La Distributor Brand was the protagonist at TUTTOFOOD. Monday 11 May, the Cibus Link Hall hosted a morning entirely dedicated to the relationship between Modern Distribution and Domestic Production Industry, with a particularly high participation and a packed audience for the entire duration of the event.
A clear signal to the market: private label is now one of the most strategic areas of mass consumption. No longer just a lever of convenience, but a platform for development, innovation, positioning, and industrial collaboration. It is precisely from this awareness that the path built by Food Link, culminating in the delivery of the PLEA – Private Label Excellence Awards, the awards dedicated to the best Private Label projects.
The day combined analysis, discussion, and awards. First, data on the trend of private label distribution and a presentation of the Observatory by GDOData; then two round tables with key players from distribution and industry; and finally the PLEA, designed to highlight the products that best represent the new maturity of Italian private labels.
Cibus Link Hall, the meeting point between distribution and industry
The Cibus Link Hall confirmed its mission: to be a space for discussion between large-scale retail chains and the companies that contribute to the development of private label products every day. The event focused not only on the finished product, but on the entire process that generates it: brand strategy, design, industrial quality, sustainability, packaging, service, and the ability to respond to evolving consumer needs.
The morning opened with the presentation of the trend of the Private Label and the related MDD Observatory, realized by GDODataThe analysis provided a comprehensive understanding of the sector, highlighting the growing role of private label products in modern retail assortments and their increasingly significant impact on brand strategies.
The data then led to a direct comparison. The two roundtables brought together some of the key decision makers in the national distribution and manufacturing industries, who were called upon to discuss the evolving relationship between retailers and manufacturers, the creation of value in private label products, and the sector's new competitive trajectories.
They intervened Alessandra Courses, Marketing Director of Offers and Private Labels at Conad; Luca Vaccaro, MDD Director of Selex; Sara Caggiati, Marketing Director Coop Italia; Dario Marchì, MDD Purchasing Manager Arena Group; Marco Pozzali, MDD & Private Label Manager VéGé Group; Danilo Ronsivale, Purchasing Director Ard Discount; Robert Romboli, MDD Development Director D.IT; and Roberto Comolli, General Director Food 5.0 Crai.
Alongside Distribution, Industry has made its contribution through the testimonies of Loris Pedon, Chief Commercial Officer Pedon; Amalia Menna Pantaleo, CEO Nicola Pantaleo SpA; Matthew Laconi, Marketing Director La Linea Verde – DimmidiSì; and Milvia Panico, Marketing and Communication Director TreValli.
The result was a concrete comparison, closely aligned with real market dynamics. Private label products were presented for what they represent today: a complex industrial ecosystem, in which collaboration between distribution and production is crucial to building credible, distinctive, and value-generating products.
The PLEA Awards: The Award That Tells the Story of Private Label Growth
At the end of the morning the following were assigned: PLEA – Private Label Excellence Awards, the initiative signed Food Link dedicated to the best Private Label projects.
The award's distinctive feature is its judging method. The judges were not given by a traditional jury, but by a broad panel of managers, executives, and operators from industry and distribution. Voting participation was very high, with a peak of approximately 2.000 votes, a testament to the interest garnered by the initiative and the centrality that Private Label has assumed in the dialogue between the protagonists of mass consumption.
The PLEA awards don't just recognize a product. They evaluate a project. Its coherence, the quality of the offering, its ability to interpret the market, its sustainability, its positioning, and the product's contribution to the brand's strategy. This is the key that makes the award consistent with Cibus Link's mission: connecting distribution and industry, highlighting the work behind the Private Label.
There were five award categories: Best Entry Level Private Product Award, Best Mainstream Private Label Project, Best Private Label Product Excellence, Best Sustainability in Product Concept Award e Best Sustainable Packaging Project.
For each category two awards were given: the overall winner and the Top performerThe decision was based on the results of the voting: in all categories, the gap between first and second place was very small. For this reason, we chose to highlight both projects, recognizing the quality of a particularly balanced competition.
