In Varese Province, panettones are worth €10 million

It is the product par excellence of Christmas in Lombardy, but not only. On 25 December, in Varese, there will be a panettone on the tables of almost all of the 890,000 people who live in the province. A study by the Studies and Statistics Office of the Chamber of Commerce estimates that the famous cake is bought by at least 85% of the people, who spend an average of about €14. This means that the turnover generated by the production and consumption of panettones is about €10.5 million in Varese Province alone. This sum contributes significantly to a national total of €600 million, the result of the 60 million panettones, and almost 40 million pandoros consumed by Italians every year.

If we go back to the study relating to Varese Province, we can see that the average price of €14 comes from taking into consideration the cost of a handmade panettone, which is about €30 per kilo, with a maximum of €34, and that of an industrial product, which starts from a minimum of €3, and even less, during the promotion periods, and goes up to a maximum of €12 for a panettone weighing 1 kilo.

This year, there are 328 bakers’ and pastry shops in Varese Province, essentially the same as the 331 in 2014. However, there has been a slight increase in the number of companies that sell these products, from 126 to 131, +4% over the 12 months.

“They’re companies that start out from the best traditions, to add value to products that have great appeal at such an important time for consumption but also for family serenity, as Christmas,” the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Renato Scapolan, explained. “A Christmas symbol like the panettone, enables us, in this age of globalisation, to rediscover those processes and those old flavours that are an important factor in our sense of belonging to the community.”

In short, the panettone continues to be appreciated and to be produced, even in Varese. Indeed, our province is the fourth largest in Lombardy in terms of the number of companies that produce and sell these typical Christmas cakes: our 7.5% of the regional total is only preceded by the 33.2% of the “panettone capital”, Milan, and by 14% and 11%, of Brescia and Bergamo, respectively.