Assocamerestero – the Association of the 78 Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad (CCIE), private, foreign and market entrepreneurial entities – concluded the 19th Meeting of the General Secretaries of the Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad.
The initiative that annually brings together the management of the CCIE was held in Rome from 2 to 4 July, hosting Delegates from over 140 offices located in 55 foreign countries.
During the meeting, the CCIE placed the need to find increasingly innovative marketing formulas for Made in Italy at the center of the internal debate, which lasted two days. Furthermore, the CCIE held almost 400 networking meetings with some of the main players in Italian promotion.
The meeting ended with the first edition of the "Made in Italy Marketing" Award organized by Assocamerestero in collaboration with the Association of Italian Dessert and Pasta Industries (AIDEPI).
The acknowledgment, addressed to the Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad, was intended to enhance those proposals for the promotion of Italian pasta that are more original and adherent to the characteristics of the country of the CCIE that presents them.
Six projects were pre-selected by an AIDEPI commission with the support of Assocamerestero and presented yesterday on the occasion of the final day of the Meeting: the projects conceived by the Belgian-Italian Chamber of Commerce, the Italian-Czech Chamber of Commerce and Industry were finalists , the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Italian-South African Chamber of Commerce, the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Texas.
Among these, the Jury proclaimed the winners of the two projects “Marco, Klara and Karina at the Pasta Academy in Brussels” and “South Africa Loves Italian Pasta” presented respectively by the Belgian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and the Italian-South African Chamber of Commerce.
The first project involves the creation of two web series that revolve around pasta, while the second is based on a competition between aspiring professional chefs (see attachment for detailed description).
The awarding of the Prize during the Meeting bears witness to the centrality that the agri-food sector has for Italian exports and for the development of Made in Italy.
An integral part of the Meeting was also the focus on the True Italian Taste Project, which is part of the "Strategic promotion campaign for the enhancement of the Italian product in relation to the Italian Sounding phenomenon", promoted and financed by the Ministry of Economic Development and created by Assocamerestero in collaboration with the European and North American CCIE.
The Secretary General of Assocamerestero Gaetano Fausto Esposito commented: “The Meeting of the General Secretaries is the undisputed point of reference for the CCIE Network in which to discuss issues and anticipate future scenarios related to internationalization and the new frontiers of exports. This year in particular we have paid particular attention to the agri-food sector which represents an important sector for the growth and strengthening of Made in Italy in the world. In fact, the Assocamerestero-AIDEPI Award testified that in the face of the richness of the proposals presented there is fertile ground for the construction of a new image of Made in Italy food in which tradition and innovation blend together in an inseparable union that looks to the future .”
The President of AIDEPI Pasta Makers Riccardo Felicetti commented on the Assocamerestero-AIDEPI Award: “Today we are the champions of pasta in the world. We are the country with the highest per capita consumption, around 24 kg. We export (AIDEPI elaborations on ISTAT 2017 data) 58% of our national production - about 2 million tons for a value of over 2 billion euros. And 60% is not that far away, even if there are already Italian pasta makers who export over 90% of their production. The major buyers of Italian pasta are in order Germany, UK, France, USA, Japan. Not to mention that pasta also acts as a driving force for the consumption of typical Italian first course products such as tomato, oil and cheese and that companies begin to export under their own brand, effectively becoming the authentic promoters of the Mediterranean Diet in the world. ”
