Revenue in 2024 reached €1.39 billion, driven by a solid base in the core sector (animal nutrition ingredients) and accelerated diversification into ingredients for the food industry.
Focus on growth through organic and external lines, international expansion, and sustainability in the 2025–2027 Industrial Plan presented at the end of December, with a new approach that combines innovation, strategic reflection, and enhancement of Cereal Docks’ main intangible asset: its people.
2024 marks a year of growth and transformation for Cereal Docks, the Italian industrial group leading the way in primary agro-food transformation for the production of ingredients derived from oilseeds and cereals for feed, food, pharma, cosmetic, technical, and energy applications. With the presentation of the 2024 financial results and the 2025–2027 Industrial Plan, Cereal Docks consolidates its leadership and lays the foundation for a future focused on expansion, diversification, and sustainability. The Group aims to leverage its expertise to seize new growth opportunities through industrial development and targeted acquisitions.
This Industrial Plan also marks a change in perspective and approach: the pursuit of balance between speed and reflection, to navigate global scenarios effectively and with precision. Not only structures (and infrastructures), therefore, but also a continuous promotion of Cereal Docks’ primary intangible asset: its people.
A Solid 2024
The Group’s financial results, culminating in €1.3919 billion in revenue for 2024 and an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.21% since 2021, reflect the solid development strategy undertaken over the past three years, with sales volumes reaching 2.9 million tonnes. Growth has been driven by the company’s core business (animal nutrition ingredients) and the diversification of its offering in recent years, including innovative products in the food sector, such as oils, gluten-free flours, lecithins, and plant-based extracts. Export volumes have also increased, now accounting for 15% of revenue, confirming Cereal Docks’ strong positioning in European and non-European markets.
Towards 2025–2027: The New Industrial Plan
Cereal Docks has also presented its new 2025–2027 Industrial Plan, outlining a new phase of growth based on four strategic directives for the next three years. First and foremost, consolidating the Group’s core business remains central to its strategy. The goal is to increase the processing volumes of agricultural raw materials (soy, sunflower, corn, rapeseed) by 20% by 2027 through internal expertise enhancement and further process efficiencies. Additionally, the Group continues its commitment to optimizing raw material management (logistics, sourcing) to provide clients and partners with supply chain solidity and security, ensuring consistent quantity and quality while meeting high standards of quality and sustainability.
These supply chains play a pivotal role in the Industrial Plan. The increasing involvement of the 18,000 farmers participating in Cereal Docks’ supply chains represents a strategic factor—not only to enhance the competitiveness of the supply chain itself but also to strengthen the role of Italian agriculture, which is becoming increasingly critical in supporting the agro-food Made in Italy.
At the same time, Cereal Docks aims to further penetrate the consumer market, a journey that began in 2023 with the acquisition of Favero 1925, a historic Padua-based company active in the retail sector of gluten-free flours and ingredients for the food industry. Favero 1925 has already initiated a significant investment plan to increase production capacity by 50%. The Group’s current offering, which includes lecithins, oils, pure plant extracts, and gluten-free flours, will be further enriched with new food ingredients, such as innovative sunflower protein flours. This development will be pursued through a combined approach, including direct investment (greenfield projects) and M&A operations. These actions reflect the Group’s strategic objective: to diversify its activities, approach the final consumer, while maintaining a strong connection with the agricultural world and the B2B market.
A distinctive element of the Plan is the approach summarized by the Augustan motto, reported by Suetonius, “Festina Lente,” which invites balancing speed and reflection to ensure thoughtful and targeted strategic decisions.
“The year 2024 marked the positive conclusion of the first phase of a journey that began three years ago, focused on transitioning from ‘feeding’ to ‘nourishing’ and from ‘commodities’ to ‘ingredients,’” said Mauro Fanin, President of Cereal Docks Group. “The results achieved allow us to look to future challenges with ambition, confidence, and optimism, aiming for further growth in the coming years, both through organic and external lines. This journey is guided by an approach we have encapsulated in the words attributed to Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus: ‘Festina Lente.’ It is an invitation to slow down, suspend automatisms, and observe with greater depth what surrounds us, finding the right balance between speed and reflection.”
