Mutti, the Italian brand known for its premium tinned tomatoes, is poised to overtake Napolina as the UK's leading non-supermarket brand of tinned tomatoes, passata, and paste. With a retail price of about £1.60 per tin, compared to 50p for supermarket own-label and £1 for Napolina, Mutti has seen a surge in popularity. According to market data, Mutti reached the number one spot for the first time in the 12 weeks to February, capturing nearly 11% of the market. The brand is on track to hold this position for the rest of the year, supported by a £6m marketing campaign that includes TV adverts. Supermarket own labels still dominate over 60% of the market.
Mutti's Rise in the UK
Mutti, a family-owned brand, entered the UK market in 2020. Last year, its sales in the UK and Ireland increased by 19%, reaching €26.2m (about £22.4m). The brand is currently touring UK cities—including Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Cardiff—with a promotional van to attract more customers. Its product line now includes ready-made sauces and ketchup.
Heritage and Quality
Founded in 1899 and based in the province of Parma, Mutti processed a record 725,000 tonnes of tomatoes last year. Francesco Mutti, great-grandson of one of the founders, attributes the brand's success to its focus on taste. “We think and believe that it can really play a significant role in a cuisine,” he said during a London visit to launch the van tour. “It’s not Champagne but it has dignity, and is full of flavour.” The company works with 1,000 farming families across Italy, processing tomatoes over about 70 days from mid-July to late September.
Factors Behind Success
Dhiresh Hirani, Mutti’s UK boss, credits word-of-mouth and a growing “cult of tomato lovers” for the brand's popularity. He also points to a shift towards home cooking since the Covid lockdowns, when many families learned new techniques. Despite the higher price, Hirani says the cost of living crisis has actually helped sales, as households eating at home seek quality ingredients. “That’s what did allow us to build our distribution,” he said, noting that the brand expanded from Sainsbury’s and Waitrose to all major supermarkets by 2024.
Challenges Ahead
However, Mutti faces pressure from rising fuel and energy costs driven by the Middle East conflict and climate-related extreme weather. Francesco Mutti warns that if energy prices do not drop by July, margins will be squeezed. If packaging suppliers, whose costs are linked to oil and energy, also raise prices, those costs may be passed on to supermarkets and consumers. The company has installed “plenty of solar panels” on its buildings to offset electricity costs but cannot cover all energy needs for processing. “We cannot anticipate, we cannot postpone. We can do nothing. We can just pay the energy in that momentum and transform the tomatoes when they are perfectly ripe,” he said.
