The year 2025 confirms a clear trend: Italian cuisine is increasingly at the center of international tables and restaurants. From Japan to Southeast Asia, and across the Middle East, the Italian way of eating has become synonymous with quality, authenticity, and lifestyle.
According to Coldiretti, Italian agri-food exports reached a record €69.1 billion in 2024 (+8% vs. 2023). In East Asia, wine alone exceeded €430 million, while Japan imported €1.9 billion worth of Italian products (+14%), with strong growth for PDO cheeses (+14% in volume) and extra virgin olive oil (+45% year-on-year). The Middle East is also expanding: the UAE recorded an 8.4% increase, with a market now worth over €400 million.
Italian food is no longer limited to the restaurant experience but is increasingly part of everyday home consumption. Supermarkets in Japan, Singapore, or Dubai are filling up with Italian products as consumers seek authentic yet practical items: dry and wholegrain pasta, ready-made sauces, PDO cheeses, and extra virgin olive oil. In Japan, the pasta market is projected to grow at 4.5% annually, driven by young professionals and urban singles who want convenience without sacrificing quality.
At the same time, dining out remains essential. Italian cuisine is perceived as prestigious yet accessible. Restaurants in Tokyo, Singapore, and Dubai celebrate iconic dishes such as pizza, pasta with tomato or pesto, tiramisù, and artisanal gelato often reinterpreted locally but with ingredients imported directly from Italy. For buyers, the restaurant channel remains strategic: it amplifies brand visibility and shapes consumer choices in retail.
But why does Italian food win trust? From Alifood’s perspective, the success of Italian food worldwide goes far beyond taste or the “Made in Italy” label. It is a deeper system based on four key elements:
- Authenticity: safeguarding history, territory, and production methods, not only through certifications like PDO or PGI, but through true transparency that buyers increasingly value.
- Identity: Italy is not a single cuisine but a mosaic of regional narratives: Gragnano pasta, Sicilian citrus, Modena balsamic, Piedmont hazelnuts. Each product tells a story and offers consumers the experience of discovering something unique.
- Tradition: often mistaken for being static, tradition in Italy evolves: producers revive ancient grains, embrace modern food science, and innovate while respecting heritage.
- Simplicity: the most powerful factor: few ingredients, minimal processing, maximum quality. In today’s demand for clean labels and trustworthy food, this remains a global benchmark.
This system allows Italian food to achieve a level of consistency and credibility that many other food cultures struggle to match. Far from resisting globalization, Italy has redefined it by combining history, territory, innovation, and authenticity in a way that resonates across continents.
For importers and distributors, the opportunity is clear. Consumers across Asia and the Middle East are willing to invest more in certified, authentic Italian products provided they are also easy to use, packaged in formats suitable for urban lifestyles, and supported by storytelling that highlights origin and heritage.
The challenges remain significant: logistics, rising local competition, and the need to adapt to regional tastes while maintaining authenticity but one certainty stands: in 2025, the Italian way of eating is not just a trend. It is a system of trust, and a global model that continues to inspire.
If you are interested, you can find more articles on this topic here:
- Dubai wants high quality Italian food
- Italy’s food industry and its economic potential
- GROWING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MADE IN ITALY IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
- Italian Food: Japan’s culinary passion
- Italian food remains the most popular ethnic cuisine in United States
- PROSECCO MAKES THE HEADLINES BY WINNING THE MARKET AGAIN
- Italian pasta makers are looking to expand in Asia and China