About
Activity
3K followers
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA shared thisConagra is reinforcing a message consumers are sending across packaged food: there is a limit to pricing power. Conagra’s pricing/mix contributed roughly +1%, helping revenue. But volumes remained negative. That follows another recent warning from Lindt and highlights the same difficult equation across very different categories: Cost inflation → higher prices → weaker volume. For several years, large CPG companies could use pricing to offset rising input costs. That becomes much harder when consumers start responding by buying less, switching brands, choosing private label, or simply walking away from the purchase. The answer cannot indefinitely be another price increase. Manufacturers increasingly need to work four other levers: Reformulation — redesign the product economics without compromising the consumer experience. Productivity — remove cost from manufacturing rather than passing it through. Pack architecture — protect an accessible checkout price while offering the right portion and value. Procurement — manage commodities, packaging and freight individually instead of accepting broad inflation assumptions. For snacks, the pack architecture point may be particularly important. Consumers don’t experience inflation in price per ounce. They experience it at the register. A package can still represent good value mathematically and become too expensive psychologically. In the next phase of CPG, managing the absolute checkout price may become just as important as managing the margin percentage. #Conagra #CPG #SnackFood #FoodIndustry #FoodManufacturing #PricingStrategy #ConsumerTrends #CostEngineering #PackArchitecture
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA shared thisCostco just delivered an important reminder: consumers haven’t stopped spending. They’re becoming more selective about where they spend. Fiscal Q4 revenue reached $95.72 billion, ahead of expectations. But the more interesting numbers are underneath: • U.S. comparable sales: +7.2%, excluding gasoline and FX • Total adjusted comparable sales: +6.7% • Digitally enabled sales: +19.8% • Net income: $2.998 billion, up from $2.610 billion These results contrast with the weakness we’ve recently seen across parts of packaged food and traditional grocery. The consumer isn’t simply retreating. The pattern increasingly looks like: Spend selectively. Seek value. Consolidate trips. Reward products that justify the purchase. Costco is particularly interesting because its model combines membership economics, low margins and the strength of Kirkland Signature. That reinforces a broader private-label trend. Retailer brands increasingly have an opportunity to compete not simply by being cheaper, but by offering quality, differentiation and compelling value per serving. For snack manufacturers and co-manufacturers, that creates an interesting product-development target: Retailer-exclusive products. Distinctive shapes and textures. Protein or pulse-based nutrition. Efficient larger-format packaging. Transparent manufacturing economics. The opportunity isn’t necessarily to make a cheaper version of an existing branded snack. It’s to create something distinctive enough to feel premium, efficient enough to deliver value, and proprietary enough to belong to the retailer. Costco’s numbers suggest value remains powerful. But value increasingly means what you get for the money, not simply what you pay. #Costco #KirklandSignature #PrivateLabel #SnackFood #CPG #Retail #FoodManufacturing #CoManufacturing #ConsumerTrends
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA shared thisA new supply risk just entered the U.S. protein market. Beginning September 29, the United States will prohibit imports of certain Canadian dairy products, including whey protein concentrates and several categories of modified whey. The White House proclamation confirms the effective date and affected product classifications. For protein-snack manufacturers, the immediate issue is not whether Canada dominates U.S. whey supply. It doesn’t. The issue is what happens at the margin when an already tight protein market suddenly loses another source of supply. Companies currently using affected Canadian whey may need to qualify alternatives quickly. That could mean: • Greater pressure on domestic and alternative suppliers • Longer lead times or additional spot-price volatility • Reformulation work for affected products • Greater interest in alternative protein systems This also makes pea, lentil, chickpea and other pulse proteins more interesting—not simply as nutritional ingredients, but as tools for supply diversification. But whey-to-pulse substitution is not a simple ingredient swap. Protein quality, flavor, expansion, density and texture can all change significantly, particularly in extruded snacks. That distinction matters. The opportunity for alternative proteins is real, but manufacturers should validate formulations at bench and pilot scale before making major commercial or capacity commitments. The broader lesson may be more important than this specific trade action: Ingredient diversification is becoming part of supply-chain strategy, not just product development. Source: White House proclamation, September 8, 2026. #Protein #WheyProtein #PulseProtein #FoodIndustry #SnackFood #FoodManufacturing #Extrusion #SupplyChain #FoodInnovation
