An area of 5 thousand square metres, where one thousand made in Italy food brands will welcome millions of visitors and more than two thousand professionals from abroad. This is the profile of the Italian food industry pavilion at Expo 2015 which is in fact called ‘Cibus is Italy – The Expo Federalimentare Pavilion’.
With the opening of the structure our country’s strategic project of doubling agro-food exports in the coming years is also consequently launched. The weighting of export on turnover in the food sector has nearly doubled in ten years, from 13% in 2003 to 20% in 2013, for a value of 33 billion euros, partly compensating for the effects of the lengthy recession on domestic consumption (-14 points from 2007, only -3 in 2013).
The large collective corporate pavilion aims to become an authoritative and choral reference point in an Esposizione Universale which, for the first time, is touching on the hot topic of the planet’s nutrition, reaching a high level of attention. The numbers speak for themselves: 144 exhibiting countries and 20 million visitors expected (12 million from Italy, 6 million from abroad, respectively 3 million from Europe and 3 million from other continents, and just 1 million from the United States of America).
The commitment of Federalimentare has been illustrated by its president, Filippo Ferrua: “An investment of 10 million Euros has been made for the companies and from the companies that believe in this big opportunity, which to begin with is the direct participation in the biggest global food event. Here we present the industry’s most prestigious creations, which are not only products, but also human stories and ideas which have given an international feel to domestic tradition. With our corporate pavilion, Federalimentare is taking the Italian companies straight to the heart of Expo where they can disseminate their image across the world and develop their business on international markets”.
The dynamism of the initiative is also underlined by the programme lined up for the professionals coming in from abroad and organised by the Ice agency with support of Cibus management: around two thousand professionals (top retailers, importers, Horeca, producers and processors) and 11 delegations from 30 different companies. After having visited Expo 2015 and participated in a workshop with the Italian businesses on the “Cibus is Italy” terrace, the professionals will be divided into groups and will move on to visit the businesses of specific industry interest. Alongside the pavilion there will also be an online platform, developed in collaboration with eBay, which will allow visitors both during and after the event to buy products on display.
A project desired and financed by the Italian Trade Agency, as explained by the president Riccardo Monti: “With Federalimentare and Fiere di Parma we have arranged an incoming programme for Expo which forecasts selecting and inviting the top retailers of organised distribution as well as importers and distributors of primary importance, all with the objective to promote the agro-food sector and to contribute to promoting the Italian food industry, its products and its brands. The delegations will have an exclusively cut business and the tasks will be distributed throughout the development of Expo from May to October 2015”.
The pavilion is subdivided into 15 thematic zones representative of the different sectors and Italian excellences: milk and cheese, the beef industry, rice, pasta, sweets&snacks, tomatoes and vegetables, design& communication, pork and cured meats, vinegars and condiments, oils, sustainable production technologies, Italian drinks, the poultry industry, nutraceuticals and regions.
The set design is one of macro organic architecture, which will subdivide the space, creating planned paths and integrated areas where the visitor will be immersed thanks to the interactive live 3D projection technology.
The contents will be created together with each individual company, which will tell its own story and its own know-how, its own products and its own peculiarities, in a sort of hypermedia journey through the working Italian countryside. The terrace has been designed as a lounge for exhibitors’ business meetings and as a space for events organised by the Federalimentare companies and is reserved for a professional audience. Tasting areas will be located outside the pavilion. The external design will be characterised by an installation performance created by Felice Limosani and the interior layout will be overseen by Franco Costa.
“Our hope”, says Franco Boni, managing director for ‘Cibus is Italy – The Expo Federalimentare Pavilion’ – is that Expo 2015 can be a high point, an opportunity to reawaken the conscience, a place where our food businesses can clearly state to millions of people their commitment to gift to the world products which are not only excellent and respectful of tradition but also safe and inspired by sustainability”.
The vice president for Federalimentare, speaking on behalf of Expo, Paolo Zanetti was also questioned on the objectives of Expo 2015 and on the made in Italy food pavilion: “This initiative serves also to give Italy back the rightful leadership in the food sector in Europe which it deserves, filling in the gap which has for too long distanced us from competitors such as France and Germany and aiming to double the value of our exports long term. It is also a unique opportunity to denounce fake and Italian sounding products and to launch an appeal and a debate on the abolition of the non-tariff barriers”.