Drogheria & Alimentari

What Drogheria & Alimentari does

Drogheria & Alimentari S.p.A. is an Italian specialty spice and seasoning company operating under the heritage brand "La Drogheria 1880," founded in 1880 and headquartered in Scarperia e San Piero (Florence), Italy. The company produces, packages, and distributes a portfolio of dried spices, aromatic herbs, specialty salts, and seasoning blends — including saffron, multi-pepper blends, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, juniper berries, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, and proprietary blends under sub-brands such as Sapori Creativi, Spezie Bio, and BBQ. Technical capabilities center on traditional spice processing (drying, grinding, and packaging), with notable packaging innovations including adjustable and separable grinder caps that allow consumers to grind spices fresh at the point of use. The company serves Italian home cooks and food enthusiasts through a multi-channel go-to-market strategy spanning its own e-commerce platform (drogheria.com), Amazon Italy, traditional Italian retail distribution, and content marketing via an extensive Italian-language recipe library. It operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of McCormick & Company (NYSE: MKC), leveraging the parent group's sourcing, quality, and distribution infrastructure.

The business model is consumer packaged goods revenue, generating income through the sale of branded spice and seasoning products in various pack sizes and grinder formats via retail and direct-to-consumer channels. Pricing is not publicly disclosed but positioning is premium, anchored by the 145-year heritage, single-origin offerings (e.g., Tellicherry black pepper, Himalayan pink salt), and value-added grinder packaging. Drogheria has 101-250 employees and operates exclusively in the Italian market with no disclosed international expansion. Recent strategic activity is concentrated on product portfolio extension rather than geographic or channel diversification, with 2025 product launches including Air Fry-specific seasonings, recyclable packaging, and new flavor blends designed to capture emerging cooking modalities and sustainability-conscious consumer segments.

Name

Drogheria & Alimentari

Legal name

Drogheria e Alimentari S.p.A.

Website

https://drogheria.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1880

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Drogheria & Alimentari is an Italian specialty spice and seasoning producer operating under the "La Drogheria 1880" heritage brand, serving Italian home cooks and food enthusiasts with dried spices, herbs, specialty salts, and blended seasonings through e-commerce, Amazon Italy, and traditional retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Spices and Seasonings

NAICS

Spice and Extract Manufacturing (311942), Seasoning and Dressing Manufacturing (31194)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Spice Blends & Seasoning Mixes (Dry Rubs, Marinade Mixes) (AFAJANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ground & Powdered Spices (AFAJANAB), Whole Spices (Seeds, Pods, Bark, Roots) (AFAJANAA), Dried Herbs & Herb Blends (AFAJANAC)

Keywords

• Packaged spices
• Dried herbs
• Seasoning blends
• Specialty salts
• Spice grinders

Headquarters

HQ city

San Piero A Sieve

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consumer Packaged Goods - Spices & Seasonings: Sale of packaged spices, herbs, salts, and seasoning blends to retail consumers through multiple distribution channels. Products are sold in various sizes with grinder packaging for premium positioning.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Drogheria & Alimentari produces and sells packaged dried spices, aromatic herbs, specialty salts, and blended seasonings under the La Drogheria 1880 brand to Italian consumers. Products include single-origin spices (saffron, pepper varieties, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, turmeric, garlic, chili, juniper, onion), dried herbs (rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, parsley), specialty salts, and creative seasoning blends, often sold with adjustable grinder caps for fresh grinding at the table.

Product overview

Drogheria & Alimentari is an Italian spice and seasoning company specializing in dried spices, herbs, and specialty salts. The product portfolio centers on the 'La Drogheria 1880' brand and includes: single-origin spices (Zafferano/saffron, Pepe/pepper varieties including Pepe 4 Stagioni and Extra Forte, Cannella/cinnamon, Zenzero/ginger, Noce moscata/nutmeg, Chiodi di garofano/cloves, Curcuma/turmeric, Aglio/garlic, Peperoncino/chili, Ginepro/juniper berries); dried aromatic herbs (Rosmarino/rosemary, Timo/thyme, Alloro/bay leaves, Prezzemolo/parsley); specialty salts (Sale Marino Iodato, Sale Rosa Himalaya, and seasoned salts like Sale Integrale & Curcuma and Sale Integrale & Zenzero); and blended seasonings (Sapori Creativi line including Pepe Verde & Zenzero and Pepe Rosa & Limone, Insaporitore per Arrosti, and BBQ Fish & Scampi). Products are sold in various formats with practical grinder caps. The company is part of the McCormick group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sapori Creativi: Creative Flavors product line featuring innovative spice combinations like Pepe Verde & Zenzero and Pepe Rosa & Limone.
• Spezie Bio
• BBQ

Products and services

• Zafferano (Saffron) Premium saffron spice sold in powder, pistil, and pre-dosed sachet formats for use in dishes such as risotto alla milanese, paella, and desserts. Targeted at Italian home cooks and food enthusiasts seeking authentic specialty ingredients.
• Pepe 4 Stagioni (4 Seasons Pepper)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• McCormick & Company: Global spice and seasoning leader and parent of Drogheria & Alimentari; operates overlapping spice brands (Schwartz, Santa Maria, Ducros) across Europe and provides the ultimate benchmark for category economics and competitive structure.
• Schwartz: UK spice and seasoning brand owned by McCormick; sister brand to Drogheria within the McCormick portfolio and a useful benchmark for European brand extension and category management practices.
• Cirio: Italian heritage food brand (tomato-based products, sauces, condiments) under Conserve Italia; competes for premium Italian pantry shelf space adjacent to Drogheria's seasoning and salt categories.
• De Cecco: Italian premium pasta and pantry-essentials brand with strong export footprint; useful comparable for premium Italian heritage-brand positioning, D2C and retail-channel strategy, and international expansion playbook.

Direct peers

• Cannamela: Italian spice and herb brand owned by Davide Campari-Milano (through the Paneangeli/Opella cluster); directly competes with La Drogheria in Italian retail with single spices, blends, and seasoning mixes for the home cook.
• Bonomelli: Italian herbal tea, infusions, and dried herb brand (owned by Mondelez via the Caffè Borbone group historically); overlaps with Drogheria's dried herbs category and Italian grocery distribution model.
• Ponti: Italian family-owned producer of vinegars, condiments, and pickled/seasoned products; directly comparable as a heritage Italian pantry-essentials brand competing for the same retail shelf and home-cook wallet share.
• Saclà: Italian premium brand specializing in pestos, sauces, and condiments; competes with Drogheria in the premium pantry-essentials segment of Italian grocery, with similar D2C and retail-channel exposure.

Regional players

• Santa Maria: Nordic spice and ethnic-food brand owned by McCormick; comparable in product mix (spices, blends, seasonings) and European premium positioning but operates primarily in UK/Sweden/Nordics rather than Italy.
• Verstegen: Dutch family-owned spice, herb, and sauce company serving both retail and foodservice; comparable in spice/seasoning product breadth, European premium positioning, and dual consumer/B2B channel mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LaDrogheria1880
• Instagraminstagram.com/ladrogheria1880

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drogheria & Alimentari