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA shared thisThe next food inflation problem may not start with food. August U.S. producer-price data show a striking divergence: • Food: +0.1% month over month • Transportation & warehousing: +2.3% • Energy: +4.2% That distinction matters even more following the latest Gulf disruption. For food and CPG manufacturers, the immediate margin squeeze may increasingly come from delivered cost, rather than broad-based ingredient inflation. A product can have relatively stable raw-material costs and still become significantly more expensive to manufacture and deliver when energy and logistics move sharply higher. That has an important implication for contract negotiations. I would avoid a single catch-all “inflation” escalator. Instead, separate the economics: • Conversion fee — manufacturing cost and margin • Ingredients — indexed individually where volatility justifies it • Freight — transparent and adjustable • Packaging — supported by resin-specific or other relevant indices • Extraordinary inputs — separately identified and protected This approach works in both directions. If freight, resin, energy or commodities decline, customers should participate in the reduction just as suppliers need protection when they rise. The broader lesson is simple: Inflation is becoming too fragmented to manage with one number. The better question is no longer, “How much are costs increasing?” It is which costs are moving, why, and who is contractually carrying the risk. #FoodIndustry #CPG #FoodManufacturing #SupplyChain #Logistics #FoodInflation #Procurement #ContractManufacturing #PricingStrategy
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA shared thisKroger just showed how far consumer caution has spread. Even essential grocery categories are no longer immune. In Q2, Kroger’s identical sales excluding fuel increased just 0.2%, versus 0.9% expected. The company also cut its full-year identical-sales outlook to +0.2% to +0.8%, from +1% to +2%. Yet adjusted EPS still slightly beat expectations. That tells an important story: Cost control is working. Demand is not. Kroger also reported gross margin pressure from higher fuel and transport costs, while deliberately reducing prices to stay competitive with Walmart, Aldi and other value-oriented retailers. This fits a broader pattern: • Campbell’s snack volume/mix: -6% • Hormel retail volume: -9% • Kroger identical sales: +0.2% • Target snack sales: recently +15% These numbers are not contradictory. They suggest consumers are becoming more selective. They are not abandoning food or snacks. They are reallocating toward value, stronger differentiation and products with a clearer reason to pay. For manufacturers and co-manufacturers, that has real consequences. Retailers are likely to push harder on cost, promotions and logistics. Customer forecasts deserve more skepticism unless supported by confirmed shelf placement, retailer authorization, launch timing and minimum volumes. And with food inflation rising again while retail volume weakens, the old solution of simply taking more price becomes increasingly difficult. The better defense may be: better procurement, better formulation, better manufacturing efficiency and tighter SKU discipline. Food remains defensive. But “defensive” no longer means effortless growth. #Kroger #Grocery #CPG #FoodIndustry #PrivateLabel #SnackFood #RetailTrends #FoodManufacturing #ConsumerTrends
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA reposted thisStefano Cazzaniga, MBA reposted thispoppi $1.95 billion. Alani Nutrition $1.8 billion. Grüns Reportedly around $1.2 billion. Siete Foods $1.2 billion. GHOST $990 million for the initial 60%. Purely Elizabeth Reportedly $850+ million. Simple Mills $795 million. GOODLES Acquired by Barilla. Different categories. Different founders. Different paths. But look a little closer and there are some common threads worth paying attention to. They didn’t just build products. They built BRANDS. They understood their consumer and gave them a reason to care. They created products that could stand out on a crowded shelf. They proved velocity, not just distribution. They built communities around their brands instead of relying entirely on retailers to create demand. They expanded strategically. More doors wasn’t always the answer. The right doors with strong sell through mattered. They stayed relevant as consumer preferences changed. They built something a larger company couldn’t easily recreate. And maybe most importantly, they created strategic value. When PepsiCo buys Poppi or