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Home > GERMANY > Geschftsveranstaltungen
ISM 2007: SEDUCED BY ITALIAN SWEETS
Rome (Ign) - An ideal occasion for those with a sweet tooth. From 28 to 31 January, Cologne in Germany, will be hosting ISM 2007 (www.ism-cologne.com), a show entirely dedicated to the confectionery industry, and a key event for all the experts in the sector. The last condition had record figures, with 1635 exhibitors from 155 countries, and over 35,000 visitors. For this edition the organisers expect 60% of the participants to be from abroad and an increase in those from outside Europe, in particular from South America, North Africa and the Middle East. Italy will also be present at the event, with a collective delegation of 50 companies organised by the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE).
In effect, the Italian sweet industry could not afford to miss the show: according to Federalimentare figures (www.federalimentare.it), in 2004 the sweet sector achieved overall production of 1.7m tonnes (of which 32.7 destined for foreign markets), with production value of almost €10bn. The sector is the second most important in the entire food business after cheese and dairy products, and holds second place for food exports after wine. Over the last ten years, production has risen by 13.9% in volume and by 32.9% in value. Highest growth was seen in the sector of chocolate (+18.4%), followed by baked products (+17.6%) and ice-creams (+4.6%). Exports also rose in 2004, by 3.3%, with a trade surplus of €835m.
In 2005, a third of the turnover of the Italian confectionery industry is to be ascribed to the production of chocolate: around 350,000 tonnes and a turnover of almost €3bn. Pride of place in the Italian confectionery scene is taken by pralines, bars of chocolate and cocoa-based creams, which have by now occupied all segments of this market, including the luxury end. This is thanks to a series of much-loved internationally famous products, such as the gianduia cream Nutella (created in 1964), which has become a global brand known and appreciated all over the world.
Created in the 19th century, gianduia owes its name to the famous carnival mask from Piedmont, and its fame to the hazelnut and cocoa paste that makes it one of the prides of the Italian confectionery tradition. Today, gianduia is a category of chocolate recognised by the Codex Alimentarius, the most authoritative international standard in the food sector. As often happens, its invention was the result of a situation of need, in this case the scarcity of cocoa in the period of Napoleonic occupation. To get round the problem, the Piedmont pastry chefs thought of blending cocoa with chopped hazelnuts, and of using the typical trapezoidal form obtained by shaping the paste with a spoon. Today, the basic gianduia recipe is still the same: at least 32% cocoa and between 20% and 40% ground hazelnuts, a method of preparation that has been followed for 150 years now, and continues to be a great success.
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