“Today, the foodservice sector is looking with interest at the specifics of scalability. A restaurant needs to be replicable, it needs to have a precise identity and to be perfectly positioned in the market in which it operates.” The future of the foodservice sector, and also that of confectionery, has been analysed by someone who sees the world of restaurants and pastry shops from a particular angle: that of tableware. “Each year we try to combine aesthetic appeal with functional efficiency in a way that brings a touch of style and creativity to the table. We must never forget the importance of practicality, which is of fundamental importance to the sector,” says Marco Marocchi, the sales & marketing manager at Tognana Professional Division, which this autumn will be presenting a new format that resembles terracotta but has all the characteristics of porcelain. “A solution designed for rustic-style restaurants and establishments. Another important element is the possibility of endless personalisation with the new tools we have at our disposal,” he adds.

Someone else who is focusing on personalisation is Jacopo Incrisse, head of marketing & communication at Bernardi Impastatrici Srl, who stresses the increased attention in recent months to health, the environment and the artisan approach. “We have always taken an interest in green matters. All our professional mixing machines are activated by moto-inverters, with which you can achieve high levels of efficiency that would have been unthinkable up until just a few years ago. We also use this technology on countertop machines which would normally have used universal motors – so-called “brushed motors” – which are cheaper but generally noisier and much less efficient.”

But sustainability, too, has become a “driver” also for those who produce confectionery on an industrial scale. “Following the trend in which all products connected with the delivery area of business received a big boost over the past year, we have developed a rolled wafer filled with hazelnut and chocolate cream, with strictly no palm oil or hydrogenated fats and with natural flavourings. It can be eaten at a gelateria, or at home,” says Elena Re Fraschini, head of marketing at Bussy. This Milan-based firm has invested in this trend towards healthier eating, where it has seen a rapidly expanding interest in dry biscuit products for breakfast and snack breaks. “We have been looking carefully at ways of making products more tempting but also healthier, which gave rise to a new range of dry biscuits and wafers.”