ISMEA has published the 2023 Report "Italian sounding: how much it is worth and how to transform it into made in Italy exports" , created as part of the National Rural Network Program (Plan 2021-23 - Project Sheet 10.1 Internationalization).
The Italian agri-food chain represents one of the pillars of the competitiveness of Made in Italy in the world, thanks to its food and wine excellence, the quality of the productions and the historical tradition rooted in the territories; foreign appreciation for Italian production is demonstrated by the continuous growth of exports in recent years.
However, the phenomenon of Italian sounding, the focus of this Report, is putting pressure on the competitiveness of authentic Made in Italy exports , i.e. the use of names, geographical references, images, color combinations and brands that evoke Italy on labels and packaging of non-Italian agri-food products.
To quantify the phenomenon, ISMEA carried out a survey with the aim, on the one hand, of investigating the presence of traditional Italian agri-food products on supermarket shelves around the world , and on the other , calculating the period necessary to transform Italian sounding into made in Italy exports , quantifying the potential production capacity of the impacted sectors.
In particular, the survey was carried out through the administration of a questionnaire addressed to over 250 international retailers distributed in the 10 countries of the world where the phenomenon is most marked, analyzing 11 typical Made in Italy products.
The results of the survey show how the phenomenon of Italian sounding for this analysis cluster is worth 11.7 billion euros , on average 55% more than national exports of these products in selected foreign markets. (Source: https://www.reterurale.it/ )
Italian sounding, ISMEA 2023 Report