The Italian competition authority has issued a €23.3 million fine to three leading private label savoury snack manufacturers in the country, finding that they breached competition laws.

The three companies – Amica Chips, Pata, and Preziosi Food – were found to have participated in an anti-competitive market-sharing agreement in relation to the supply of savoury snacks manufactured for large-scale retailers.

In a media release, the regulator – Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) – described the agreement as a ‘single, complex and continuous market-sharing cartel’ involving supply of snacks sold through private label retail networks, by coordinating their respective commercial strategies.

Amica Chips was fined €8.2 million, Pata €7.6 million and Preziosi €7.5 million. However, the authority confirmed that it granted Pata and Amica Chips a reduction in fines in light of evidence they provided, which was described as ‘significant’ in establishing the infringement.

It also agreed on a settlement procedure that enabled a further reduction in fines for all three companies, marking the first time such a procedure has been used in the country since the law’s inception.

The case highlights the increasing scrutiny over anti-competitive practices within private label F&B, with leading manufacturers in the space often taking a significant share of the market through deals with multiple retailers.

Private label has increased its value share significantly in recent years as demand rises for lower-cost alternatives to branded products, driven by food inflation and improved quality of retailers’ own-branded product lines.