Italy is the country of pasta. This is nothing new since on average an Italian consumes 23 kg of pasta per year: this is the highest figure in the world, far ahead of consumers in Tunisia (17 kg per year) and Venezuela (13 kg), who complete the podium.
But not only: Italy is also the main global exporter of pasta, occupying 30% of the market, with an annual turnover of 2.6 billion euros in 2021, according to a ranking drawn up by the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
And if we look at who is the first importer in the world, we notice that the United States imports 10% of all pasta produced.
In short, a business opportunity that needs no further explanation: Italian companies producing pasta, or in any case engaged in the sector, can derive great economic benefits from Italy-USA relations.
But what are the reasons why Is the USA such an attractive territory for Italian entrepreneurship? And why should our entrepreneurs focus on the USA for their internationalization processes?
In this article we will discover data that answers these questions, we will understand how to export pasta to the United States according to the most recent American regulations, and we will learn to maximize profits by increasing turnover from the US market, to fully exploit the business potential offered by this sector.
According to the most recent estimates by Monitor Deloitte for Intesa Sanpaolo, in the United States one in three packages of pasta is produced in Italy.
The production of US pasta is in fact declining drastically, with a decrease of 3% recorded in 2021. The US market has in fact had a passive balance: while exports were worth 710 million dollars in 2021, imports reached 940 million dollars.
And here is how the Italian operators entered: the average American consumer is increasingly attentive to the quality and safety of the food he puts on the table. Characteristics that Italian food products, together with their unique taste and iconicity, can offer. And in the last three years, Italian exports of raw materials, finished products (considering both pasta and derivative products) and sector technologies have experienced a real economic boom, reaching to touch the figure of 682 million dollars (they were 488 million in 2018 alone).
And looking to the future, according to analysts, the USA will remain the favorite market for Italian pasta in the coming years, which will continue to be the first supplier both for the raw material, for the machinery and technologies, and for the finished product, with a growth of 3.7% in the next 5 years.
If you have read this far, you have certainly understood what the extraordinary business opportunities can be for operators in the food sector, and in particular pasta, in the United States. But now, let's study together what is needed and how to export pasta to the USA.
First, as with all other products in the food sector, you need to register Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In detail, this is a regulatory obligation that all producers with operational and/or legal headquarters abroad are required to respect, within the scope of the "Public Health and Safety" law. Registration in this register is essential, as without FDA authorization you are placed on a Black List, leading to a ban on exporting all of the company's products to the USA.
Once the request has been made and all the bureaucratic procedures have been started (it is necessary to make sure that the products you want to market do not fall into particular categories that require further requirements), a registration number will be assigned to the identified production plant. If you own multiple establishments, then you will need to obtain different registration numbers, for as many establishments as there are. In the end, for each of them, it will be necessary to indicate an FDA agent, who represents these production plants.
Once FDA approval has been obtained, the next step to take to market pasta in the United States is place the correct label on pasta packages.
According to US legislation, the label for packaged foods (therefore not only pasta, but also canned foods, snacks, bread, cereals, frozen foods, etc.) must contain a description of the product, the net weight, the ingredients which are been used, the name and address of the manufacturer and the name of the importer.
Additionally, the FDA requires that information relating to nutritional values (or Nutrition Labels) are contained in a box with a black frame or other color printed on a white background and establishes the precise measurements that the detail must have compared to the total surface of the packaging containing the food product.
Finally, to market a processed food product in the US market, all companies that register with the FDA will need to also adopt a food safety management system.
The Preventive Controls for Human Food require that thecompany adopts a system of preventive control procedures, based on risk analysis, HARPC – Hazard Analysis and Risk Based Preventive Controls. To manage these procedures the company will have to train a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) via a 3-day course taught by an FSPCA Qualified Lead Instructor (Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance). Each certificate will correspond to a PCQI identification code, this figure can also be a qualified external consultant designated by the company, the so-called "FDA Agent".
What are the prospects, then?
From the data presented, US consumers will increasingly use Italian pasta. The road is certainly not easy, between regulatory hurdles and delicate bureaucratic steps, but with the support of a qualified consultancy firm these initial problems can be easily overcome by the large profits achievable in the US market.
Today the United States no longer represents just an option in the expansion strategies of Italian companies, but an almost obligatory path for the continuity of profits it can offer
Internationalizing in the USA can be the winning choice to outrun the competition, give impetus to the future and derive new profits: exploiting these opportunities allows you to consolidate your growth path – both in terms of turnover and level of brand awareness.
Are you interested in learning more about business prospects in the United States? Octagona can help you.
With its direct presence on the US market, thanks to offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, we can help you internationalize your company. Contact us and tell us about your export project: together we will study the best solution for your company.
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