Polli: over 150 years of Italian history, looking to the future

The Group closes the year with 2025 growth and is relaunching its efforts in supply chains, innovation and sustainability, with the aim of strengthening its presence worldwide.

There are years when the market asks companies to choose: defend themselves or invest. For Polli, a company founded in Milan in 1872 from the intuition of Fausto Polli and still led today by the sixth generation of the family together with its management, the answer came without hesitation.

Against a backdrop in which rising costs of raw materials, packaging, energy and logistics continue to weigh on the entire agri-food sector — with the real risk of further price increases on the shelves — the Group closed 2025 with solid results despite the many difficulties, consolidating its position as the market’s second-largest producer and Italy’s third-largest brand.

Leading the way is Manuela Polli, President of the Group and heir to a history spanning more than 150 years, at the helm of a company that closed 2025 with 193 million euros in turnover and has a presence in 60 countries, with great pride in outstanding Made in Italy excellence.

“Rising costs are a reality that frightens the entire sector, but our response is not to retreat: it is to work on internal efficiency, supply-chain management and product innovation,” says Manuela Polli. “Generational continuity means having a vision that looks beyond a single quarter. The true strength of a family business lies in evolving without losing its soul: in 2026 we will push even further beyond our comfort zone, because innovation is a value that has been passed down in our company since 1872.»

A new season of international growth

Further momentum for this vision came from the partnership launched in 2024 with Platinum Equity, a global investment firm — the same firm that has acquired leading brands such as San Pellegrino, Levissima and Acqua Panna in recent days — which acquired a majority stake in the Polli Group. The transaction involved reinvestment by the Polli family and the management team — led by CEO Marco Fraccaroli — who retain exclusive operational control of the company, guaranteeing continuity in a journey that has seen turnover double in recent years.

The shared objective is ambitious: to accelerate expansion in Europe and the United States and build a leading global platform in Made in Italy food, through organic growth, new acquisitions and investment in technology and sustainability.

“The meeting with Platinum Equity stems from a shared vision: to bring Made in Italy excellence to the international stage without altering the identity that sets us apart. We have an important development plan ahead of us, combining organic growth with new opportunities in overseas markets, always guided by product quality and sustainability,” comments Marco Fraccaroli, CEO of the Polli Group.

Excellence also recognised by partners

As confirmation of the Group’s production strength, in 2025 Polli received the “Best Copacker 2025” award, presented by international partners to companies that stand out for their quality, reliability and ability to meet the needs of private labels worldwide.

This recognition demonstrates that Polli’s excellence is expressed not only through its own brand, but also in the service the company provides to its customers around the world.

“Our strength lies in combining the solidity of a company with more than 150 years of history with the ability to reinvent itself every day,” says Maria Giordano, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Media Relations for the Polli Group. “In a complex market, we choose to invest: in certified supply chains, product quality and customer service, because we are convinced that this is the path to solid and lasting growth, while respecting people, consumers and the environment.”

The supply chain as a competitive advantage

Four production plants across Tuscany, Campania, Veneto and Spain, 42 varieties of vegetables processed each year, certified supply chains for Italian basil, mushrooms and peppers: Polli made the quality of its raw materials and supply-chain control its competitive advantage, long before they became widespread trends. Certified supply chains guarantee product quality and traceability from field to shelf, and the aim is to progressively extend the model to other vegetables. This oversight is intertwined with technology — from traceability to production efficiency, from quality control to logistics, and including the opportunities opened up by artificial intelligence to optimise recipes and reduce waste — always, however, in the service of quality and sustainability. Because the heart of the work — selecting raw materials and taking care over the process — remains human.

Innovation does not stop

The strength of the supply chain provides the foundation for a constant drive towards product innovation.”

“The 2026 plan — continues Maria Giordano, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Media Relations for the Polli Group — broadens the offering across multiple categories under the banner of ‘smart vegetables’.

From the range Zero Grassi — vegetables preserved without oil or added sugar, naturally rich in fibre and protein — to the Olive Snack range in a convenient pocket-sized format, we then ventured beyond our comfort zone by introducing new products in the world of dressings too, such as our first Chickpea Vegetable Mayonnaise, organic, egg-free and 100% plant-based. And the first Basil Concentrate in a tube: a real innovation for the cooking-aids shelf, enabling consumers to use fragrant Italian basil all year round.”

Not forgetting the product on which the Group has placed its biggest bet, the Genovese Pesto: made with fresh, freshly processed basil from a certified supply chain, in a new preservative-free recipe.

Products designed for an increasingly informed consumer who pays close attention to health and labelling but has little time to cook.

A comprehensive commitment

For Polli, responsibility is a cross-cutting commitment developed on several fronts.

On the environmental front, the company has embraced the scientific community’s reflection on the need to transform the current agri-food system in depth, translating it into concrete actions and development plans focused on optimising energy and water resources, increasingly sustainable packaging, certified supply chains, and the protection of bees and woodland areas. These objectives were made measurable by the first Sustainability Report, presented in 2023, which set precise targets such as recyclable packaging at 98% and reducing emissions by 70% by 2030.

There is also responsibility towards people, the company’s beating heart, expressed through health and safety at work, attention to diversity and equal opportunities, training, as well as transparency on labels and quality.

Finally, there is the commitment to the community, expressed through collaboration with supply-chain stakeholders and support for local areas and communities experiencing hardship.

Polli’s is an Italian story that continues to be written, generation after generation, jar after jar. With the same care as always, and a desire for the future that looks far ahead.

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.