The extraordinary experience of Expo 2015 will be important for meeting the Government’s goal of responding to the great and growing worldwide demand for Made in Italy food by doubling Italian agri-food exports within a few years. The creative forum around these issues in Expo was the Conference Hall of the “Cibus è Italia – Federalimentare” pavilion, which brought together representatives from industry, agriculture and distribution in 250 meetings, workshops, conferences, press conferences and guided tastings. It was the only pavilion to present at the exhibition all of the 13 Italian food chains, one thousand brands, and thousands of products by 240 firms, in a structure that will be fully preserved and will become the new western entrance to the Fiere di Parma exhibition centre. The works of 13 street artists, coordinated by digital storyteller Felice Limosani, will be installed so as to enhance the different pavilions with their message about the contemporaneity of made in Italy food, and will become a permanent collective exhibition available to the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors to Fiere di Parma.
The contribution of the pavilion will also be felt in the immediate aftermath of Expo with different projects in the making, among which: the replica of the pavilion format in other trade fairs, in Italy and abroad; the creation of a permanent Observatory on Italian sounding names; the creation of a permanent team to promote the synergies of all participants in incoming activities for foreign buyers; promotion of new formats of “shop-in- shop” corners with foreign retailers.
The special characteristic of “Cibus è Italia” was the mix of exhibition and tasting of products (with over 300,000 visitors, mostly foreign), conference activities, and business meetings with foreign and Italian buyers. The 18th edition of Cibus, scheduled for May 2016 in Parma, will be the first event to replicate the format of the Cibus è Italia pavilion. It will then be the turn of other trade fairs in Asia and in the Usa, such as IDDBA in Houston and FMI CONNECT in Chicago.
The other opportunity, conceived by Federalimentare and by Fiere di Parma, is the creation of a permanent Observatory on Italian sounding names: a new tool that will make it possible for the first time to monitor precisely and on annual basis the phenomenon of agri-food counterfeiting.
The presence of Italian products in foreign markets can be expanded with a new “shop-in- shop” format for foreign retailers: Cibus presents to foreign retailers a “turnkey” solution that represents the most complete expression of the basket of excellent Italian products to offer and sell to foreign consumers.
Cibus è Italia has meant above all matching between companies and foreign buyers: 15 sessions with top buyers from all continents, 5.000 meetings within the pavilion and 200 visits to production plants in the area, thanks to the collaboration between Fiere di Parma, ICE and Federalimentare. Over one thousand meetings between exhibiting companies and Italian buyers. A model that will be perfected and expanded with the creation of a coordination team for all foreign buyer missions to Italy, both after the Cibus exhibition of May 2016 and during the year, so that buyers can get to know the companies and their production facilities through customized tours.
“The impression we have given the world of the Italian food sector – affirmed Luigi Scordamaglia, president of Federalimentare – is that of a food chain whose components – farmers, processing and distribution industry – are united and capable of overcoming old rivalries. A model of cooperation that will allow us to be more competitive on the national and international scene, thanks also to the invaluable support that the Government has given to the food sector, putting it at the centre of its policy of revival of the country”.
“The Cibus exhibition platform – said Antonio Cellie, CEO of Fiere di Parma – can be very useful in the overall strategy for increasing Italian agri-food exports to the 50 billion Euros envisaged by the Government within 2020. Cibus is already placed at the meeting point between Italian producers and foreign operators, and our experience is available for ever closer collaboration with the Foreign Trade Agency (ICE/ITA) and Federalimentare and for an active role in the Expo aftermath”.