From October 4-7, the IACC brought a cohort of grocery category buyers to Sassomagiore, Italy for “America Buys Italian,” a B2B summit connecting local Italian food and beverage producers with decision makers and purchasing managers from 5 major independent U.S. grocery chains. Over two days, 64 Italian suppliers had the opportunity to present their products to representatives from Bristol Farms, Heinen’s, Metropolitan Market, New Seasons Market and Roche Bros., making new and profitable connections while further extending the reach of Italian specialty food products on the U.S. market.

Category buyers from Bristol Farms, Heinen’s, Metropolitan Market, New Seasons Market and Roche Bros. also had the opportunity to visit Parmigiano Reggiano producer Caseificio Lanfredini, Italia Alimentari (a producer of cured meats and snacks) and the renowned ALMA School of Culinary Arts, the world’s leading international education and training center for Italian cuisine, where they enjoyed a delectable regionally-inspired lunch prepared by student chefs.

With the success of this inaugural edition, “America Buys Italian” is well on its way to becoming an important annual forum for connecting decision makers from top U.S. independent grocery chains with food and wine producers from all over Italy. The IACC is grateful to member ExportUSA for their role as co-organizer of “America Buys Italian” and for the excellent job they did in identifying, vetting and selecting suppliers for this event.