Giuridico e Amministrativo

💸 In Italy's competitive hospitality market, hoteliers are adopting direct booking strategies to bypass high commissions from online travel agencies (OTAs) and regain control over guest experiences. Direct bookings offer higher profit margins without OTA commissions, stronger guest relations, and brand control. Effective tactics include creating a mobile-friendly, SEO-optimized website with high-quality photos and clear CTAs like "Book Now," integrating commission-free booking engines with multilingual and mobile support, providing exclusive direct booking benefits such as discounted rates or free breakfast, running targeted marketing campaigns using tools like Google Ads and SEO to drive traffic to direct booking pages, utilizing email marketing for repeat bookings with personalized offers, maintaining rate parity and clarity, and implementing real-time assistance through AI or live chats. Chekin supports hotels with a digital guest journey, online payments, upselling tools, and automated messaging, contributing to outstanding stays and repeat direct bookings.

🍴 The Mirabella Restaurant, part of the Romantik Hotel Relais Mirabella, reopens for Easter 2025 with a menu crafted by Chef Cristian Spagnoli, known for balancing creativity with Italian culinary roots. The Easter menu features quail eggs with hops, zucchini flowers, seared salmon with savoury zabaglione, Carnaroli risotto with aged Parmigiano Reggiano, lamb ravioli, baked goat with polenta and potatoes, and a reinterpretation of the traditional Neapolitan pastiera cake. The restaurant offers a refined atmosphere in Franciacorta, overlooking Lake Iseo, melding elegance and nature.

🥚 Easter 2025 brings a unique collaboration between Citterio, a historic salumi company, and Ziva Pasticceria, an artisanal bakery led by Marcello Salvatori, former leavening expert of Cracco, introducing the Colomba Salata with salumi to Italian tables. Ziva Pasticceria, founded in 2020, is known for its high-quality, naturally leavened baked goods. This innovative creation caters to the growing savory trend and offers a gourmet twist on the traditional Easter symbol, featuring less sugar, no added flavors, extra virgin olive oil, high-quality ingredients, live sourdough, and a four-day preparation process, resulting in a unique savory leavened product. The Colomba Salata is enriched with 100% Italian Grancotto di Vignola Citterio and Salame di Milano Citterio, perfect for appetizers during festivities. Consumers can also attempt a homemade version using beer yeast.

🍹 Italian non-alcoholic beverage sector faces uncertainty due to inflation, raw material and energy costs, and new US tariffs. Exports, crucial for the industry, grew by 117% in the last decade and 20% in the last two years, with the US being the primary market. Nomisma highlights beverages absorb 15% of Italy's food industry turnover and 21% of export. Sugar tax, effective July 1, 2025, may cut sales by 16%, reduce VAT revenue by €275 million, and risk over 5,000 jobs. Beverage consumption in Italy is among the lowest in Europe (54 liters/year); sugar drinks consumption fell by 27% in the past decade. Despite government bodies' positive stance, no policy changes yet against the impending tax.

💰 Starting on April 5, 2025, the U.S. will impose a 10% tariff on coffee imports from Brazil and Colombia, affecting coffee roasters and leading to higher costs for operators and consumers. In 2024, 60% of the 1.36 million tons of imported U.S. coffee came from these countries, with high-quality arabica making up over 90% of U.S. coffee imports. The average price for a 16-ounce latte has surpassed $5, with some drinks priced over $6. A 46% tariff on robusta coffee from Vietnam could increase costs by $2,500 per ton. The article mentions that Nestlé, Lavazza, and illycaffè are considering their market strategies in response to the tariffs.

🍴 The "Rapporto Ristorazione 2025" by FIPE-Confcommercio, released in Rome, indicates the Italian catering sector's value added grew by 1.4%, with a 5% employment increase, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The sector generated €59.3 billion in 2024, with consumer spending reaching over €96 billion, up 1.6% from the previous year. However, consumption remains 6% below pre-pandemic levels. Price increases in 2024 averaged over 3%, down from 5.8% in 2023, with a 14.6% rise over three years. The sector saw a 1.2% decrease in businesses, especially bars, which dropped by 3.3%. Over 40% of companies invested in 2024, totaling €2 billion. Employment rose to 1.5 million, with a 6.7% increase in salaried workers, yet productivity fell by 0.5% from 2023. Workers under 30 constitute 39.7%, and over 50 saw 10% growth. Recruitment difficulties, particularly for skilled personnel, persist.

🍷 Bellussi introduces BellusSì Blanc de Blancs Millesimato Extra Brut 2023, a 100% Chardonnay sparkling wine from Val di Cembra, Trentino. CEO Enrico Martellozzo emphasizes the product's harmony with Bellussi's quality. Hand-picked grapes undergo soft pressing, partial cold maceration, and extended Charmat Method sparkling process (180-270 days) with 3-4 g/l sugar and 12-12.5% alcohol. It features a fine perlage, balanced freshness, and complexity, ideal between 6-8°C, and pairs with a variety of dishes from seafood to white meats.

🍾 Michelin-starred Alto restaurant from Fiorano Modenese, Italy, showcased its culinary artistry at Veuve Clicquot Garden Gastronomy in Paris, with chef Mattia Trabetti presenting "Sturgeon, zucchini flowers, tangerine mustard." Alto's tour began on March 28 with a four-hand dinner featuring chef Marco Garattoni at Ancòra in Cesenatico and continued on April 7 in Modena with chef Matteo Vergine exploring duck and mallard at Alto. The tour will conclude on May 19 with a pasta-focused event with chef Alberto Gipponi at Fiorano Modenese.

🍷 Italian wine exports grew by 28.5% over the last four years, surpassing €8 billion, with concerns over potential US tariffs. Energy costs decreased by 15.4%, while agricultural service costs increased by 27.6%. In 2024, total wine exports reached €8.138 billion; 51.0% (€4.152 billion) from Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) wines. Prosecco alone accounted for 22.4% (€1.8 billion) of exported value. Tuscany DOP wines added €740 million and Veneto DOP wines €614 million.

🍎 The "Consorzio Ortofrutticolo di Belfiore" launched "Cento Per Cento," a line of 100% apple juices without added water, sugars, colorants, or preservatives. The production process in Verona adheres to traditional methods, with integrated production protocols. The range includes nine varieties with unique organoleptic characteristics, seven monovarietals and two blends, packaged in 3-liter Bag-in-Box, ensuring a 60-day post-opening shelf life if kept under 25°C. They are distributed mainly via Horeca, suitable for gluten-intolerant consumers, and have a shelf life of one year from production.