Eridania invests 20 million and revolutionises the Russi site. Sweeteners gain momentum
Eridania invests 20 million and revolutionises the Russi site. Sweeteners gain momentum
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Eridania Group announces an investment plan worth 20 million euros, aimed at strengthening its historic business, but also at fostering the development of sweetening.
A new logistics warehouse also in Russi
The company, with 217 million in turnover 2025 (including products marketed on behalf of Srb, the largest sugar refinery in our country, based in Brindisi), has allocated approximately the 75% of its resources to logistics and the construction of a new warehouse, at the Russi (Ravenna) plant, which will become the reference hub for the entire European Mediterranean area.
The remaining share will finance the expansion and innovation of the sweeteners segment, in which Eridania is recording strong growth (+5% in value and +8% in units in the first 6 months of 2026, source Nielsen, modern distribution perimeter, data as at 28 June 2026).
The logistics project, which will be completed by the first months of 2028, entails a far-reaching efficiency drive for the national distribution network in the sugar sector (which currently generates approximately 90% of the company’s retail turnover).
Eridania ‘replaces’ the Cervia platform
The new Russi hub will replace the current Cervia platform, also in the Ravenna area, and will enable the streamlining of relations with outsourced logistics centres in the North-West, previously served directly by the French plant of Cristal Union (which owns 100% of Eridania).
With the new configuration, the Russi site will become the only entry point into Italy for sugar arriving from the Hexagon, by rail and, to a residual extent, by road, centralising flows destined for the domestic market.
The site will also become the hub for packaging and supplies destined for our market.
More specifically, the investment includes the construction of a new logistics area of more than 10.000 square metres, designed to accommodate up to 95 containers, equivalent to 2,5 trains, increasing storage capacity and streamlining the receipt and distribution of goods.
Sweeteners outsourcing comes to an end
On the industrial front, as mentioned, Eridania will invest in the expansion and innovation of the sweeteners department, bringing its main processing activities in-house, which are currently entrusted to external operators.
Production will also be developed at the Russi plant, thereby supporting the growth of an increasingly important segment for the company, which is seeing continuous innovation and new market launches.
The entire plan will generate structural savings of approximately 1,5 million euros every 12 months. The new organisation will then enable it to increase distributed volumes by 20% within three years.
"This investment represents a key step in Eridania’s evolution strategy – sums up CEO Alessio Bruschetta -. The new Russi hub will be the heart of the group’s Italian logistics operations and will represent a strategic asset, with the ambition of becoming one of the leading sugar logistics hubs in the Mediterranean area. Our aim is to strengthen the efficiency of our historic business, making the supply chain more integrated and sustainable, while also investing in innovation to accelerate the development of sweeteners, a category destined to account for an ever-greater share of Italian consumption, with the 76,4% of our fellow citizens declaring that they regularly use sugar or sweeteners in food (data from AstraRicerche 2026)”.
Eridania: leadership according to Nielsen data
Eridania, headquartered in Bologna, is the leader in Italy, with a value share of 28% in the sweetening market and a volume share of 31%, considering only the sugar segment (Nielsen, closing data 2025)
It covers every segment, from white sugar to cane sugar and premium specialities, through a broad and constantly evolving portfolio
Eridania can boast, at Russi, a sugar packaging centre for the retail sector that is among the largest in Europe, with 9 production lines, packaging 130 million kilograms over 12 months.
Logistics generates no less impressive figures: 5.000 containers received every year, 5.000 trucks loaded, and more than 30 trains heading south to serve 900 customers throughout our country every day.
This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.
