ITALMOPA – the Italian association of millers established in 1958 and with over 80 flours member companies from across Italy – has launched an ambitious initiative to promote exports of organic soft wheat and durum wheat flour and semolina to the US and Canada and to raise awareness of their high quality. The effort is called “Pure Flour from Europe: Your Organic and Sustainable Choice!” and it is co-funded by the European Commission.
The program made its debut this week in booth 823 at Bakery @ SIAL America, an international trade show taking place from 22 to 24 March in Las Vegas. ITALMOPA hosted representatives from three of Italy’s largest producers at its booth: Molino Grassi, Molino Casillo, and Molino de Vita. During the show, the association hosted a private event at Eataly Las Vegas with culinary creations made with organic flours.
Pure Flour from Europe will last three years, including consumer and trade events with product demonstrations led by chefs featuring such well-loved Italian foods as pizza, pasta, pastries, and bread. There will also be social media and advertising campaigns and participation in important trade shows targeting the grocery, foodservice, and food manufacturing sectors. There will also be an educational tour involving millers of organic flours and semolina in Italy.
ITALIAN FLOUR COMPANIES TARGET THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKET
“We see great opportunity in North America to grow exports of organic soft wheat flour and durum semolina from Italy. More than ever before, home cooks and chefs are looking for premium ingredients that are healthy, nutritious, and grown without synthetic fertilizers. They also want to respect the environment,” says ITALMOPA President Emilio Ferrari. “Organic flour from our member companies delivers on all these needs and elevates the quality of most culinary creations.”
The US and Canada are some of the countries with the highest demand for organic products according to ITALMOPA, however, statistics on organic flour imports are hard to come by and are viewed as relatively low for now.
EXPORT GOALS
The goal is to increase exports to Canada and the US by close to 300% compared to 2020, as well as boost knowledge and awareness of these products by at least 20% among consumers in the two target countries.
To achieve this, in the US POS EU Flour will focus on five large urban markets: Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, and New York. In Canada, the target will be on the provinces Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. All of these areas have high organic food consumption and demographics to support the often higher prices of organic flours compared with conventional flours, according to ITALMOPA.