A campaign has been launched in North America to promote authentic Italian food products
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 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 different initiatives, there will be Educational Tours in Italy for journalists/opinion leaders, Masterclasses for food importers designed to promote awareness of genuine goods and certification processes, and finally, B2B meetings among Italian producers and US distributors and guided tours to Italian food companies.
Besides that, there will be promotional events in the States where the Chambers work. In particular, in Florida, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Southeast will take part with a booth at 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, in Miami, will take place the “Italian Restaurants Week“. It is a week in which specific menus based on IGP – DOP products will be proposed in 10 selected restaurants. The Chamber will be in charge of coordinating a local media campaign and distributing informative material with the aim to inform and engage a significant number of customers.
Finally, in July, the Chamber will have a booth at the FAND (Florida Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics) Annual Symposium, in Orlando. In addition to promoting the benefits of authentic Italian food among the hundreds of nutritionists and dieticians attending the event there will be a break-out session with an Italian diet expert nutritionist and an Italian chef.
Click here and watch the the video realized for the promotion of “The Extraordinary Italian Taste” campaign in occasion of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (February 26-27-28th, 2016).
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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).
Watch “The Extraordinary Italian Taste – US Commercial” :
