From Family Business to Global Enterprise: Generational Transition in the Italian Food Sector

Italy’s agri-food system is built on a unique heritage of family-owned businesses that have, over the decades, combined local identity, production culture, and industrial capability. Today, this model faces one of its most critical challenges: generational transition.

In the coming years, thousands of companies will need to manage the transfer between generations — a moment that is not merely demographic but a strategic pivot with the power to determine continuity, transformation, or loss of value. Skills requirements are evolving, management models are changing, and there is a growing need to embrace new markets, digitalization, and sustainability. Governance must balance traditional entrepreneurial culture with new visions.

For both the industry and modern retail, the issue is crucial: the resilience of supply chains, innovation capacity, and overall system strength will also depend on the quality of this transition. This conference explores scenarios, challenges, and opportunities of generational change in Italian food companies, offering a strategic perspective on how to turn this transition into a driver of growth, modernization, and competitive strength in international markets.