An historic agreement was signed by the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium and Whole Food Markets (WFM), the American chain specializing in healthy and natural products in the supermarket sector with over 500 points of sale in the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The agreement, which takes on particular value, especially after the entry into force of US tariffs on food, provides for concrete actions that will increase the sales of Parmigiano Reggiano in over 500 points of sale in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
In particular, Whole Food Markets undertakes to provide an adequate presentation of the product in supermarkets to help the consumer distinguish Parmigiano Reggiano from similar products.
The agreement represents a concrete step forward in the development of foreign markets: Whole Foods Markets, founded in 1980 in Austin (Texas) and purchased in 2017 by Amazon for 13,7 billion dollars, is a leading player in the supermarket sector and can count on a distribution network of 487 stores in the United States, 14 in Canada and 7 in the United Kingdom. Three countries which in turn are among the Top 5 of the largest importers of Parmigiano Reggiano in the world: the United States (10.439 tons) represent the second export market after France, the United Kingdom (6.940 tons) is the fourth export market, Canada (3.030 tons) is the fifth largest export market.
The agreement is not a mere declaration of intent but aims to develop events, information materials in points of sale and direct marketing activities on Whole Foods customers to increase sales and, at the same time, offer an adequate positioning for Parmigiano Reggiano.
First of all, WFM will organize two events a year to increase the visibility and public participation in the opening ceremony of the wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano: a real show that attracts Foodies and onlookers inside the stores. These events will have the wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano at the center, and in each store the opening of the wheels by hand will be the key moment from which to provide information to the consumer on the quality of the product and to promote their purchase.
The second point of the agreement provides for an exchange of information and marketing data collected through the network and social media. Third point, Whole Foods Markets also undertakes to place information materials of the Consortium in each supermarket. The goal is to inform the consumer about the characteristics of Parmigiano Reggiano and the differences with respect to similar products.
All this assumes a strategic significance both for the positioning of WFM with respect to its consumers, and for the vast program of new openings which includes almost 50 new points of sale in the US market alone.
This collaboration represents, in fact, the first concrete demonstration of the new approach promoted by the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium to consolidate and develop the demand for the King of cheeses on international markets.
“The agreement with Whole Foods – affirms the president of the Consortium, Nicola Bertinelli – is unprecedented in the history of European PDO products. This action, in concert with the fight against counterfeiting and Italian Sounding, will allow us to create product culture in the markets that are closest to our hearts and is the result of a strategy that wants the Consortium to be increasingly present on international markets”.
“The agreement also has a wider scope: in the current scenario, which is affected by Trump's tariffs, one of the best-known American chains chooses to side with Parmigiano Reggiano to ensure the highest quality and information on a product that still has once again it proves to be unique and inimitable”, concludes Nicola Bertinelli.
