Source: Unioncamere press office
Rome, 09/05/2022 – The brand Ospitalità Italiana (Italian Hospitality) for Italian pizzerias in the world is born. The initiative, promoted by Unioncamere with the
technical-scientific support of Isnart (National Institute for Tourism Research), aims at identifying, qualifying and enhancing the facilities that make quality, Italian distinctiveness and
the binomial destination – Italian tourism product, the central elements of their offer.
In the pre-pandemic period, the sector had 150 thousand employees in Italy, for a turnover of 15 billion euro in Italy and at least over 60 in the world[1].
The latest available data tell us that the restaurants and pizzerias run by Italians abroad number 72 thousand and gross over 27 billion euro a year.
8[2] million pizzas are sold every day in Italy alone, and 5 billion worldwide. From Italy, where it originated, the passion for pizza has spread to every corner of the world. Americans are the
biggest consumers with 13 kilos per head while, in Europe, it is the Italians who lead the ranking with 7.6 kilos per year. In second place are the Spaniards, in third place, tied with the French
and Germans[3].
In such a complex scenario and with such a widespread consumption of pizza, the Ospitalità Italiana nel Mondo (Italian Hospitality in the World) brand for Italian pizzerias becomes one of the most
important institutional measures to defend this symbol of Italian tradition from numerous attempts to plagiarise it and to protect the traditional characteristics of its production process and the
primacy of its ingredients.
After restaurants and ice-cream parlours, therefore, pizzerias too will be able to boast a distinctive recognition capable of making them stand out from the market thanks to the elements of quality
and Italian character, ascertained through objective and impartial checks.
The specifications for Italian pizzerias in the world allow for the consideration of every type of pizza characteristic of the various Italian regions (e.g. Neapolitan pizza, pinsa, Roman pizza,
etc.) and is composed of 10 rules that range from the professionalism of the pizzaioli, to the service offered, to the products used for the recipes and/or offered on the menu and on the drinks
menu, to the presence of certain types of recipes that are particularly present in Italy, with attention paid to the use of the Italian language for certain specific passages that affect
communication.
It is precisely on this latter aspect that the initiative is focused, with tools designed specifically for businesses that pass the Italian Hospitality pathway, both ‘tangible’ such as
certificates and plaques, and ‘virtual’ such as those in the social kit specifically created to accompany the digital promotion of businesses that want to distinguish themselves as businesses
loyal to typical Italian products.
Obtaining the Ospitalità Italiana (Italian Hospitality) seal is a way of preserving and promoting, through quality food culture, the Italian production system and Italy’s ability to keep the
attention of its admirers alive, inspiring even new ones, but it is also an opportunity for all those entrepreneurs who want to become part of an internationally recognised network that has more
than 2200 businesses including restaurants and gelato parlours made in Italy, in 60 countries around the world and in 456 major cities. A network that was established in 2009 and expands year after
year, thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad, with new enterprises and new specifications to certify and promote the activities that most represent gastronomy but
also the culture and history of our country.
The Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad work constantly on the promotion of Italian agri-food products to make foreign consumers know and appreciate our country’s products and help Italian
companies to be more and more competitive on international markets. – says Gian Domenico Auricchio, President of Assocamerestero – Italian restaurants abroad are often the
first point of contact between the consumer and our culinary traditions, and the extension of the Ospitalità Italiana seal to the world of pizzerias confirms the strong commitment of the Italian
Chamber system in identifying and supporting those abroad who are the bearers of true Italian tradition, and who play a fundamental role in educating customers about quality consumption and in
contrasting the phenomenon of Italian Sounding, which is becoming increasingly widespread throughout the world.
With the specifications for pizza parlours, Unioncamere and Isnart add another important piece to the picture of Italian quality in the world. This is a concrete response to the
foreign Chambers that have strongly desired and believed in this work and to consumers and connoisseurs of Italian cuisine who, from now on, will be able to enjoy real sensory experiences
guaranteed by our pizza, an icon of Italian food and wine culture that has been able to overcome, well before other dishes, national borders and conquered the world also thanks to its essence of
‘ante litteram’ street food, – says Roberto Di Vincenzo, President of Isnart – I am convinced that the Italian Hospitality Seal, extended to Italian pizzerias, can
concretely help operators who hold our flag high abroad. I am also convinced that this additional atout, designed to distinguish ‘Italian authenticity’, can help bring a new tourism to Italy,
recovering confidence in travelling – thanks also to the spread of vaccines and the reduction of restrictions to contain the pandemic – and act as a flywheel for the recovery of tourism in our
country, stimulating the recovery of foreign demand.
[1] Source CNA 2018
[2] Source Il Sole 24 Ore
[3] Source Coldiretti
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