the Emilia Foods brand), the remainder is private label. “In Italy we launched plant based vegan products two years ago but the market is slow and is not one of our main objectives”.