Jamón Serrano 

October, 2013. The Fundación del Jamón Serrano Español participated again in the ANUGA 2013 International Food Expo held from October 5 - 9 at the Koelnmesse Fairgrounds in Cologne (Germany). The FUNDACIÓN occupied stand G101 in Hall 07.1, as part of the European promotional program "Original Flavors. The Mediterranean Essence", together with two other emblematic products of Spanish gastronomy, Ribera de Duero wines and Baena olive oil.

ANUGA is the most important and prestigious international food expo, bringing together operators from the food sector (producers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, food chains...) from Germany and abroad for a total of five days, making it the top food fair in the world and an unparalleled showcase for high quality products such as Fundación Serrano ham.

At the fair, the FUNDACIÓN offered a complete program of presentations and slicing demonstrations, raffles, etc., including live show-cooking and a tasting of Spanish tapas made with Serrano ham, created by Chef Fernando del Cerro, whose restaurant Casa José in Aranjuez (Madrid) holds one Michelin star. Other parallel promotional activities were carried out during the fair to help consolidate the presence of Fundación Serrano ham in the German market.

It is within this scope that FUNDACIÓN partner companies were able to forge further commercial  relations with their clients and plan and launch new contacts and potential business connections.

Germany: The number one market for Spanish Serrano ham

We mustn't forget that Germany is largest importer of Spanish Serrano ham worldwide, currently accounting for 26.4% of the total amount exported from Spain. Last year more than 6,300 tons of ham were sold in Germany in sliced, deboned and portion formats, in addition to 960 tons of whole hams (pieces), for a total of 57.4 million Euros. Sales of Serrano ham to the German market increased during the first semester of this year by more than 6% (both in volume and value) as compared to the same period last year.

The previous ANUGA food expo, held in 2011, registered 158,000 professional visitors. The Fundación offered a series of successful presentations on the nutritional characteristics, gastronomical uses and certified production process of Serrano ham. They likewise offered several media presentations and established numerous contacts with importers, distributors and representatives of the catering and restaurant sectors.

Fundación Institutional and Promotional Activity

During the first half of the year, the Fundación successfully carried out the first phase of our 2013 International Promotional Scheme with activities in Germany, Denmark, Vietnam, Poland and Japan.

In February the Fundación visited Germany, where we offered a complete program of commercial presentations and promotional activities in Munich and Berlin at hotel and catering schools and other institutions, as well as a series of workshops for restaurateurs, consumer motivators and members of the press.

The Fundación then moved on to Denmark, a market with high buying power of unquestionable interest for Spanish ham companies, where we participated in the Copenhagen Food Fair, the main food expo in this country. Here we offered tastings and showcooking, as well as training workshops and presentations for students in the hotel and catering sector.

Our promotional activities in northern European countries were complemented by a second visit from a group of German, Polish and Danish journalists to Fundación drying sheds.

The Fundación was also present in important Asian markets, among others. In Japan, the Fundación participated in coordination with the OECE (Spanish Meat Export Office), of which we are a member, at Foodex, the prestigious food expo held in Tokyo, where we also organized a series of presentations. We were likewise present at the 7th Food and Hotel Vietnam (FHV), one of the most important and prestigious international food fairs held in Asia, which brings together food sector specialists from Vietnam and other Asian markets.

On the institutional side, we can highlight the Fundación's recent participation in the European Commission Consultative Group on Agricultural Production, held in Brussels, where we discussed important issues regarding the future of Serrano ham, such as the possibility of transforming our TSG into a PGI, as well as other matters related to the protection of Quality Designations. Under discussion was Community Regulation 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, which includes Serrano ham.

The Fundación was likewise invited to participate in the AECOC Meat and Meat Products Congress, a forum devoted to analyzing sector growth and trends. Here we presented our promotional, communication, training and informational activities, stressing the need to transmit to the consumer the valuable properties and characteristics of our product in a sector in which negative news is often the norm.

And in May the Fundación participated in the Panel for Ham Characterization and Certification, part of the scientific program at the 7th World Ham Congress, held in the Portuguese city of Ourique, with a talk on "Serrano Ham, TSG or PGI?" We also took part in the social program with Fundación Serrano ham slicing and tasting  demonstrations for congress participants, institutional representatives and members of the press.