Pasquale Salzano (second left), Ambassador of Italy to Qatar; Giosafat Rigano (second right), Italian Trade Commissioner to Qatar; Antonio Franceschini (left), Head of International Market and Trade Promotion Office at Italian National Confederation of th
Italy is poised to have a strong presence at the Hospitality Qatar 2019, which opens tomorrow at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), with a national pavilion highlighting the new Breakfast Made in Italy (BMII) concept with the participation of 36 Italian companies.
“Thanks to the cooperation between the Italian Embassy, the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian National Confederation of the Craft Sector and Small and Medium Enterprises (CNA), Italian companies specialised in Italian supplies will showcase in Doha a selection of products, equipment and services for preparing the authentic Italian morning breakfast,” Italian Ambassador Pasquale Salzano said at a press conference held at his residence to announce the launch of BMII.
Drawing inspiration from Italy’s tradition and expertise in the hospitality sector and a variety of products that represent a new breakfast “moment,” BMII becomes a fundamental experience and promotes the Italian lifestyle in the world. With this project, CNA aims at creating a format for the Breakfast sector to allow Italian companies, even the smallest ones, to internationalize and become an example for the entire sector. “As bilateral trade between Italy and Qatar continues to grow, including in foodstuff and related services, we are confident that BMII will be a new business platform for connecting hotel operators, HORECA suppliers and investors,” said Salzano.
“We invite companies and individuals to visit the Italian exhibition area at Hospitality Qatar and find their preferred options of “Italian breakfast set”, capable to recreate the perfect experience of the Italian morning breakfast, here in Qatar and everywhere,” added the ambassador.
Giosafat Rigano, Italian Trade Commissioner to Qatar, echoed the same view on the growing bilateral trade between Qatar and Italy in which he also noted the growth in the food sector.
“In the first six months of this year, trade volume between Italy and Qatar increased by 23 percent reaching a value of €1.4b and the food sector increased by 9 percent reaching €22m, so this is just a tangible expression of our very positive relations,” said Rigano.
“Breakfast Made in Italy is an innovative project mainly aiming at introducing and sharing all over the world a multi-sensorial experience based on the well-known concepts of Mediterranean diet. What we are presenting is not only final products but all the supply chain is embodied in this project such as ingredients, kitchen equipment, and furniture,” explained Rigano.
The participating Italian companies will be looking to creating cooperation with Qatari companies at the event, he said. “During the three-day exhibition we arranged several B2B meetings with F&B managers from five, six and seven-star hotels in Doha in order to give further boost to our commercial relations. More than 50 meetings have already been arranged inside our BMII booth between CNA and the main players in the market,” said Rigano.
Antonio Franceschini, CNA’s Head of International Market and Trade Promotion Office, said CNA was established in 1946 and currently has more than 1,000 offices and over 700,000 members. He said the brands taking part at the exhibition comprise companies covering North and South of Italy and offering wide-ranging products.
Roberto Corbelli, Art Director of BMII, underlined the project also focuses on sustainability with the presence of companies offering organic food products such as jam and coffee, as well as companies that involved in design and furniture to create an authentic Italian breakfast moment. Breakfast Made in Italy can be experienced at the Italian pavilion at DECC Hall 2 from November 12 to 14 from 1pm to 9pm.