90 billion, this is the global turnover of fake made in Italy, a phenomenon so on the rise that it now also has its own definition: Italian Sounding, that is to say products for which names and images are used improperly evocative of the Belpaese to persuade the consumer to buy products that are not actually Italian.
This is the figure that emerges from the 2018 survey on "Italian Sounding" food products with a focus on two areas, Europe and North America presented by Assocamerestero - the association that brings together the 78 Italian chambers of commerce abroad (CCIE), entrepreneurial subjects private, foreign and market, to Unioncamere.
The study is part of the Project “True Italian Taste”, promoted and financed by the Ministry of Economic Development for the 100% Made in Italy food promotion campaign, and created by Assocamerestero in collaboration with 21 Italian chambers of commerce abroad.
The value of Italian Sounding, as mentioned, is estimated at 90 billion globally and in the last ten years it has grown by 70%, triple the turnover of Italian exports in the food sector (32,1 billion euros in 2017 ).
The survey also focuses on the different types most affected by this phenomenon in Europe and North America. For the two areas involved, the most affected category is that ofconfectionery: 42% of the "imitated" products are ready and frozen dishes, preserves and condiments; followed by dairy products (25,1%), pasta (16,1%), meat-based products (13,2%) and bakery products (3,6%).
The results change if the two areas are analyzed separately: in Europe it is registered for the products of confectionery a level of diffusion above the general average, while in the NAFTA area dairy products rise to first place.
Among the more than 800 Italian Sounding products mapped, figure the "Pizza Carbonara"Or the"Sicilian mortadella" detected in Spain, while in the NAFTA area mispronunciations such as "old man” instead of “stravecchio” or the “suppressed” which loses a “p”, finally, in France and Holland, a special Limoncello it is presented as an aperitif liqueur.
To evaluate the economic impact of the phenomenon, a cost index has been developed, which measures the prices of products Italian Sounding distance themselves from the corresponding ones of authentic Made in Italy. Although the values vary according to the country considered and the product category, it is evident that the strongest cost reduction is recorded in the United Kingdom (-69%), head to head with Germany (-68,5%) followed with almost similar results from Belgium (-64,9%) and Holland (- 64,3%); savings rates are lower in Switzerland (-33,9%) and in Luxembourg (-25%).
In some geographical areas, out-of-trend data has been recorded: some types of product can cost up to two-thirds more than the originals. Italian imitation dairy and dairy products are sold in France and Switzerland respectively at 13,9% and 34,5% more than the original. Relative to the sector confectionery, it is Luxembourg that records anomalous values, with a price increase of 18,3% compared to the Italian product; the sharpest drop, however, occurred in Spain and the Netherlands.
“The analysis conducted by the Italian chambers abroad shows an interesting fact: in some realities and for some products, the choice of Italian Sounding over the original Italian is not linked to questions of cost, but rather to two factors: the sometimes difficulties in finding authentic products and the foreign consumer's lack of knowledge of the characteristics and quality of true Made in Italy - underlines Gian Domenico Auricchio, President of Assocamerestero - With the True Italian Taste Project we are working precisely to ensure that the choice of the authentic Italian product passes through the experience of its excellence, involving over 200 thousand food operators and food lovers of the first reference markets for our exports inside and outside the European continent in over 500 initiatives. It is only thanks to the dissemination of culture and education on the consumption of 100% Italian products, and by working on the alliances that the CCIE establishes with the local business communities, that it will be possible to curb the Italian Sounding phenomenon and recover market eroded to our agribusiness”.
