Eating Out: Italians Spend Even Less Than Before Covid. “It’s the High Cost of Living’s Fault”

In 2024, food consumption outside the home in Italy reached 85 billion euros, still below the levels of 2018 (87) and 2019 (88), a result also due to inflation that has put pressure on citizens' spending capacity. This emerges from the data processed by Teha, on the occasion of the 9th edition of the Food & Beverage forum in Bormio, which highlights how for over ten years spending on food, both at home and outside the home, has remained substantially the same.

Total consumption at 234 billion, 150 for domestic use

Total food consumption in 2024 amounts to 234 billion euros, of which 150 billion for domestic consumption alone, which obviously reached its highest point (157 billion euros) in the two years of covid (2020 and 2021). For out-of-home catering, Italians spent an average of 3,264 euros per family last year. The level of current food consumption brings us back to the numbers of 2015.

“At the root of this stagnation - says Valerio De Molli, CEO and managing partner of Teha - there is a dynamic that distinguishes Italy from all other OECD countries: it is the only country where average real wages have decreased since 2000, with a negative annual variation of 0.2%, while the OECD average recorded an increase of 0.7%. Added to this is the growth of inflation, in particular food inflation which reached a historic high of +13.8% in October 2022, further eroding the spending capacity of Italian families".

The impact of inflation on the poorest quintile

Teha recalls that the impact of inflation is not uniform and hits families with lower incomes more severely. In 2023, 78% of the expenditure of families with lower incomes is absorbed by incompressible expenses, a share 25 percentage points higher than that of families with higher incomes. This polarization is clearly reflected in eating habits: families in the fifth quintile spend an average of 806 euros per month on food at home, accepting a higher expense in order to buy the same type of product, while those in the first quintile stop at 372 euros. The difference is even greater in out-of-home consumption: it represents 43.1% of food expenditure for the highest incomes, just 12.5% ​​for the poorest.

How much does food delivery affect

On the occasion of the Valtellina forum, Teha dedicated a research to food consumption outside the home: 78.5% of Italians today prefer traditional and typical regional restaurants and 67.2% say they intend to go there even more often in the future. At the same time, a marked tendency to cook at home emerges: over 90% of the sample will increase this habit, not only to contain spending, but also as a response to the need for control and quality of food. Three out of 10 Italians will maintain or increase the habit of ordering food through delivery apps.

"The recovery of domestic consumption - added Benedetta Bioschi, Teha partner - represents a fundamental condition for the overall economic recovery. Domestic demand supports 60% of the national GDP and food consumption is a fundamental part. For agri-food companies, it becomes crucial to invest in strategies of accessibility, perceived quality and consumer loyalty".