Siete, or Barilla Group buys GOODLES, they’re not just buying the product sitting inside the package. They’re buying the consumer. The brand equity. The distribution. The velocity. The community. The innovation. The data. And years of work required to build all of it. That’s an important distinction for emerging brands. Getting on the shelf isn’t the finish line. Getting consumers to repeatedly take your product OFF the shelf is where the value starts getting created. Distribution gets you an opportunity. Velocity proves you deserve to stay. Brand loyalty creates leverage. And building something that’s difficult to replicate creates value. The billion dollar acquisition is just the headline. The interesting part is everything they did before it. #emergingbrands #dreambig
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA shared thisGlobal food prices just reached their highest level since 2022. The FAO Food Price Index rose to 133.3 in August, up from 130.8 in July and its highest reading since November 2022. More importantly, the increase was broad. Every major food category moved higher. Sugar was the standout, jumping 11.9% in one month. Cereals, vegetable oils, meat and dairy also increased. At the same time, FAO reduced its 2026 global cereal-production estimate by 3.4 million metric tons to 2.980 billion tons, about 2% below last year. Weather stress, Black Sea disruption, El Niño risk and geopolitical instability are increasingly overlapping. There is an important perspective, however. The FAO index remains almost 17% below its March 2022 record. So this is not another 2022 food crisis—at least not yet. But the direction has clearly changed. For food and snack manufacturers, I would not build 2027 budgets around one generic inflation assumption. Wheat. Corn. Sugar. Edible oils. Potatoes. Starches. Seasonings. Each needs its own scenario because the underlying supply dynamics are different. Formula flexibility and qualified alternative suppliers are becoming increasingly valuable. And while panic buying makes little sense, long-term fixed-price customer commitments without appropriate commodity adjustment mechanisms look increasingly risky. The question for 2027 may not be whether food costs rise, but which inputs move, by how much, and who is contractually carrying that risk. #FoodPrices #FoodInflation #FAO #FoodIndustry #SnackFood #FoodManufacturing #Commodities #SupplyChain #Procurement
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA shared thisCampbell’s Snacks just delivered another warning about the branded-snack market. In fiscal Q4, Campbell’s Snacks segment reported: • Volume/mix -6% • Net price realization +1% • Organic sales -6% • Reported sales -12% The weakness was driven primarily by Campbell’s salty-snack portfolio, third-party partner brands and contract manufacturing. Meanwhile, the company’s separate Meals & Beverages segment told a very different story: • Volume/mix +3% • Pricing essentially flat • Organic sales +3% That contrast is important. It suggests the issue is not simply “Campbell’s volumes are down” or “the consumer is weak.” Demand is increasingly category-specific, product-specific and price-point-specific. That fits the broader picture we are seeing elsewhere. Hormel recently reported weak retail volumes. PepsiCo has faced softer North American food demand. Yet Target recently reported strong snack-category growth. These results are not necessarily contradictory. They suggest a more selective consumer. Value can win. Differentiated premium products can win. But conventional branded snacks carrying a price premium without a strong enough reason to pay it may be increasingly exposed. For manufacturers and co-manufacturers, the implication is straightforward: Do not underwrite “snack growth.” Underwrite the specific product, retailer, price point, placement and commercial support behind it. Campbell’s results also reinforce another lesson. A 1% price increase alongside a 6% volume decline in Snacks is a difficult equation to sustain. The next phase of CPG growth may depend less on taking price and more on proving value. #Campbells #SnackFood #SaltySnacks #CPG #PrivateLabel #FoodIndustry #ConsumerTrends #FoodManufacturing #CoManufacturing
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA reposted thisStefano Cazzaniga, MBA reposted thisYum Brands is selling Pizza Hut, breaking up the restaurant group that has housed Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC for decades. Private equity firm LongRange Capital is buying Pizza Hut’s business outside China for $1.5 billion, while Yum China is separately buying the China business for $1.2 billion. Together, the deals value Pizza Hut at about $2.7 billion. The move gives Yum a tighter focus on Taco Bell and KFC after years of struggles at Pizza Hut, which has lost ground to Domino’s as the pizza business shifted toward delivery and carryout. Pizza Hut, founded in Wichita in 1958, will now operate under new ownership for the first time in decades.
