Twenty-one leading Italian food companies have joined forces to better penetrate foreign markets and consolidate Italy's role as world leader in food exports.
The new consortium, named Italia del Gusto (Italian Taste) includes food sector big shots like Barilla, Parmalat, the Veronesi Group (Negroni, Montorsi and Aia), Cremonini, Conserve Italia, Rana and Illy. Together members have an annual consolidated turnover of over 25 billion euros.
"These companies represent 60% of Italian food exports," observed Giovanni Rana, head of the fresh pasta and tortellini company which bears his name.
"Our goal is to export Italy's food and eating culture through the distribution of high quality name brands. In the same way that fashion was a means to spread Italian style throughout the world, Italia del Gusto will spread Italian Taste," he explained.
Speaking here at the presentation of the initiative, organised by the Italian Foreign Trade Institute (ICE), Italian Agriculture Minister Paolo Di Castro said that quality was Italy's trump card in expanding on foreign markets.
"The American consumers must understand why it is better to eat Italian," Di Castro added.
According to the minister, the biggest challenge Italian foods exporters face is "food piracy", products marketed as Italian but which are not made in Italy.
"A recent study by ICE found that nine out of ten products sold on the American market as Italian were in fact produced in the USA. These included 'Gorgonzola' cheese made in Wisconsin and San Daniele prosciutto from Illinois," Di Castro said.
In order to combat 'food piracy', Di Castro said an accord had been reached with American authorities to protect quality products through such measures as the identification of a product's geographic origin.
Italia del Gusto is the first multinational created to promote brand name Italian food products abroad.
It plans to spend some 20 million euros in promoting these products over the next year and "hopes to become a beachhead for small and medium-sized companies seeking to expand abroad", Italia del Gusto Deputy chairman Paolo Dalco' said.
Another 30 Italian food companies are said to be interested in joining the new consortium.
