Food & drink: when planned development is needed
Food and beverage: ample margins for businesses and a sizeable foreign and domestic market. This is how the most successful sector in television broadcasts shapes up in the the perception of the average Italian. Yet behind the appeal of great chefs and the advantages of large-scale distribution by the big multinationals, there is a huge and growing market, 98% of which is made up of SME and the subject of invasive attention on the part of consumers, the media, social networks and TV.
The Italian culture of good food, deeply rooted in the Mediterranean diet and in the boundless expanses of olive trees and the characteristic vines of the Italian countryside, combines perfectly with the renewed public interest in the creative possibilities of different combinations of food and drink, at times even with healthy results.
, what the sector really needs is a real industrial plan that uses a common thread to link the productive chain with events and exhibitions, making the productive system cohesive and rediscovering the Latin and Mediterranean philosophy of slow food: a moment for recreation and knowledge of culinary history, be it our own or foreign, as well as fundamental nutrition for well-being, as much scientific research increasingly tends to emphasize.
Food as quality of life, as a philosophy of well-being or even just simply as a job: the potentialities for the development of the sector are numerous and unexpressed, without even considering the appreciation that it has earnt beyond our national borders, which fills the “Bel Paese” with pride: in terms of quality it comes top internationally, although almost devoid of raw materials.
The quality of the ingredients therefore remains one of the main discriminators in recipes (even when dealing with a chef with stars) and is destined to decree the success of an industrial product (although we are talking about more futuristic production). The quality of products, creativity, the system of enterprise and a powerful and significant rediscovery of the pleasure of slow food: these are the ingredients of a great tasting Italian dish, able to give new life to the country system.
If the sector has much to do from the point of view of an industrial plan, many multinationals and large Italian corporations already do much for the welfare of their employees. Outstanding in the sector is Mellin, with its policy of supporting families:it is the laboratory of the entire Danone group for trialling policies that not only support pregnant women but actively promote training for them and which leads, in 40% of cases, to promotion post-maternity.