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA liked thisStefano Cazzaniga, MBA liked thisThe Food Tech Summit & Expo en Ciudad de México. Los esperamos en nuestro stand para charlar sobre los últimos avances tecnológicos en funcionalidades nutricionales con adición de fibras y proteínas.
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA liked thisStefano Cazzaniga, MBA liked thisAnother successful out-of-gauge shipment completed for our customer. 🚢📦 Handling oversized crates requires careful planning, coordination, and attention to every detail from pickup to final delivery. Proud of our team and partners for making it happen safely and efficiently. Another project successfully delivered!
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA liked thisStefano Cazzaniga, MBA liked thisHappy Birthday to the legendary Monica Bellucci! 🇮🇹 Born in Umbria, Italy, Bellucci became one of the country’s most internationally recognized actresses and models, captivating audiences with roles in Italian, French and Hollywood films throughout her remarkable career. Today we celebrate an Italian icon whose beauty, elegance and talent have made her unforgettable around the world. Buon compleanno, Monica! ❤️
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA reacted on thisStefano Cazzaniga, MBA reacted on thisCosì almeno potrà dire di essere andata al liceo anche lei… 🤣🤣🤣 L’ignoranza che dilaga…
-
Stefano Cazzaniga, MBA reacted on thisStefano Cazzaniga, MBA reacted on this30.09.2026 In nome del due percento Lwów (in italiano Leopoli) venne occupata dall'Armata rossa il 22 Settembre 1939. Città straordinaria con una storia e cultura unica, contava trecentomila abitanti, con il 50% della popolazione polacca, il 31% ebrea, il 17 % ucraina ed il 2% russa. Quest'ultimi, tramite l'appoggio di Mosca presero il controllo della Città . L'ultimo sindaco polacco di Lwów, Stanislaw Ostrowski come da foto venne immediatamente arrestato dalla polizia segreta sovietica NKVD, Ostrowski era un medico-dermatologo polacco, venne rinchiuso in carcere all'età di 47 anni , nel 1940 venne trasferito a Mosca, incarcerato, torturato e condannato ad otto anni di lavori forzati in Siberia. Ivan Nimchuk, ucraino, giornalista accademico e redattore del più importante quotidiano di Leopoli in lingua ucraina Dilo fu arrestato il 26 Settembre 1939 all'età di 48 anni, venne rinchiuso in carcere Dmitri Levitzky (1877-1942), ucraino, avvocato, fondatore e Presidente del partito politico Unione Nazionale Democratica Ucraina, fu arrestato il 28 settembre 1939 venne deportato a Mosca poi, condannato ai lavori forzati morì in Uzbekistan. Volodomir Tselevich, ucraino, avvocato, venne arrestato a Leopoli il 29 Settembre 1939, condannato ai lavori forzati, deceduto in Russia nel 1944. Konstantin Levitzky ucraino, avvocato e politico, fu arrestato a Leopoli dai sovietici il 30 Settembre 1939. Leopoli non era ancora annessa all'URSS, era solo occupata dall'Armata rossa così, il 2% iniziò la costruzione del comunismo.
Experience & Education
Licenses & Certifications
Volunteer Experience
-
Saxophone Player
Civico Corpo Bandistico St. Cecilia - Manerbio (BS): Marching Band - Concert Band - Big Band
- 25 years
Arts and Culture
-
Vice President Board Of Directors
Casa della Cultura Italiana - North Carolina
- 9 years 4 months
Arts and Culture
Non-profit organization promoting Italian business, technology, language, and culture in North Carolina, to advance the local community through the support of local Italian businesses and cultural initiatives.
-
Treasurer Board Of Directors
It Is All About the LOVE Again, Inc.
- Present 9 years 10 months
Poverty Alleviation
US non-profit organization based in NC and focused on building a better world with music, by organizing fundraising entertaining events to finance projects, with the goal of bringing a concrete hope for children living in difficult conditions in the poorest regions of the planet, in order to provide resources and educational opportunities to youth and raising standard of living of disadvantaged groups, by sensitizing and soliciting wealthier people to share more.
