Organic gastronomy in Italy: Ikea and canteens the biggest customers

In recent years, Ikea Food Italia has become one of the most important suppliers of organic meals in Italy. The restaurants of the worldwide home furnishing stores are popular because they provide a variety of food at reasonable prices. The interesting concepts of the Eataly e Librerie.Coop and the bookstore chain Libreria Feltrinelli show how to present high-value food with an added dimension. Not only do they provide the pleasure of reading but a gastronomic experience as well. (Picture: The Pascucci organic bar at the entrance to the Feltrinelli bookshop in Cesena. Source: Bio Bank/Rosa Maria Bertino)
 

Canteens and refectories are big consumers of organic products. For years now, schools and universities have been setting great store by organics in the food they serve. According to the organic info portal Biobank, in 2009, 837 of them used organic products and in 2010 this figure rose to 872, with 1,053,000 meals containing at least some organic ingredients (1,030,000 in 2009). Assobio, an Italian association of organic processors and businesses, estimates that in 2010 organic products to the value of around 275 million euros were used in canteens and refectories.
 

However, measured in terms of the number of meals per year, the furniture giant Ikea is the biggest purchaser of organic food.  In 2010, Ikea Food Italia sold around 9 million organic dishes to the value of 84 million euros in its 17 stores, where the kitchens use about 90 different organic products. They amount to roughly 2,000 tons and make up something like 12 % of all the ingredients they use, although Ikea’s target for 2011 is an increase to 15 %. The canteens are supplied by 40 companies, 12 of which are in the organic sector. (Picture: Ikea in Rimini. Source: Bio Bank/Emanuele Mongozzi)

Gastronomy and food contributes about 5 % to Ikea’s total turnover in Italy. “After schools, Ikea Food Italia is the most important community caterer in terms both of quantity and distribution,” says Alessandro Pulga, the director of ICEA (Instituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale). This big Italian certifying organization has been the organic certifier of Ikea Food Italia since 2003. (Picture: Self-service restaurant at Ikea in Rimini. Organic meals are advertised in green. Bio Bank/Emanuele Mingozzi)
 

In April 2010, an ‘organic day’ – with campaigns and information about the organic food on offer - was held for the first time in all Ikea’s stores in Italy. This was a further step to gain more customers but also a step in the direction of transparency. The events were organized and presented jointly by IKEA and ICEA. Large numbers of customers took advantage of the opportunity to pick up information material or to get information from videos on organic products, and to enjoy some organic food as well. This premiere was such a success that two organic days were organized in May 2011 in order to reach even more people. (Picture: Transparency: the ICEA certificate is there for all to see in the Ikea restaurant)
 

The multinational furnishing concern Ikea is always on the lookout for ways of enhancing its brand name through the use of green or social messages. This idea came about as early as 2002 in its country of origin Sweden. With “Iway: The Ikea Way of Purchasing Home Furnishing Products”, Ikea published its guidelines emphasizing social and ethical considerations and a high level of environmental awareness. Since 2003, these principles have been implemented in the gastronomy available in the stores. Italy in particular is playing a pioneering role and there is an especially wide selection of organic products. It’s precisely the Ikea restaurants, cafés and bistros that are intended to be a great attraction with a wider appeal than to just those people who use Ikea as a place to shop for home furnishings. (Picture: Drinks and snacks at Ikea are organic too)
 

As long ago as 2003, the first organic dishes were created for children: noodles with a sauce, yogurt and a snack all in organic quality for just one euro. From the outset, low prices were part of the strategy to make organic meals attractive. This is why Ikea, when buying in raw materials, makes sure that the cost is no more than 10-15 % above that of conventional ingredients. However, a large part of the extra cost is not passed on to the guests. The variety of organics on offer has been steadily increased over the years, and in 2009 two completely organic meals were available: a classic dish and one for vegetarians – another trend that Ikea was quick to react to in the early days.
 

The furniture giant regards information on sustainability and a high degree of transparency as extremely important, and they use them as a marketing tool. Vegetarian meals, gluten-free dishes and meals with a proportion of fair trade products are labelled accordingly. Meals containing more than 95 % organic raw materials carry the EU logo and dishes with a smaller proportion of organic ingredients are labelled with a green leaf (picture). On the organic menu you find various meals for children, chips, pasta in tomato sauce, rolls, chops, a changing selection of vegetarian dishes, hamburgers and pizzas.
 

Another interesting project in catering is to be found in Bologna – Eataly e Librerie.Coop. (A Video is available here). The collaborative project was launched in December 2008 in a multifunction building in the historic centre of the city (Via degli Orefici). Distributed over three storeys you see 1,500 m² allocated to books and 600 m² given over to event gastronomy and shopping. More than 40 operators run restaurants, bars, osterias and winebars here. (Picture: Eataly: osteria at Eataly e Librerie.Coop in Bologna)

“We attach great importance to quality, and that’s why in everything we offer maintaining biodiversity, regional products and traditional cuisine with a seasonal character play a vital role,” explains Simona Milvo, who is responsible for PR at Eataly. “It’s the reason why we prefer to go for organic products – the bread in the restaurants and in the sales rooms is made by us from organic flour. And you find a number of organic flours, cereals, lentils, spices, breakfast products and soups on sale too. We don’t have to tell people about the advantages of organics but regard them as part and parcel of our concept: spending time at Eataly should be a celebration of the senses.”

A number of stores in the bookshop chain Libreria Feltrinelli have also integrated organic products in their concept. For example, in the bookshop in Cesena, that was launched in 2010, customers can have coffee, espresso, chocolate, tea and sorbet in organic quality, plus aperitifs and a selection of cold drinks. There’s also a small range of organic products on sale, such as coffee, noodles, rice, biscuits and jams. (Picture: Bio Bank/Rosa Maria Bertino: Feltrinelli in Cesena sells organic drinks)