THE "EUROPEAN EXCELLENCE IS AN ART FORM" CAMPAIGN CONCLUDES ITS ACTIVITIES AND PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF THE THREE-YEAR PERIOD 16 g

The project, launched in 2021 and aimed at the promotion and communication of PDO and PGI branded products, has achieved considerable success through the implementation of various activities in the three reference countries. With regard to the Italian market, over 15 million consumers were reached through the production of press content and the collaboration with the renowned Italian cooking media Chef in Camicia , which created 12 recipes dedicated to the protagonist products, shared on the social channels of reference.

The partnership with Italia a Tavola has also contributed to promoting these European excellences among an audience interested in the sector, through the creation of articles, promoting awareness of them to over 500,000 potential customers .

Over the course of three years, the campaign was the protagonist of the events Les Toques Blanches D'Honneur, in Naples in 2021, and Golosaria Milano, for the 2022 and 2023 editions. Finally, over 300 tasting stations were set up in the major large-scale retail chains 'Italy, allowing the products to be known and appreciated by over 300,000 consumers and professionals.

The "European Excellence is an Art Form" campaign has greatly enriched the understanding and appeal of the participating products. This path fits perfectly into the dynamic scenario of the food industry, constantly evolving to adapt to changes in consumer behavior, increasingly oriented towards a healthy and sustainable diet, characterized by artisanal and local ingredients.

From the Ismea-Qualivita 2023 Report on PDO, PGI and TSG production in Italy, there are as many as 853 food and wine products certified with the PDO and PGI mark in our country and, in the last year alone, 8 have been added. This is not only a reflection of the proliferation of the PDO economy at a European level, but also a testimony to its positive impact.

In the last 10 years, a 33% increase - over 2 billion euros - has been recorded in the value of production, accompanied by a 66% increase in the export of DOP and IGP agri-food products, such as Prosciutto di Carpegna DOP, Pruneaux d'Agen PGI and PDO and PGI products from Wallonia.

In Italy, in particular, sales of PDO and PGI products in large-scale retail trade exceeded 5.4 billion euros in 2022 and grew by 8.2% in the first nine months of 2023.

A great success for the "European excellence is an art form" campaign, which achieves the set objective of developing awareness and increasing awareness relating to European certification marks in the three-year promotional period, reflecting the growing preference for authenticity and quality of products in the European gastronomic panorama.

Further information relating to the taste masterpieces featured in the campaign, guaranteed by the quality marks of the European Union, is available at https://it.eurofoodart.eu/.

ABOUT THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE CAMPAIGN

The Bureau national Interprofessionnel du Pruneau brings together and represents all the French producers of pruneaux d'Agen and the workers in its supply chain. The BIP also provides scientific and technical monitoring in order to promote the quality of the product and develop its image and reputation in France and abroad. This organization is financed by voluntary contributions collected from the actors involved upstream and downstream in the sector.

The Carpegna Prosciutto Consortium is an Italian association that aims to preserve and control the production process of Carpegna raw ham. Born in 2015, it aims to protect and enhance Prosciutto di Carpegna DOP in terms of values, characteristics, seasoning and production methods which allowed it to obtain the DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) in 1996.

APAQ-W is an organization from the Walloon region whose main missions are to raise awareness of local agriculture and products, as well as valorising the workers in the production chain, their know-how and the quality of the products. This body has belonged to the agri-food sector since 2003 and its supervisory body is the Walloon Ministry of Agriculture