If food trends across EU Markets are facing an interesting evolution in terms of product

choice, involved stakeholders and diversification of approaches across supply chains, it

is equally true that bread market results as a basket of interesting phenomena that,
amongst other segments, represents the most important changes and dramatic shifts
of agri-food businesses.
For what it concerns wheat-to-bread production steps, the results of such unique
evolution brought EU markets to face a situation in which two distinguished
distributional patterns play an important role for Agri-food economies: on one hand the
traditional distribution channels, composed of both regional and multinational business
models. On the other hand, the more innovative and alternative paradigms of short
supply chains. It is within this frame of dualistic reality that we analyzed the Italian
bread supply chain, offering an insight of both models and discussing advantages and
disadvantages, new market-influencing trends and future possibilities. Specific
attention is paid in regards to the specific set of peculiar strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats that these specific models within the sector bear.
In the first chapter a framework is offered in order to assess the actual state of this
dualistic market of flours and breads, which is represented both by the direct
consequence of the economies of scale in the more standardized bakery sector, and
the alternative short supply chains, that intend to satisfy a growing demand of local,
traditional, fair and environment-friendly products. In the second chapter we ran an
interview and a survey with one of the companies that play a pivotal role in these
alternative supply chain networks: Floriddia (from the province of Pisa), underlining
how company's business model follows the frame of those innovative short supply
bread chains. In the final chapter, conclusive considerations are drawn, and are
accompanied by a set of expectations, previsions and references to other interesting
Italian case studies that still lack further investigation.