2024 ended with a positive balance for Asiago DOP, which confirms itself as the Protected Designation of Origin cheese with the best performance in consumption on the Italian market: +8.9% in volume and +6.2% in value (source: Circana). A result that reflects the growing attractiveness of the product and is part of the development path traced by the Consorzio Tutela Formaggio Asiago, which has chosen to focus on sustainability, innovation and enhancement of the bond with the territory, transforming them into a competitive advantage and an approach capable of responding to the evolution of new consumer trends, also with modern formats with a high service content.
In 2024, 1,505,500 forms of Asiago DOP were produced. Fresh Asiago recorded substantial stability, with 1,286,000 forms, in line with the previous year (+0.03%). Mature Asiago, after the strong increase in 2023 (+21.8%), reached 219,500 forms in 2024, marking a physiological readjustment. Demand, however, remained higher than availability, with stocks on average lower than historical data. This dynamic also had a positive impact on the beginning of 2025: in the first three months of the year, Asiago cheese confirmed itself as the only PDO cheese with double-digit growth in value of 11.4% and an increase in volume of +4.5%, with an increase in production of +5.8% compared to the same period in 2024, while exports, in the month of February 2025, recorded a +2.5%.
Starting from the choices of consolidating the bond with tradition and the territory of origin, the Protection Consortium continued its sustainability plan in 2024 with a systemic and long-term approach. Asiago is now the only DOP to have certified the entire supply chain "from grass to fork" and the first cheese with Protected Designation of Origin to have obtained MADE GREEN IN ITALY , the voluntary certification of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, issued by CSQA , to encourage sustainable production models. Since 2022, with the Asiago Green Edge project, the Protection Consortium has started a path of continuous improvement that promotes the balance between economic development, respect for the environment and social commitment to create a positive and lasting impact.
During the Shareholders' Meeting on May 22 in Asiago, President Fiorenzo Rigoni announced: “Today we are adding a new piece to our sustainability journey. We are convinced that the protection of an identity product such as Asiago DOP must go hand in hand with that of the Community that expresses it. This is why we have chosen to generate shared value also through a concrete gesture in favor of health and safety: the donation of defibrillators to the Municipalities of our Denomination. A symbolic but at the same time profoundly useful action, which takes shape today with the first official delivery to the institutional representatives of the Municipalities of Asiago, Gallio, Pozzoleone and Roana.”
Thanks to its organoleptic qualities and the variety of its maturations, Asiago DOP continues to innovate to respond to new consumer trends . Hence new formats designed to meet ever-changing tastes and habits: snacks, cubes, petals, slices, grated and julienne. The path explores new horizons without losing the connection with its roots, a further step forward in the strategy of the Consorzio Tutela Formaggio Asiago aimed at enhancing the product, expanding consumption opportunities and strengthening its competitiveness.
The commitment of the Asiago Cheese Protection Consortium also continues on an international level . In the new context of global uncertainty, the USA, Switzerland and Germany are confirmed as the main markets for exports. At the same time, new development initiatives are being launched in South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan with a three-year promotion project co-financed by the EU for 1.5 million euros . The initiative is being carried out in collaboration with FICT – Fédération des Entreprises Françaises de Charcuterie Traiteur , which brings together over 300 producers of high-quality cured meats and delicatessen. The development plan also includes strengthening the presence on the European internal market which, with its 450 million consumers , harmonized rules and protection of Geographical Indications, continues to represent one of the main growth opportunities for the export of Asiago PDO cheese.