12,000 visitors at the Stazione Leopolda, a 20% increase, and a 35% rise in members of the trade. Taste’s success is increasingly transforming Florence into the Italian capital of taste.
“Taste is growing and establishing itself as a reference event in Italy – and abroad – for quality food culture”, says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine. “This has been proven once again at this edition: all the exhibitors told us about the very high level of visitors, in terms of members of the trade as well as food connoisseurs and enthusiasts of niche food and wine products. Apart from the growth in overall attendance, we were particularly pleased with the numbers and quality of the buyers and trade visitors present. 1,600 buyers attended over the three days of the event with a rise in foreign buyers, the highest numbers coming from the United States, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, Russia and Brazil. This is a clear sign that Taste is increasingly becoming the ideal platform for making business contacts and presenting products to international buyers involved in high range food and wine distribution”.
“Everybody, members of the trade as well as the public of devotees, participated enthusiastically in the tour around the 250 companies exhibiting at Taste”, adds Agostino Poletto, Marketing Director of Pitti Immagine. “They greatly appreciated the combination of design and food, as well as the carefully crafted layouts. This made discovering the products a more interesting experience, creating a relaxed and happy atmosphere. The special projects at the Leopolda were also a success: the Risto-Taste layout by Italesse with designer Luca Nichetto, the “paper market” organized by Guido Tommasi Editore, the photographic exhibitions by “Sette” and “IO Donna” magazines from the RCS Group, and the weekly magazine, DLa Repubblica. All the “FuoriDiTaste” events were sold out. We truly believe that, thanks to its tradition and research into contemporary foods, Florence is one of the world capitals of taste and we want to make sure that Taste and the city become increasingly integrated”.
There was incredible public participation in the meetings and tastings with the Grandi Vecchi del Vino [Great Old Men of Wine], men who made Italian winemaking history, and the Taste Ring on bread with the Cavalieri della Cucina (Knights of Italian Cuisine), featuring some of the country’s top chefs discussing one of the key elements of our food and wine culture.
