The "pseudo-Italian" products that attract the most in Asia? Sauces, ready-made gravies and olive oils. Even more than pasta and the inimitable buffalo mozzarella. The map of the so-called "Italian Sounding" (products that "sound" Italian but are absolutely not) is revealed by a survey conducted by Assocamerestero in collaboration with the 8 Italian Chambers of Commerce present in Asia namely in China, South Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The analysis of the fake made in Italy, i.e. the phenomenon of the improper use of denominations that refer to Italy to induce the purchase, fits into the context of the “True Italian Taste” project, promoted and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as part of the campaign to promote 100% Italian food. Among the 600 products surveyed, it therefore emerged that the category most affected by Italian Sounding is that of condiments, namely sauces, gravies, oils, with 26,8% of the products evoking the authentic Made in Italy. In second place among the most imitated products, frozen foods and ready meals (with a share of 19,6%), closely followed by pasta (19,1%). Dairy products, on the other hand, accounted for 17,5%.
Assocamerestero also focused on the reasons for the diffusion of the phenomenon and the main causes that emerged are two: difficulty in finding authentic Italian products on foreign markets and lower cost. In particular, on this last aspect, the pasta comes to cost on average more than 30% less (in Hong Kong even -71%!), followed by frozen foods (-21,6%) and condiments (-11,9%). The country that sells the most fake Italian condiments (products such as Ragu Pizza Sauce, where, however, there is no meat, or Genoese pestos with rosemary instead of pesto or clumsy copies of the balsamic vinegar of Modena) is India, ahead in Korea and China.
In Singapore, on the other hand, pasta is the food Italian Sounding more widespread (38,6%), mainly imported from Australia. Mozzarella (and dairy products in general) is the most popular in Thailand, while in China, a third of food Italian Sounding it is made up of frozen foods and ready meals (above all frozen pasta and pizza) with condiments that come in second place.
“The development prospects of Made in Italy exports and the competitiveness of Italian products – he commented Gaetano Fausto Esposito, Secretary General of Assocamerestero – inevitably pass through awareness and in-depth knowledge of the Italian Sounding phenomenon. Mapping represents an important element in this sense as it highlights how at the basis of the diffusion of imitation products there is often not only a lack of knowledge but also a problem of presence and positioning on foreign markets of Made in Italy. To combat this phenomenon and enhance the quality of the Italian supply chain, it is therefore essential to carry out - in concert with the CCIE Network and the Institutions - targeted actions to enhance and support our production system; this is particularly true in a phase such as the current one characterized by the redefinition of geo-economic and commercial structures and balances.”
