Key takeaways:
- Italy’s competition watchdog fined Amica Chips SpA, Pata SpA and Preziosi Food SpA a combined €23.3m for allegedly coordinating supply in the private label savoury snacks market.
- The Italian Competition and Market Authority said the companies engaged in a “single, complex and continuous” market-sharing agreement that restricted competition in breach of EU rules.
- The case marks the first use of Italy’s antitrust settlement procedure, signalling a potential shift toward faster, negotiated enforcement in cartel investigations.
Three of Italy’s biggest snack suppliers have been hit with €23.3m in fines after the country’s competition watchdog said they worked together to divide up supermarket own-brand business.
The Italian Competition and Market Authority found that Amica Chips SpA, Pata SpA and Preziosi Food SpA breached EU competition rules in the market for savoury snacks made for large-scale retailers and sold under private label.
The case centres on a part of the snacks aisle that’s quietly become one of the most competitive – products made by manufacturers but branded and sold by supermarkets themselves.
The authority said the trio took part in “a cartel restricting competition, in breach of Article 101 TFEU”, pointing to conduct linked directly to how supply for those retailer-owned ranges was handled.
Regulator points to ‘continuous’ market-sharing arrangement
At the heart of the decision is what the authority described as a “single, complex and continuous secret agreement”. In simple terms, suppliers weren’t just competing for contracts – they were allegedly coordinating who would supply what.
That kind of arrangement, if proven, shifts the dynamic. Instead of retailers driving hard bargains between competing producers, the supply side risks becoming pre-arranged. The authority said the conduct effectively carved up volumes between the main players active in the space.
Private label is a critical battleground in snacks right now. As shoppers trade across price tiers and retailers invest more heavily in own-brand ranges, these contracts have become bigger, more strategic and, in some cases, more fiercely contested than branded lines.
The watchdog hasn’t as yet detailed how long the behaviour lasted, but its language suggests something structured rather than occasional contact between competitors.
Fines reduced after cooperation
Amica Chips and Pata were each fined €8.24m, with Preziosi Food receiving a €7.5m hit. Both Amica Chips and Pata, however, received reduced penalties after cooperating with investigators. The authority said the evidence they provided played a significant role in establishing the infringement.
All three groups also saw further reductions after opting into a settlement process under Article 14-quater of Law No. 287/1990. It’s the first time this route has been used in Italy, giving the case procedural significance as well as financial impact.
The move suggests the Italian authority may be leaning more heavily on negotiated outcomes to speed up complex cartel cases, while still landing enforcement action. Settlement tools can shorten investigations and reduce legal back-and-forth, and their use here may point to how future cases are handled, particularly in complex supply chains like food.
None of the companies had issued a response at the time of writing.
