Iniziativa eco-responsabile e CSR

💲 METRO Italia, a leader in the wholesale trade for the Horeca sector with 3,800 employees, received the "Top Employer" certification for the 12th consecutive year, showing improvement in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (+24%), Careers (+7.5%), and Onboarding (+4.6%) compared to 2024. The company focused on DE&I with training programs and intergenerational initiatives in 2024, organized physical well-being activities, offered psychological support, and enhanced professional development through an interactive career portal and new training programs. METRO Italia operates in Italy in 16 regions with 49 stores, two dedicated FSD deposits in Milan and Rome, has approximately 200,000 customers, and generated sales of €1.97 billion in fiscal year 2022/2023. Globally, METRO operates in over 30 countries with 85,000 employees and serves about 15 million customers, achieving a turnover of €31 billion in the fiscal year 2023/24.

🍽 The 18th edition of TASTE, a food salon by Pitti Immagine, runs from February 8-10 at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence, with over 700 companies participating. Celebrating contemporary food culture and innovation, Taste 2025 explores the theme of "constellations," offering new exhibition areas like "heroic wines" and breakfast trends. Monday is dedicated exclusively to professionals, and the event features a program offsite, "Fuoriditaste," involving local Florentine venues. Agostino Poletto, General Manager of Pitti Immagine, emphasizes the salon's role in connecting gastronomy professionals and promoting international visibility for participating companies, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ICE Agency.

🍊 Despar participates for the fifth consecutive year in "Arance rosse per la Ricerca" to support Italian cancer research and promote healthy lifestyles. From January 27, over 600 Despar, Eurospar, and Interspar stores nationwide will sell special 2.5 kg orange packs with the AIRC logo. Despar will donate €0.50 to Fondazione AIRC for each pack sold. Last year, the initiative sold over 79,000 packs, contributing more than €39,500 to AIRC. The campaign aligns with World Cancer Day on February 4 and involves over 11,000 stores distributing more than a million orange packs.

🏡 Gabriele Gneri, managing director of Hotelsdoctors, highlights a business model transformation for hotels through 'regenerative hospitality', a more ambitious and inclusive sustainability model. Regenerative hospitality aims for a tangible positive impact on local communities and ecosystems, beyond just reducing harm. Examples include a resort in Jamaica that helped start a local bottled water supply company. This approach is currently more prevalent in peripheral luxury hotels with about 30 to 40 rooms, but it is expected to be adopted by all types of hotel structures in the future.

🛍 Village Land of Fashion joins MeliáRewards program, enhancing luxury shopping with tourism experiences and benefits such as dedicated promotions, custom experiences, and points earning. Double points available on purchases until February 28. Land of Fashion Group operates five shopping centers: Franciacorta Village (BS), Valdichiana Village (AR), Mantova Village (MN), Palmanova Village (UD), and Puglia Village (BA).

☕ Caffè Borbone, a leading producer of single-serve coffee pods and capsules, joined the Consorzio Italia del Gusto, a network of high-quality Italian food producers. Founded in Naples in 1997, the company processes over 30,000 tons of coffee annually, produces 2.7 billion single-serve pieces, and uses renewable electric energy in its Caivano (NA) facility. In 2023, Caffè Borbone's revenue was €300.4 million, marking a 14.3% increase from the previous year. The company, a leader in compostable coffee pods and the second brand in Italy for compatible capsules, aims for constant international growth.

🎓 In Rome, the first special edition of Learning for Life by DIAGEO focused on training Ukrainian students with refugee status took place. The 250-hour program, started in September, aimed to ease their entry into the workforce, especially in hospitality. Thirteen selected participants completed courses on Italian culture, customer management, and workplace safety, followed by practical bartending and mixology training. Since 2008, Learning for Life globally has transformed over 146,000 young lives in 35+ countries with 90+ courses. More than 500 hospitality professionals trained in Italy since 2019.

🍸 Two Drifters, a visionary distillery founded in 2019 in Devon, England, stands out for its high-quality, artisanal rum with a green soul, being one of the first fully renewable electric-powered distilleries in the world. Owners Russ and Gemma Wakeham aimed to produce premium rum without environmental harm, utilizing Russ's scientific knowledge in biofuels and Gemma's marketing expertise. The product line includes Pure White Rum, Lightly Spiced Rum, Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum (63% ABV), and Signature Rum. Emphasizing sustainability, the distillery runs on solar and wind energy, compensates CO₂ emissions through reforestation, and has introduced the Bag in Box packaging, which significantly reduces transport impact. Proposta Spirits has brought Two Drifters to Italian markets, presenting a premium, eco-conscious choice for cocktail bars and specialty shops.

📚 L'Osservatorio Nestlé, in Italia, esplora la longevità e la qualità della vita in relazione allo stile di vita e all'alimentazione. Il 51% degli italiani si sente più giovane della loro età anagrafica, salendo al 58% tra i 55-64 anni e al 69% tra i 65+. Solo il 20% riconosce il cibo come fattore per vivere più a lungo, mentre oltre il 60% degli over 55 ha ridotto cibo e migliorato la qualità alimentare. 1 su 3 ha aumentato il consumo di integratori e frutta secca.

🍰 Italia Zuccheri's professional sugar line, Infundo, achieved great success at SIGEP 2025, with renowned pastry masters like Marco Pedron, Fabrizio Fiorani, Gianluca Fusto, Emmanuele Forcone, Luigi Biasetto, and Leonardo Di Carlo showcasing the potential of Infundo sugars in innovative pastry creations. Infundo emphasizes sustainability and Italian tradition, with general manager Alessandro Benincà discussing beet sugar's short supply chain and marketing director Leandro Cariolo highlighting the connection between tradition and innovation during the event.