By After a year off, the Winter Fancy Food Show returns.
The magic of Las Vegas, along with a new exceptional location like the Las Vegas Convention Center, will be this year’s new “winter home” for this food and beverage show, the biggest and most important of its kind in North America and currently considered by many industry professionals to be the most important in the world.
Italy’s excellence will come to life in the traditional Italian Pavilion, once again the largest exhibition space in the whole show’s international area, 85 companies and 800 m2.
The Italian Pavilion will, as always, present the entire range of Made in Italy food and beverage products under the distinctive banner, “The Extraordinary Italian Taste.”
There will be plenty of new items and attractions; the Italian companies will be situated in a dedicated area, a structure with a strong visual impact created by colors and images of Italy recalling the quality of the products on display.
The traditional Lounge organized by the ICE (Italian Trade Agency) will bring back the special area dedicated to the ITALIAN APERITIVO with a professional bartender who will prepare the highest quality cocktails for the occasion – a taste for all visitors in pure Italian Style.
Cooking demos, wine tasting, organized by the companies at their own stands will include Italian chefs and sommeliers, working to create dishes, offer samples and demonstrations of recipes from the great Italian gastronomic tradition.
Based on information from the ICE Agency in New York and according to data from the US Department of Commerce regarding the period of January to October 2021, US foreign trade is continuing to recover at a steady pace.
The US’s overall trade with the rest of the world has recorded an increase of +22.1% in this period, as compared to the same period last year.
The progress of US-Italy trade continues to reinforce the strong increase noted in the previous analyses, +21.7%, in sharp contrast with the European average (+1%).
Italy holds 14th place among US trade partners and 6th among European partners after Germany, United Kingdom, Holland, Ireland, and Switzerland.
According to ISTAT data, in the January-August 2021 period, Italy-US trade in August recorded an increase of +15.5%.
The United States remains Italy’s third partner county.
Regarding the sector progress of US imports from Italy, in October 2021, the Made in Italy sector dedicated to food and agriculture products and beverages recorded an increase of (+21.4%).
Italy, instead, is the primary supplier of the US, with very high market shares, for nearly all the typical Made in Italy specialties: pasta, olive oil, cheeses, balsamic vinegar, mineral water, gelato.
“Italian culture has long held a place in the hearts and minds of consumers in the US,” said Bill Lynch, president, Specialty Food Association. “At the Fancy Food Shows, Italy is exceptional at celebrating its culinary treasures, with the Italian Pavilion being a major destination for buyers, and I look forward to seeing this continue in the coming years.”
We are delighted to return to the Fancy Food Show with an Italian participation larger than ever at the winter edition, declares Antonino Laspina, director of the ICE Agency in New York and coordinator of the USA network in a new location that is traditional for conferences and fairs and well appreciated. The Italian producers are ready to restart. The proof is in the large number of exhibitors from Italy and the representatives of about fifteen Italian companies with offices in the USA. The Lounge Italia will be, as usual, the meeting point for those who offer and those who receive and appreciate Italian excellence. We will celebrate the reunion concludes Antonino Laspina with an Italian Aperitivo and with a great desire to work to return to normalcy soon.
“Finally, we’re back!” declared Donato Cinelli, president of Universal Marketing, the exclusive agent for Italy of the Specialty Food Association. “We’re back with an even stronger and high-performing winter version of Fancy Food,” continued Cinelli, “demonstrating, now more than ever, how important and strategic this trade show is.
With the new normal, companies will be even more selective in choosing where to go with their products, and Fancy Food, be it Winter or Summer, represents a constant in their schedule of events.
Even post-pandemic, Italian companies have clearly chosen Fancy Food, and we are very happy about this, because for more than thirty years as Universal Marketing, we’ve focused many resources on this American event, continually convinced of the show’s great potential.
We’ve noted a very significant number of members,” Cinelli concluded, “at a difficult time, a time still filled with uncertainty; this is the best answer to our vision for now and the future.
