Despite rising raw material prices, Christmas is coming with increasingly creative products, from purple panettone with wheat flour rich in anthocyanins (a natural pigment found in fruit and flowers) to apple and cinnamon panettone, from toast-flavoured panettone to ‘plant-based’ panettone.
Confirmation comes from industry professionals. “Despite lower purchasing power, desserts – says Venetian master pastry chef Luigi Biasetto, academician of Ampi, Academy of Italian pastry chefs and member of Relais Dessert – remains a refuge. In October 2025 there was a +28% increase in yeast products compared to 2024 and abroad the results are extraordinary: +28% in Paris, +40% in New York, +80% in Hong Kong. For Christmas 2025 we present a Panettone ‘superfood’ with oat flour, seeds, thyme honey, and turmeric, along with versions of ricotta, figs, and walnuts perfected through extensive aging tests.”
“The increase in prices of raw materials, especially chocolate, does not help us but the public – comments Marta Boccanera, Roman pastry chef and vice president of Apei, Italian Pastry Ambassador of excellence – continues to look for unique and surprising products. For this Christmas we have created a purple panettone with anthocyanin-rich wheat flour, enriched with pistachio and strawberry cream”. Meanwhile, market data on dessert consumption in Europe comes from the Sigep Natale Observatory: “In the last twelve months – says Matteo Figura, expert in the Out-of-Home sector and director of Circana Food Services Italy – 3.2 billion desserts have been consumed outside the home in the five main European countries. This category grew by 6% in Europe and in Italy recorded an increase of +2.3%, confirming that desserts remain an indispensable pleasure even in a more sober economic context.”
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