FIERA MILANO AND THE ITALIAN ASSOCIATION AMBASCIATORI DEL GUSTO TOGETHER TO TELL AND PROMOTE THE COUNTRY SYSTEM

Milan, 07 March 2022 - Quality Italian cuisine and, in general, the entire food and wine sector, are unquestionably a strategic asset for the promotion of the territory and the safeguard of Made in Italy throughout the world. A sector that, precisely because of its economic, social and cultural role, represents a powerful agent of valorisation, especially if combined with an unprecedented and strong operational synergy between all the players involved.

It is with these assumptions in mind that the Protocollo d’intesa was signed today between Fiera Milano and the Italian Association Ambasciatori del Gusto two organisations that in their respective fields of action have always been committed to the promotion of Made in Italy and that are now taking the field together, in favour of a more complete and coherent account of the territory's extraordinary uniqueness as well as a more cohesive, and fruitful, dialogue with the institutions.

The experience and inducement of Fiera Milano, the leading trade fair operator in Italy and one of the best in the world, thus meet the professionalism and excellence of Ambasciatori del Gusto an association that includes all the professional categories of quality Italian cuisine. The aim is to team up 'with and for' the country, developing information and promotion activities and initiatives aimed at improving the knowledge and awareness of both consumers and professionals by qualifying Italian products.

Presenting the unprecedented collaboration, with the Mayor of Milan Beppe Sala, Luca Palermo, CEO of Fiera Milano and Ambasciatori del Gusto Gianluca De Cristofaro, Carlo Cracco and Viviana Varese.

"It is a happy moment for Italian products abroad and we have the duty to enhance, also thanks to the agreement with the Italian Association of Taste Ambassadors, the excellence we can boast in the food, hospitality, tourism and art sectors," comments Luca Palermo, CEO and general manager of Fiera Milano. "We want to create greater awareness of the 'beautiful and good' by promoting the system synergies of our Made in Italy. With Ambasciatori del Gusto we want to bring the Italian spirit in all its forms, through food, making culture also during the days of the event that represent the most important moment of meeting for companies from all over the world. Italian exports, which in 2021 exceeded pre-pandemic levels, will touch over 500 billion by 2023, with a growth of 24% compared to 2020: all this is thanks to the quality of Italian products. Today, we are ready to tell this beautiful story, together”.

"Realizing a collaboration project with those who have been hosting and managing international level events for over one hundred years has a considerable symbolic value, increasingly determining our ability to network with Authorities and Institutions. An agreement dedicated to the promotion of the country system that inevitably passes through quality Italian cuisine, with identity and culture, millenary characteristics that must be told and presented in a new way. This is the only way we can give it back that intrinsic value - economic, social and cultural - that it undoubtedly represents, concretising a new model of circular economy that also and above all involves the territories,' said Gianluca De Cristofaro, technical-scientific manager of the Ambasciatori del Gusto.

"This agreement confirms the love and passion with which we work every day, despite the continuous and enormous difficulties, to make Italian cuisine an example of real quality. Committing ourselves to promoting and safeguarding it, starting from the very territory to which we belong, is also a due act for the generations to which we will pass the baton of Made in Italy. We must ensure that the torch that lights up the excellence of our sector always stays lit, we cannot allow it to fade. To do this we obviously need to move in synergy with those who know, promote and govern the country,' explained Carlo Cracco, Ambasciatore del Gusto

"This agreement represents a precious opportunity for quality Italian cuisine, which, it should be remembered, is declined in many different disciplines and professions of which we Ambassadors of Taste are the proud spokesmen. From chefs to master pizza makers and pastry chefs, we all have a common goal: to bring out the excellence and uniqueness of what we know how to do in Italy to make it even more recognisable, appreciated and valuable. Together with Fiera Milano and the Institutions, we can truly generate a virtuous circle that restores strength to the entire country by offering growth opportunities to young people but also new prospects to those who today, more than ever, must reinvent themselves," commented Viviana Varese, Ambasciatori del Gusto.

"Milan has the ambition to return to welcoming visitors from all over the world, and we are proud to have already welcomed more than one million visitors in this 2022," said Luca Martinazzoli, general manager of Milano & Partners, the official agency of the city of Milan that promotes the YesMilano brand in the world. "The Fiera Milano system and the world of catering and gastronomy are the engines that are supporting the restart of our city. The partnership between Fiera Milano and the Ambasciatori del Gusto offers the opportunity to design with greater synergy the offer of our territory and promote globally an idea of a city that is unique, functional and welcoming for business and ideal for discovering the flavours of Made in Italy in an innovative way".