A campaign for the promotion of authentic Italian food products has been launched in North America
Italy is the European country with the largest number of DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) and IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) food products recognized by the European Union. A demonstration of the excellent quality of our products and above all of the strong bond linking the Italian foods to their territory of origin.
The EU’s system of Geographical Indications, in fact, fosters the production system and the local economy; it protects the environment, since the inextricable link with the territory of origin requires the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.
At the same time, thanks to the European Certification greater guarantees are given to consumers through a level of traceability and food safety standards higher than other products.
A food heritage unique in the world for breadth, variety and quality excellence that claims:
- 275 DOP (Protected Designation of Origin), IGP (Protected Geographical Indication), STG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) products;
- 523 DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin), DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin), IGT (Indication of Geographic Distinctiveness) products.
Unfortunately, every year about 54 billion Euros ($58.8 billion) are spent by consumers around the world to buy products with images and brands that evoke Italy but are not actually related to authentic Made in Italy production, a figure representing more than the double of the value of real Italian exported food products.
If we focus on North America market, the estimated damage that the so-called phenomenon of Italian Sounding causes to Italian companies reaches 27 billion Euros ($29 billion), since only a product out of ten turns out to be authentic Made in Italy.
The “The Extraordinary Italian Taste” brand, launched by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Development, was created with the objective of stemming the spread of Italian food products imitations as much as possible, promoting the authentic Made in Italy under one brand.
The related consumers’ awareness campaign planned in North America is aimed at promoting and enhancing Italian products through the diffusion of a greater knowledge on the specific characteristics and authenticity, with reference both to the places of origin and to the nutritional and certifying aspects. The production processes and unique areas of origin that characterize Made in Italy are in fact an essential and distinctive element for the products.
In addition, the campaign is designed to encourage a better distribution of Made in Italy products already present in the area and to facilitate the entry of new ones. As a matter of fact, the difficulty in finding some products, due to a disadvantageous distribution, remains a major cause for the choice of Italian Sounding products by consumers in North America.
To achieve these objectives, the Ministry of Economic Development will draw on the expertise and work of the Italian Chambers of United States, Canada and Mexico (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, New York, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, Mexico City) coordinated by Assocamerestero, the Association of Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad.
Among the project actions: Educational Tours in Italy for operators/foreign opinion leaders, Masterclasses for food business operators designed to promote awareness of genuine goods, certification processes and of the proper administration and consumption methods and , finally, buyers/distributors Incomings from the targeted countries for the realization of B2B meetings and visits to Italian food companies.
Besides that, there will be promotional events on the territories the Chambers operate in. In particular, in Florida, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Southeast will take part with an information booth in the expo area of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival (SBWFF), one of the largest and most popular festival in the wine and food sector, with over 60,000 visitors (February).
In May, instead, the “Italian Restaurants Week” will take place in Miami. It is a week in which specific menus based on IGP – DOP products will be proposed in 10 selected restaurants in Miami. Also on this occasion the Chamber will participate in the event by coordinating a local media campaign and by distributing informative material of Made in Italy products with the aim to involve and inform a significant number of customers.
Finally, in July, the Chamber will set up an information booth at the FAND (Florida Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics) Annual Symposium, in Orlando. Here, in addition to promoting the authentic Italian production, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce will concentrate on the attempt of involving the hundreds of nutritionists and dieticians attending the event in the social media of the project and it will organize a break-out session with an Italian diet expert nutritionist and an Italian chef.
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“The Extraordinary Italian Taste” is a project funded by the Ministry of Economic Development and implemented by Assocamerestero in collaboration with the network of Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad present in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Project partners: the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) and the Italian Association of Geographical Indication Consortia (AICIG).
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