Made in Italy food & beverage products confirm their leadership in the U.S. and at the Winter Fancy Food Show (19 to 21 January) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
For the 2020 editions of Fancy Food (the Summer Fancy Food Show will take place in New York from June 28 to 30) the Specialty Food Association has appointed Italy as Partner Country. This will guarantee considerable visibility to the Italian Pavilion and particular attention to the trade visitors present. This is an exceptional recognition, normally given only for the Summer edition of the event. For the first time ever a country is appointed for the second time: Italy has already been the first Fancy Food Partner Country in 2015.
ITALIAN FOOD OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN THE USA
According to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, in the first nine months of 2019 Italian food exports to the U.S. were worth almost $4 billion, growing by 5.9% compared to the same period of 2018.
Italy is still leading many food categories, including cheese, olive oil, pasta, mineral water, vinegar as the USA is confirmed as the first non-European destination market in the sector.
THE ITALIAN PAVILION AT THE WINTER FANCY FOOD
The ICE – Italian Trade Agency will attend the Winter Fancy Food Show 2020, the main event on the West Coast of the United States dedicated to food specialties, in collaboration with Federalimentare, Cibus, Tuttofood and Vinitaly, continuing its partnership with Specialty Food Association and Universal Marketing.
The Italian Pavilion, as usual the largest in the international area, will host over 60 companies presenting the entire range of Made in Italy food products under the umbrella of The Extraordinary Italian Taste brand, which distinguishes the promotion of authentic Italian products around the world. In addition, 25 other Italian companies will be present at the fair with individual stands. In all, 90 Italian exhibitors will occupy an area of about 1,100 square meters.
ITALIAN TRADE AGENCY SUPPORTING PROGRAMME
A supporting programme for exhibitors has been set up the Italian Trade Agency together with Federalimentare, Fieramilano, Fiere di Parma and Veronafiere. The programme provides for:
- Incoming of 13 operators in the catering and large-scale distribution sector, coming from areas not adjacent to the West Coast;
- Cooking shows activities inside the Lounge Italia (stand 1267), with the possibility to use and display the products of the companies present in the Italian Pavilion;
- Wine Bar by Vinitaly International;
- Graphic design of the Italian Pavilion with the ‘The Extraordinary Italian Taste’ and ‘Italia’ logos, to ensure greater visitor appeal;
- Communication activities;
- Taste It Live Area: a space that will be animated for the first time by ICE, in the transition from the North Hall to the South Hall, as a specific action to support the categories recently affected by the duties;
- Buyers Lounge curated by Specialty Food Association: for the first time a corner inside the Lounge exclusively reserved to Specialty Food Association members is allowed. ICE will be present with a sector dedicated to products affected by duties (displayed unbranded, except for spirits);
- Networking Dinner organized for the evening of January 20th, at 5:30 pm, at the Westin St Francis Hotel, not far from the fair. The event will be attended by over 200 people including Italian exhibitors, local operators and members of the trade press. On this occasion, a display table will be set up with the exhibitors’ products and the categories affected by the duties.
ICE IN THE USA
The activity of the Italian Trade Agency in the USA has been focused since 2015 in the implementation of an extensive promotion program that has developed on the following pillars:
- Communication plan directed to American consumers, to develop the knowledge of authentic Italian products. In the first year (2015-2016), the “Buy Authentic Italian. Get More” campaign reached about one billion impressions. The subsequent campaign, which took place in 2018, dedicated to countering the phenomenon of Italian Sounding, used new graphics, with the aim of encouraging consumers to verify the authenticity of the product from reading the label, with the “The label says it all” claim;
- Agreements with US retailers that have reached over 10,400 points of sale, introducing 900 new Italian suppliers and involving a total of 4,800 companies in the sector;
- Incoming to the main fairs in Italy, in collaboration with Cibus, Tuttofood, Sana, Sigep, Marca and Vinitaly;
- Presence at US trade shows: Winter and Summer Fancy Food (in San Francisco and New York) and PLMA in Chicago.