Taste of Italy programme kicks off in HCM City

The “Taste of Italy” programme kicked off on Thursday at MM Mega Market An Phu in HCM City, providing a wide range of selections of high quality Italian food and beverage, and promotional activities. — VNA/VNS Photo My Phuong

The event promotes Italian products and specialties, and introduces Italian food culture to Vietnamese consumers.

Customers not only have the opportunity to experience and taste Italian food specialties, they can also buy products at the most competitive prices at 12 MM stores nationwide.

It focuses on delivering the indispensable ingredients in Italian cuisines, including Filippo Berio olive oil, Barilla spaghetti noodles, Annalisa beans and mushrooms, and well-known products such as Balocco biscuits and Peroni beer.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Bruno Jousselin, managing director of MM Mega Market said, “the commercial activities combined with the culture and cuisine exchanges aim to tighten and deepen economic ties of both countries.”

“In addition, Vietnamese consumers increasingly focus on healthy lifestyles and absorb different culinary cultures from different countries around the world. MM Mega Market will constantly make more effort to cooperate with Italian businesses to bring safe and high-quality food to Vietnamese consumers,” he said.

Enrico Padula, Consul General of Italy in HCM City, said cuisine and food are among the most well-known components of Italian culture.

The food is slowly transformed to adapt to local taste so what is sold has only a little resemblance with the original, Padula said.

Another danger is that inauthentic products are sold under an Italian name, he said.

“We continue to promote and show what real Italian food and cuisine are,” he added.

Currently, Viet Nam is the largest trading partner of Italy in ASEAN.

In the first eight months of the year, bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Italy reached US$4.25 billion, up 13.9 per cent year-on-year.

The event runs until October 12. — VNS