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 through the intuition of Fausto Polli and still led today by the family's sixth generation together with its management team, the response came without hesitation.

Against a backdrop in which rising costs for 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 the year 2025 with solid results despite the many difficulties, consolidating its position as the market's second-largest producer and Italy's third-largest brand.

Setting the course is Manuela Polli, President of the Group and heir to a history spanning more than one hundred and fifty years, at the helm of a company that closed the year 2025 with 193 million euros in revenue, operating in 60 countries, with great pride in outstanding Made in Italy excellence.

“Rising costs are a reality that is alarming 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 real strength of a family business is evolving without losing its soul: in 2026 we will step even further outside 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 impetus for this vision came from the partnership launched in 2024 with Platinum Equity, a global investment firm — the same firm that has acquired prestigious 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 management — led by CEO Marco Fraccaroli — who retain exclusive operational control of the company, ensuring continuity in a journey that has seen revenue 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 investments 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 distorting 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

In 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 quality, reliability and their ability to meet the needs of private-label customers 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 over 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, long-term growth, with respect for people, consumers and the environment.”

The supply chain as a competitive advantage

Four production facilities across Tuscany, Campania, Veneto and Spain, 42 varieties of vegetables processed every year, certified supply chains for Italian basil, mushrooms and peppers: Polli has 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 approach is intertwined with technology — from traceability to production efficiency, quality control and logistics, through to the opportunities opened up by artificial intelligence to optimise recipes and reduce waste — always 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 never stops

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

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

From the Zero Fat range — vegetables preserved without oil or added sugars, naturally rich in fibre and protein — to Olive Snack in the handy pocket-sized format, we then moved beyond our comfort zone by introducing new products in the dressing category too: including our first Organic Chickpea Vegetable Mayonnaise, made without eggs and 100% plant-based. And the first Basil Concentrate in a tube: a genuine 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, Pesto alla Genovese: made with fresh-processed basil from a certified supply chain, in a new preservative-free recipe.

Products designed for consumers who are increasingly informed and attentive to their health and labelling, but short of time to cook.

A wide-ranging 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 today's 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 beating heart of the company, 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 regions and communities in difficulty.

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.