A country’s food is a good interpretation of its history and culture.
Italy is a nation of gourmets, this is partly due to its unique geological advantages, i.e., typical Mediterranean climate, varied terrain and adequate sunshine, which make it possible for Italy, a big agricultural EU country, to produce a great variety of quality food. Quality Italian products like wine, bread, cheeses and olive oil are not only healthy and tasty, but widely applicable to the modern life.
Italians are very similar to the Chinese that in both countries, food hold the family, community and society together, and that people’s lives are centered on the dining table. As Chinese require an increasingly higher quality of life, their “stomachs” are becoming more open than ever before. Against this background, the reunion of China and Italy, a pair of old friends who have made exchanges since the existence of ancient Silk Road, naturally has a special meaning.
China is the Country having the greatest economic potential for Italian companies. The strong Chinese middle class, estimated around 300 million of people, is the main source of an increasing demand appealing not only to domestic production, but also to the foreign one.
Made in Italy and Italian agrifood are the most requested products by the new chinese middle class. And this request is continuously growing.
Even if Chinese eating habits are very different from the Italian one and even if (both in China and in Italy) food culture is very rooted and articulated, the italian agrifood products are characterized by unique features giving the opportunity to all companies to find an excellent positioning into the local market.
A few examples may help to understand this phenomenon. In spite of the impossibility of a coordinated promotion and distribution on large range, the excellent price and quality of Italian wines give greatest opportunities in comparison to the other competitors of other countries. Also olive oil, culturally very far from the Chinese habits, is gradually entering into the most advanced areas of the local food market, especially thanks to its health benefits. As well, the reliability of our supply chains and the scrupulous traceability of our products are particularly appreciated by Chinese consumers, more and more interested in safe and quality foods.
If the intrinsic characteristics of our products are key elements for the growth of Italian agrifood sector in China, another thrust element is represented by the possibility to access into the market. Today, thanks to the lobbying action implemented by Italian Institutions, the legislation on food imports, though still stiff, suggests a more open approach and gives new opportunities to all products that, in the past, were not allowed.
Another positive aspect regards the great number of trade fairs, facilitating the spread of information, and the huge opportunity offered by the e-commerce industry (that can be particularly useful for small/medium Italian companies, which are the most numerous in our agrifood sector and the most interested in accessing to a large market with significant money saving)
Quality, taste, excellent price, reliability of the supply chains and scrupulous traceability of the products are all typical elements of Made in Italy agrifood and enables our products to succeed in the world. China, for its peculiarities, represents the new frontier (a frontier having an unlimited absorbability).
