Italy is the star of the 2025 Summer Fancy Food Show at New York’s Javits Convention Center, with the honour of being named Country Partner for this edition. The Italian Pavilion, one of the largest in the international area with around 350 booths spread over two floors, showcases the very best of Italian agri-food under the claim The Extraordinary Italian Taste.
In this context, Italianfood.net, the international brand of Gruppo Food, organised the seventh edition of the Italian Food Awards USA, dedicated to the most innovative Italian f&b products launched in the past two years.
The Italian Food Awards USA aim to highlight the authentic value of the Italian food industry for American retail and food service professionals. The initiative is even more meaningful this year, as Italian cuisine was recently added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
Italian F&B export figures in the US
The Italian agri-food sector is experiencing a positive momentum in the United States. In 2024, exports reached 8.6 billion dollars, marking a 17% increase compared to 2023. The positive trend continues in 2025, with a further 14% growth recorded between January and April.
Wine, in particular, showed a notable acceleration, growing by 14% in the first four months of 2025 after a 6.5% increase in 2024. However, there are signs of potential concern: some preliminary figures — still to be confirmed — suggest a possible decline in both value and volume. The main factor affecting the outlook is uncertainty around tariffs, which is creating a gap between sell-in and sell-out, with direct consequences on the medium-to-long-term strategies of Italian companies.
Looking at specific categories, rice fell by 21 percentage points in 2024 but has already regained 9 points between January and April 2025. The trend for beer has been significantly more volatile: despite a 17% increase in 2024, it suffered a sharp 37% drop in the first four months of the current year. Overall, Italian agri-food exports closed 2024 with a +4.7%, followed by an additional 3.8% growth between January and April 2025. In this case as well, it will be crucial to monitor the alignment between purchases and actual consumption, also considering the stock management strategies adopted by U.S. buyers.
The awards ceremony
The Italian Food Awards ceremony opened with a welcome address by Bill Lynch, President of the Specialty Food Association, followed by a market overview of Italian F&B performance in the U.S. by Patrick R. Dougherty, Senior Director SMB at NIQ.
The editorial team of Gruppo Food also presented three special awards:
- Packaging: Acetum SPA
- Innovation: ParmaFood Group
- Convenience: Conserve Italia
Italian Food Awards 2025: awarded products
The 42 nominated products were selected for the final stage across the following categories:
Aperitif & Beverage; Deli; Oils & Condiments; Pasta, Pizza & Baking Ingredients; Preserves & Sauces; Sweets.
The winners of the 2025 edition of the Italian Food Awards USA are:
APERITIF & BEVERAGE
La Galvanina
Organic Mocktail
DELI
Delizia
Sacco Poche
OILS & CONDIMENTS
Pietro Coricelli
Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva 100% Italiano Casa Coricelli
PASTA, PIZZA & BAKING INGREDIENTS
Molino Dallagiovanna
Uniqua Viola – Purple Edition
PRESERVES & SAUCES
Agritalia
Organic Tomato & Ricotta Cheese Pasta Sauce
SWEETS
Emilia Foods
Lemon Gelato Sunburst