Food, despite the crisis, one in three companies is optimistic about the future

The cost of raw materials and the energy component are the two elements at the top of the concerns of 80% of companies in the food sector, but despite this 1 out of 3 focuses on optimism, seeing a gradual return of the reasons that today create tensions on markets. A system determined to resist, with 7 out of 10 companies that will continue to invest in sustainability and 84.5% convinced that the crisis can give a boost, becoming a real opportunity. It is the photograph taken from the first survey carried out on a sample of over 100 companies of the Unione Italiana Food, the largest association of food categories in Europe representing 550 companies and presented during the annual Assembly. Companies that believe in globalization, given that 67.6% of exports will remain at the center of their strategies. “Despite having objective difficulties such as the lack of raw materials and the almost total dependence on energy, we have two things that many envy us: resilience and inventiveness”, explains Marco Lavazza, vice president of the Lavazza Group and president of UnionFood. From his point of view, «we are used to thinking outside the box, we have the ability to adapt and extricate ourselves well in the midst of problems and an innate ability to know how to compete and to be open to the world. This is why the made in Italy continues to work and to be appetite ». And the vice-president of the Italian Food Union, Paolo Barilla, is convinced that “the food industry never stops and over the years has faced ever new challenges that confirm its strong social role, as well as economic”.