Courses
-
A&M Texas University - Short Course on Snack Food Processing
40
-
BioNetwork - BRC Overview
4
-
BioNetwork - Elements of Auditing
8
-
BioNetwork - Fundamentals of Food Defense
4
-
BioNetwork - Introductory HACCP - Credited Course
16
-
Certified Food Scientist Prep Course
16
-
Crestcom International - Bullet Proof Manager
48
-
GTCC - Leadership
8
-
GTCC - Management Essentials
12
-
GTCC - Supply Chain Management
20
-
Ohio State University - Total Quality Management
40
-
Pavan School of Food Technology - Module 1: Extruded Snacks, Breakfast Cereals
16
Languages
-
Italian
Native or bilingual proficiency
-
English
Full professional proficiency
-
Spanish
Limited working proficiency
-
French
Elementary proficiency
Recommendations received
2 people have recommended Stefano
Join now to viewOther similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Park Street
Acquisitions continue, leadership changes remain consistent while organizations navigate hyper-competitive landscapes, brand collaborations foster new opportunities, and regulations continue to impact the U.S. beverage alcohol industry. The stories that defined February: 📰 Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA Tariffs 💵 E. & J. Gallo Winery-US Acquires Four Roses Bourbon (Four Roses Distillery) In $775M Deal 🚀 Tilray Brands, Inc. to Brew for Carlsberg Group in the U.S. 🧩 Constellation Brands Appoints Nicholas Fink as CEO These developments highlight how legal challenges, executive appointments, and partnerships are reshaping the competitive dynamics of the industry 💡. 📖 Read the full February recap here: https://lnkd.in/e8G8zxMk #BeverageNews #MarketTrends #SpiritsIndustry
-
CEAg World
CEAg World 2025 keynote highlight 🍅 We heard directly from Whole Foods Market's Global Produce Principal Buyer, eric cusimano, about what it takes to succeed in retail. Consistent quality is key, and staying on top of trends like flavor, sustainability, and packaging can make all the difference. A great reminder for all CEA suppliers striving to win shelf space and keep it. #CEAgWorld2025 #CEAProduce #RetailTrends #SustainableProduce #WholeFoodsMarket #WholeFoods
-
Brewbound
Proximo Spirits has exited RNDC nationally, stripping the distributor of its largest remaining spirits client. The departure was communicated to employees via a confidential memo following RNDC’s California shutdown and a year of high-profile supplier losses. 📉 Proximo — parent to Jose Cuervo, 1800 Tequila and Bushmills — recently announced a strategic partnership with Breakthru Beverage, raising questions about where the portfolio will be placed next. 🥃 The move follows exits by Brown‑Forman, Sazerac, Cutwater, Tito’s and High Noon, accelerating a broader shakeup that’s boosting mid‑tier and regional distributors and tightening access for craft brands in chain‑driven markets. 🔄 https://lnkd.in/grQT5Bb6 #Spirits #BeverageIndustry #AlcoholDistribution #RNDC #ProximoSpirits #BreakthruBeverage #ThreeTierSystem #Tequila
11 Comments -
Alicia Kelso
Cracker Barrel's Q2 results are in and include: * Total revenue was $874.8 million, down 7.9% year-over-year, exceeding Wall Street estimates * Same-store sales decreased 7.1%, while same-store retail sales decreased 9.2% * Adjusted EBITDA was $38.2 million, compared to the prior year quarter of $74.6 million The company's full-year outlook includes total revenue of $3.24 billion to $3.27 billion (vs. previous outlook of $3.2 billion to $3.3 billion), and adjusted EBITDA of $85 million to $100 million (vs. previous outlook of $70 million to $110 million). In a statement, CEO Julie Masino said, "Our disciplined focus on operational excellence is driving significant improvements in several key guest metrics, many of which serve as important leading traffic indicators. We have also taken additional actions to improve financial performance and remain confident that we are well-positioned to regain prior momentum." More to come ...
7 Comments
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content