ITALMOPA LAUNCHED TWO PROGRAMMES APPROVED AND CO-FINANCED BY

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Since 2021 Italmopa has been active in promoting the distinctive features of Italian flour and semolina in three target markets: India, USA and Canada. Two programmes presented by Italmopa were approved and cofinanced by European Commission using the funds available under Regulation (EU) 1144/2014 for information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries.

The first programme

Launched in 2021, the first programme is directed to the Indian market and aims to promote the consumption of Italian soft wheat flour in the target market, by raising awareness of the benefits of its use both for traditional Indian dishes and for Italian products (such as pizza, bread, cakes and pastries etc.) as well as the high levels of food safety that distinguish European and Italian products. The campaign builds on the opportunity offered by an increasingly receptive Indian market, where there is a growing trend towards the purchase of packaged flour rather than locally-milled unpackaged flour as well as increased attention to food safety.

In a land of many-splendoured flavours and food specialities, with so many local ingredients and tastes, it might seem surprising to be recommending, and more than that, promoting, a flour from so far away: Italy, to be exact. And yet, there is a very good reason: the excellence of the promoted product. The high quality of Italian soft wheat flour, with its long history and traditions, combined with the technological excellence of the modern Italian milling industry, gives reliable and dependably excellent results for not only the world of flour-based Indian specialities, but also for Italian and European specialities which have become part of Indian cuisine and diet, as well as innovative and fusion dishes that may have originated in Europe but are now stamped with the indelible taste and exotic ingredients of the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, capitalizing on the image, quality, safety, traceability, sustainability and uniqueness of Italian soft wheat flour, the programme is increasing the visibility and awareness as well as the sales of Italian wheat flour in India through a cohesive “Enjoy - It’s from Europe” campaign, underpinned by the theme “Pure Flour from Europe”. Italy is the third country in terms of exports of soft wheat flour to India with a value of 108,000 EUR at the end of 2021, preceded by Sri Lanka (892,000 EUR) and the United Arab Emirates (about 400,000 EUR). The Italian market share, in terms of flour imports to India, was 6.6% at the end of 2021 (compared to only 2.8% in 2019).

Definitive data available for the first 10 months of 2022 show a doubling of exports of Italian soft wheat compared to the same period in 2021; if this trend is confirmed, conceivably, the export value would reach at least 150,000160,000 EUR, representing an increase of 50% compared to 2021. The programme, now almost at the end of its second year of implementation, comprises of the organization of numerous field activities (the participation in international trade fairs, press events, cooking workshops aimed at chefs and students, online chef contests and InStore promotions all in India as well as study visits and press/ educational tours in Italy) aimed at three target groups (distribution professionals/ HoReCa channels, opinion leaders and final consumers) which are supported by the dissemination of campaign messages through the dedicated website, social media, an advertising campaign in Indian trade and consumer magazines and collaboration with important food influencers and bloggers in India.

The second programme

Launched in 2022, the second programme aims first and foremost to stimulate the export of organic European wheat flours and organic semolina to Canada and the USA, two of the countries in the world with the highest demand for organic products, thus also favouring the upstream supply chain that shall foster land conversion from agricultural crops grown by conventional production towards organic production. Both markets have a significant local production of “organic and non-organic” flours (less so in the case of semolina) but the fame of European wheat flours and semolina as well as their association with popular and highly-regarded Italian dishes and final products (pizza, pasta, bread, cakes and pastries) represent an excellent driving force for promoting a greater penetration in the two North American markets.

The Italian exports

In 2020, Italian exports of organic wheat flour to the United States amounted to approximately 1.5 million EUR (the third largest exporting country to the United States after Canada and India), which increased to 2 million EUR in 2021 and over 3 million EUR in the first 11 months of 2022 with a marked increasing trend. As regards Italian exports of organic wheat flour to Canada, in 2020 they amounted to around 300,000 EUR (the third largest exporting country for exports to Canada after the United States and India), substantially stable in 2021 and almost 400,000 EUR in the first 11 months of 2022, also in this case with a marked increasing trend. The trend in the two countries is positive with a greater acceleration in the United States where the level of exports of both conventional and organic Italian wheat flour has an even greater weight.

As in the case of India, the campaign strategy is directed to three target groups (food sector professionals, opinion makers and final consumers) and uses different communication channels aiming to convey the high quality that characterises European organic wheat flours and semolina in order to make them a conscious choice in the two target markets, increasing their sales at the same time.

The campaign will also count on the current growing trends in the consumption of conventional and, above all, organic flour and semolina recorded in the two target markets to effectively reach the target groups and obtain an immediate and lasting result regarding the reputation of the promoted products and their market share.

The messages chosen for the campaign aim to communicate in contents and images the quality, food safety (traceability), taste, versatility and above all environmental sustainability of European organic wheat flours and semolina. As in the case of India, the field activities (participation in international trade fairs, press events, workshops and InStore promotions in the target markets and press/ educational tours in Italy) are supported by the dissemination of campaign messages through the dedicated website, social media, advertising campaigns in trade and consumer magazines and collaboration with important food influencers and bloggers. Italmopa