The packaging of dairy products

In Italy, the pro-capita consumption of dairy products stands at around 286 kg per year. This analysis examines the following segments: milk for direct consumption (excluding that for industrial use), cheeses, butter and yoghurt.

Barbara Iascone

Regulation (EU) 1308/2013 defines “dairy products” as those deriving exclusively from milk, with the exception of the addition of substances necessary for their production, provided they are not used to totally or partially replace any milk component. Items classified as dairy products include whey, milk cream or cream, butter, cheese, buttermilk, casein, yoghurt, kefir, kumiss, butteroil, etc.

In the food sector, dairy products are certainly one of the cornerstones of the national industry, much appreciated throughout the world, thanks to their nutritional characteristics, taste and variety.

In Italy, the pro-capita consumption of dairy products stands at around 286 kg a year, above the European average of 265 kg. They are foods present in almost every meal of the day, from breakfast to dinner, both as a basic ingredient and as a condiment. The dairy products sector is characterised by a high level of diversification and competition, with the presence of numerous companies, both large and small, and often family-run.

Market data and facts

In 2023, sector turnover increased overall by 2.3%, supported to a large extent by exports, which grew by 8.7%, while imports grew by 3.1%. These figures confirm its importance in both Italy and in foreign markets.

Milk.
In 2023, milk – both fresh and UHT - achieved a turnover that exceeds 2.4 billion euros (+12% compared to the previous year). Consumption expressed in volumes is down, with a trend of around -0.8%. Imports are up, recording an increase of 30% in volume, while exports fell by 1%.

Milk production for direct consumption stood in 2023 at around 1,400 million litres, a fall of around 7%. At European level, milk production is up; in Germany, the major European producer, recorded +2% in 2023, confirming the significantly positive trend of imports. 73% of the market is represented by long-life milk, while the remaining 27% is made up of fresh milk.

From the point of view of distribution, supermarkets account for 44.2% of the turnover, followed by discount stores with 22.2%. These are followed by hypermarkets and self-service stores accounting for respectively 20% and 13.6%. The growth in turnover is distributed in all sales channels, while in terms of volume, there were falls in sales in supermarkets and self-service stores, and an increase in sales in hypermarkets and discount stores.

Cheeses.
Italian cheeses represent a highly appreciated segment of the industry both in the domestic and foreign markets. In 2023, the sector registered a turnover above 14 billion euros, considering both cheeses for direct consumption and those intended for the food industry; almost 5 billion euros derive from exports.

The total production of cheeses in Italy in 2023 was around 2,270,000 tonnes, an increase of 3% compared to 2022. Foreign trade was also up, with an increase in imports of 10% and exports by 5.2%; around 23% of our total production is intended for the foreign market. The Italian market stands at around 2,200,000 tonnes, with around 40% intended for direct consumption, both for families and the Ho.Re.Ca. sector, while 60% is for industrial use

Butter.
In 2023 around 84,000 tonnes of butter were produced, down 6% compared to 2022; 21% of this production is sold to foreign markets. The turnover amounts to around 550 million euros, up 20%. Over 40% of the domestic market is represented by private labels.

Yoghurt.
The yoghurt market is growing, with almost 2 billion euros of turnover and an increase of 12% in 2023 (the Greek yoghurt segment is particularly dynamic). Volumes show an expanding sector also in Italy (bringing up the rear in consumption compared to the rest of Europe), although the sector suffered in 2023 due to a general contraction in the food sector. Production was around 273,000 tonnes, with consumption partially covered by imports.

Packaging: types and quantities

An analysis of the types of packaging used in the dairy products sector follows the segmentation already adopted for market data, excluding, however, products intended for the food industry.

In 2023, the sector used around 298,900 tonnes of packaging, of which 195,000 tonnes for the primary packaging of products.

• The packaging mix for the milk sector sees the preponderance of mainly paper-based rigid laminated packaging, with a market share of 58.2% in 2023. The main formats are 1 litre and 1/2 litre, while the 1.5 lire and 0.25 litre formats are less common. Then there are plastic bottles at 37.8%, mainly in the 1 litre format, and to a lesser extent, in the 1/2 litre and 33 cl formats. Glass bottles represent 1.5% of the market, with the 1 litre format, which is gaining ground at the expense of plastic. Cans account for 0.5% of the market, reserved for particular imported products, while dispensers, initially growing, have stabilized at around 2%. Around 65,400 tonnes of packaging were used in the milk sector in 2023, of which almost 47,000 tonnes of primary packaging. 90% of closures are in plastic, and a small portion in metal.
• With regards to cheeses, packaging is dominated by converted flexible packaging, with 75%, followed by rigid plastic trays with 11.6% and paper wrapping with 9.6%. Metal packaging, such as with aluminium (tray and thin sheet) account for 3.6%, while tin cans (for some types of grated cheese) account for 0.2%. Converted flexible packaging has gained ground thanks to the sale of cheeses of a fixed weight, widely used for hard, soft, shredded and grated cheeses. Paper wrapping is still widely used for sales at the counter, where the cheese is bought at variable weights. In 2023, the cheese sector used around 180,000 tonnes of packaging, of which around 118,000 tonnes for packaging in direct contact with the product, while the remaining tonnes were used for transport (pallets) or storage (cardboard boxes).
• The packaging mix for butter is composed of polythene paper (70.2%), aluminium-paper laminated wrapping (16.7%), steel cans (8.8%) and plastic trays (4.3%). Around 6,500 tonnes of packaging were used in the sector in 2023.
• In the yoghurt sector, the packaging mix is divided between the plastic tub (78.2%), plastic bottles for yogurt to drink (10%), flexible laminated cheerpacks for yoghurt to drink (7.4%), mainly paper-based rigid laminates (2.4%) and glass jars (2%). The closures are almost all in aluminium foil, with freshness-saving plastic lids for large formats and for glass jars and cheerpacks. Over 46,000 tonnes of packaging were used for yoghurt in 2023, with more than 27,000 tonnes intended for packaging with direct contact with the product

Barbara Iascone
Italian Packaging Institute