Best Entry Level Private Product Award
The award Best Entry Level Private Product Award has been assigned to D.IT – Pancake Mix.
The category highlights products that address the entry-level segment with an accessible yet distinctive offering. In this segment, private label products must meet the demand for affordability without sacrificing functionality, clear positioning, and the ability to capture new consumer opportunities.
Il Top performer of the category is ARD Discount – 2-ply roll, which received a rating very close to the winner. This result confirms that even in the most essential product categories, the challenge now revolves around elements broader than price alone: reliability, consistency, perceived value, and the ability to meet customer expectations.
Best Mainstream Private Label Project
in the category Best Mainstream Private Label Project the recognition went to Conad – Zero Sugar Added Drinks.
The award recognizes a project that captures one of the most significant trends in consumer goods: the search for products more in line with new eating habits, combining taste, service, and attention to nutritional content. It's an example of how mainstream private label products are evolving toward increasingly targeted offerings, designed to appeal to a broader audience with more complex needs than ever before.
Il Top performer è Agora – Carnaroli, a product that brings a symbolic category of the Italian pantry to the forefront. The result confirms the value of highly recognizable products in building a private label identity: even a traditional product can become a lever of distinctiveness if inserted into a coherent branding project.
Best Private Label Product Excellence
For Best Private Label Product Excellence, the award was given to Coop – Fiorfiore Margherita.
The category recognizes the overall excellence of a private label project. In this case, the award goes to a proposition that expresses value through perceived quality, positioning, and the ability to offer the consumer a distinctive experience. It demonstrates how private label products can operate credibly even at the highest levels of the market, not simply competing on affordability.
Il Top performer è Selex – Fresh, unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juiceThe product conveys a clear direction: freshness, service, naturalness, and a focus on immediately recognizable quality. These are increasingly central drivers in the development of contemporary private labels, especially in segments where consumers seek convenience without sacrificing product value.
Best Sustainability in Product Concept Award
The award Best Sustainability in Product Concept Award has been assigned to Arena – Organic Eggs.
This category recognizes sustainability as an integral part of the product concept. Not an additional claim, but a structural element of the offering. Arena's organic eggs fit into a private label approach in which supply chain, production choices, and consistent values become essential components of the brand.
Il Top performer è Lidl – 100% Vegetable Mayonnaise, a product that interprets another trajectory of sustainability: the evolution of eating habits and the growth of plant-based offerings. The award highlights how sustainability can take different forms within private label products, from the protection of the organic supply chain to plant-based reformulation, to the ability to capture new consumption patterns.
Best Sustainable Packaging Project
For Best Sustainable Packaging Project, the award went to VéGé – Dried Fruit Mix.
Today, packaging is an increasingly strategic lever in building a private label. It's not just a container, but a key element of communication, functionality, sustainability, and shelf recognition. The award given to VéGé highlights this very aspect: packaging as an integral part of the product's industrial and commercial project.
Il Top performer è Crai – White Flower Scented Shower GelThis recognition demonstrates how sustainable packaging isn't just a food issue, but extends across the entire product range, including non-food categories. This further demonstrates the central role packaging is playing in the relationship between brand, product, and consumer.
Private label products at the centre of the dialogue between brands and producers
The closing of the PLEA gave concrete form to the message that had emerged throughout the morning: Private Label has entered a new phase. The packed Cibus Link Hall, the intensity of the debate, and the high turnout for votes spoke louder than any statement could have revealed how much the industry now recognizes Private Label as a crucial area for development.
The award-winning projects paint a broad picture of the Italian private label landscape. There's the evolving entry-level, the mainstream that captures new needs, excellence that builds value, sustainability that becomes part of the concept, and packaging that becomes part of the brand promise.
With the PLEA, Food Link wanted to give visibility to this transformation, creating a place where Distribution and Industry can recognize each other not as separate players, but as part of the same journey. Private Label grows when the quality of the dialogue between those who design it, those who produce it, and those who bring it to the shelves every day improves.
