**When a Poultry Giant Goes 100% Vegetale**

Italy’s Amadori just bought Unconventional from Granarolo, and with it a bigger seat at the plant-based table.

The deal includes the Unconventional production site in Coriano near Rimini and the Unconventional 100% Vegetale brand, which Amadori will now fully manage and develop. The entire workforce at the Coriano plant joins Gruppo Amadori, which already employs over 9,400 people in Italy.

Strategically, this is about position. The acquisition makes Amadori the third-largest brand in the Italian plant-based product market, according to Circana data. That market is not niche anymore. Italy’s plant-based sector grew 5.9% in volume in 2025 and is now worth over €208 million. Household penetration sits at 28.7%, based on YouGov Shopper figures.

Why it matters. When a major animal protein player doubles down on plant-based products, that signals demand is durable. Nearly a third of households are already buying in. Growth is steady, not explosive, but it is real. For legacy protein companies, the question is no longer whether to participate. It is how fast you can scale.

The interesting angle. Amadori did not just buy a brand. It bought a production site and folded the team into its existing 9,400-person machine. That suggests plant-based is moving from experiment to infrastructure. In Italy, protein is no longer either-or. It is both.