Urbani Tartufi is the number one brand in the United States, a super excellence, which we have the pleasure of talking about, here at our box at Summer Fancy Food, with Vittorio Giordano, the company’s vice president.
How did you earn this place in such a competitive market?
We have to thank previous generations of the Urbani family who years ago started going to different countries, especially the United States, where we have evidence of Urbani presence as early as 1947. Then it was an evolution. We try to spread the product by educating the consumer on the correct use of truffles. Breaking away from the Italian tradition, here in the U.S. we develop different ideas and as a result the truffle fits into different, more international menus and this allows us to stabilize our presence.
How do you educate the American palate?
Today it is definitely easier than in the past, thanks to social media, the fact that we travel more. We then have a network of sales and brand ambassadors that allows us to talk directly with chefs, whom we ask to do courses for their staff and to organize evenings during which we talk about truffles, dedicated dinners where the customer comes to taste the truffle but also to learn more about its origin and use.
There are about 400 Italian companies here at Padiglio Italia, and the data reflect an increase in demand for Italian products. We can say that duties are not stopping Made in Italy; on the contrary, Americans like it more and more. What positive message can we send?
Made in Italy is a brand and we, as Italians, should manage it as such, I think it is valued more abroad than in Italy. There is a lot of interest here, we lead the food market in the U.S., we are leaders in this and we have to continue to educate customer. Then yes, the duties are impinging but we have to try to manage this situation.
What are the future plans?
There are so many, we are working on brand repositioning, and on new partnerships at the level of chefs and luxury brands. The concept of bringing two Italian brands together, even if not the same sector, for example food and fashion or automotive, works very well here, and that’s what we want to do to strengthen the presence of made in Italy.