In 2016, Italian exports of food and beverage to the US grew by + 4% in value compared to 2015, when our export had already recorded a flattering 22% increase. With 4.55 billion USD of sales, equivalent to a market share of 3.3%, Italy is the first US supplier of wine, olive oil, pasta and cheese, the third for bakery products and the fifth for meat products.

At Summer Fancy Food, by far the largest commercial event dedicated to food specialties in the USA, hosted by the Javits Center in New York June 25-27, 2017, the Italian Trade Agency (ICE [2]), in collaboration with Federalimentare [3], Cibus [4], Tuttofood [5]and Vinitaly [6], continued its long-standing partnership with Specialty Food Association and Universal Marketing.

After its successful worldwide editions, the Italian Food Awards arrived in the United States for the first time to celebrate the most innovative Italian food and beverage products for the US market. The awards ceremony took place on Sunday, June 25th, 2017 at the Summer Fancy Food Show (Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City).

The Italian Pavilion, traditionally the largest in the international area, hosted over 300 companies (12% of total exhibitors) that presented the entire range of Made in Italy foods and beverages under the umbrella of "The Extraordinary Italian Taste," which distinguishes the activities of promoting authentic Italian products around the world. Awards were conferred to various Italian companies based on several different categories. Some of the winners include San Benedetto in the beverage category, Delverde in the pasta category, and Rigoni di Asiago in the sweets & confectionary category.

Maurizio Forte, Trade Commissioner and Executive Director of ICE, stated, “After Germany and France, the United States is the third market for Italian food and wine. And for some products, it’s even the first market in terms of export. So it’s extremely important. There are a lot of parts of this country where the presence of Italian restaurants and Italian food is very small. And even in areas like New York and San Francisco where we are very, very present, we actually still have room to present new products, innovations, new solutions, new packaging. This new pavilion with a completely renovated look is more open and more friendly. Everything under the umbrella ‘Extraordinary Italian Taste,’ which is the logo with which we’re doing this big promotion in the United States for food and wine, is supported by the Ministry of Economic Development.”

Thanks to the ambitious project of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, the activity of ICE Agency in the US has been focused, since 2015, on realizing the largest promotional program ever carried out abroad, which includes:

- Direct communications plan to the American consumer, intended to develop the knowledge and the ability to recognize authentic Italian products. The first year of the campaign "Buy Authentic Italian. Get More" has registered one billion impressions. In just a few weeks, a specific communications plan dedicated to DOP, IGP, and organic products will be launched in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. A new promotional campaign will start in the second half of 2017;

- Agreements with retailers for a total of 12 promotions that involved 1,549 Italian companies and helped place 368 new suppliers on store shelves;

- Coming to major trade shows in Italy in collaboration with Cibus, Tuttofood, Sana Organic Show and Vinitaly. More than 300 American operators and journalists have traveled to Italy since 2015 as part of ICE Agency delegations;

- Attendance at trade shows in the US: Winter and Summer Fancy Food (San Francisco and New York) and PLMA in Chicago, dedicated to the private label.

For this edition of the summer show, ICE Agency provided Italian exhibiting companies with information and assistance and invited American food industry members to visit the Italian Pavilion and taste the products on display. The Lounge Italia hosted business meetings as well as daily show cooking sessions, a café area and a wine bar organized by Vinitaly International.

It is important to note that the show cooking area in the ​​Lounge Italia was dedicated exclusively to DOP, IGP and organic products, as part of the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

From June 26 to June 30 at the Astor Center in New York, ICE Agency in collaboration with Vinitaly International Academy held training seminars on Italian wine for specialized industry professionals.