GREAT SUCCESS FOR THE LoST EU PROJECT IN SWEDEN | 26-30 NOVEMBER 2024

The days of tasting, masterclasses and promotion in stores organised as part of the Lost Eu Project from 26 to 30 November attracted great interest and participation from the Swedish public . An entire week of events spread across various cities and locations in the country, which represented a unique and rare opportunity to introduce the pool of those consumers to niche Italian products that are completely unknown in the Nordic markets.

Thanks to the collaboration with numerous Swedish professionals in the sector, who shared the ethical demands of sustainability and protection of territorial traditions inherent in the LoST project, and thanks to the partnership with the Italian Embassy in Sweden which helped to convey the communication, for an entire week it was possible to turn the spotlight on production realities unknown in Sweden, such as the small DOP cheeses of Lost, coming from different Italian regional contexts.

The initiatives to promote and enhance Italian PDO cheeses began on Tuesday 26 November in Stockholm at the Ica Kvantum Vartan shop, where thanks to the promotional stand located inside the store, the Swedish consumer public was able to taste the different PDO cheeses in the basket, receiving information on their production techniques, their territorial origin and their historical importance in the different regional production contexts. Over the two days of Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 November at the Ica Store in the capital, the producers were also able to meet numerous professionals, such as the buyer of Wijnjas Wholesale , an important Swedish food distributor, or shopkeepers who asked for the contacts of the producers present to start collaborations.

The main event of the foreign mission in Sweden took place on Wednesday, November 27 , represented by a masterclass dedicated to business professionals in the sector (importers, distributors and Delicatessen shop owners) and to the Food journalists of the capital. The day was hosted by the prestigious Wenner-Gren Center, a panoramic tower of the Store Sabis chain from which it is possible to admire the entire old city of Stockholm from above.

In the conference room on the ground floor, the Masterclass dedicated to Swedish journalists and professionals was held at 2.00 pm, where the producers were able to illustrate the various PDOs in the LoST basket thanks to the video supports present in the location, describing their characteristics and production areas.

After a greeting from the Italian Ambassador to Sweden , the masterclass by the Swedish food and wine journalist, member of the Royal Gastronomic Academy, Karsten Thurfjell was of great interest. In his speech, he not only underlined the importance of Europe protecting these small productions and supporting their promotion, but also introduced on stage some members of small Swedish PDO cheese producers, urging the producers of the two nations to unite for a common battle in order to raise awareness among European public opinion about the protection of artisanal production, which is the soul of territories that are otherwise marginal and at risk of depopulation, such as mountains and high hills.

The debate at the end of the conference was very heated, with interventions by numerous Swedish journalists and professionals in the sector , who raised interesting questions regarding sustainability , consumer health in relation to these products, and possible solutions to make these cheeses importable and present on the Swedish market. It is significant that none of those present had ever heard of these Italian DOP cheeses, and everyone welcomed the initiative as an opportunity of enormous interest , which was able to capture the curiosity of the market, accustomed to repeating during the year moments dedicated only to the great Italian dairy productions.

At the end of the Masterclass, the Walk Around Tasting began in the Tasting Room at the top of the Tower with tasting stands dedicated to each of the eight DOPs in the LoST basket, where, in the presence of the producers, over 100 professionals were able to taste the products and receive information about their characteristics, techniques and production contexts.

The Swedish business world was very active , with a varied audience of interested parties present in the room, from shopkeepers such as Androuet and VinOliv to importers such as Fiordilatte Food and Italianfood Selection , to journalists from numerous specialist publications.

Concurrently with the masterclass and the Walk around tasting at the Wenner-Gren Centre, the in-store promotions of Lost PDO cheeses continued on Wednesday 27, Thursday 28 and Friday 29 November , with a promotional and educational stand in the Cheese Room of the Sabis Karlaplan store, a true food and wine boutique, which has been dictating the tastes and trends of quality food and wine among the high-spending Swedish public for over ten years.

But that's not all. The Lost Eu Project has also reached the south of Sweden where it has organized two more promotional days on November 29 and 30 in Malmo, Lund and Lomma, hosted by the chain of stores of the Italianissimo group. Here, during the two days, also thanks to the collaboration of the store staff trained in the previous weeks, educational and promotional tastings dedicated to Swedish consumers took place, very receptive and enthusiastic about the proposal, given the scarcity of initiatives of this kind dedicated to quality Italian food and wine that are normally concentrated in the capital alone, neglecting other important cities in the Swedish economic and commercial panorama.

The Lost Eu Project promotion week in Sweden was therefore a great opportunity for promotion and knowledge, and represented an important first step for the creation of new links and new cultural exchanges between Italy and Sweden, starting from the key words of sustainability, protection of small productions and territories.