Speciality-Food-Magazine-November-December-2024

specialityfoodmagazine.com 25 ITALIAN consumers to experiment with the flavour of truffle across their varied repertoire. “There is strong interest in the wide range of innovative products which enable consumers to experience the wonderful taste and aroma of truffles in a condiment/ sauce format that they are familiar with using,” says Rita. “In addition, the eye-catching, bright packaging and humorous graphics create great shelf- shout and allow our products to really stand out from the crowd. Be Truffle is essentially targeting all foodies, but in particular, the branding and ’truffle take’ on a number of British favourite condiments and sauces is likely to attract amore contemporary audience than those typically buying into the truffle category.” Stefano Cuomo, CEO of Macknade, agrees that amodern approach to traditional Italian cuisine is helping to bring recognition and understanding to a wider audience. “Mortadella is an example of an Italian food which historically has never been popular in the UK – in fact, it’s been likened to Spam– but this is changing, partly as a result of it becoming increasingly visible on social media,” he says. “It was my father’s favourite sandwich filling, and has long been highly prized in Bologna, but British shoppers weren’t sure what to do with it until now. These days, people are sharing videos of themusing it in recipes – as a topping for pizza, to pair with Burrata and pistachio as a starter and so on – so there’s now a level of education that wasn’t there before. This is just one example of how our more connected world is increasing the understanding of Italian cuisine.” Social mediamay bring people into speciality stores to pick up hitherto unfamiliar Italian foods, but when they are there it is up to the retailer to seal the deal. “Pricing is hugely important –we try to offer an ‘entry point’ price to bring in customers who are perhaps more used to paying less for a commodity product, so that they can experience something better and be educated around why that offers good value, plus amid- level price point and high level," says Stefano. "Nobody is going to use the high level product for everything, it’s more of a special occasion purchase, but so long as we make an effort to explain to our customers why our Italian items – for example olive oil – are more expensive than the basic alternatives they can get at the supermarket, we get the opportunity to share the producers’ story and bring an authentic taste of Italy to our audience. If our customers know the broader narratives behind the food they’re eating they’ll appreciate it evenmore. It’s our job as storytellers to bring the narrative of these superb products to our audience.” IL BORGO DEL BALSAMICO TRADITIONAL BALSAMIC VINEGAR OF REGGIO EMILIA This DOP Gold Label balsamic is made only with grapes from the Reggia Emilia region, and produced and aged to strict regulations. justgourmetfoods.co.uk WILDFARMED PIZZA FLOUR A high protein flour that delivers the stretchy, puffy dough needed for perfect pizza. Made with grain from Wildfarmed partner farms who use regenerative, nature-friendly methods. wildfarmed.co.uk GAROFALO TRADITIONAL PARCHMENT- WRAPPED LONG SPAGHETTI Extra-long spaghetti made using classic durum wheat pasta dough, attractively wrapped in parchment. pasta-garofalo.com SEGGIANO ROASTED ARTICHOKE HEARTS IN EVOO Seggiano’s artichokes are considered some of the most exquisite in the world. Once roasted over volcano rock, the hearts are preserved in extra virgin olive oil. seggiano.com STOCK CHECK S P E C I A L I T Y F O O D M A G A Z I N E * 2 0 2 4 * The appetite for Italian food in the UK is not only growing, it’s becoming more discerning