PUNTOITALY N°2 - July - December 2012

SIGEP of passing information by word of mouth via the web through its own internet website www.sigep.it , and newsletters, but also by using the social networks - face- book, twitter, linkedin, youtube. International relations are maintained through a network of collaborators involving almost 40 countries. To match supply and demand as best as possible, the Top Buyers from 5 Continents proj- ect has been in operation for some years now. This al- lows foreign exhibitors and distributors to draw up their schedules of meetings well before Sigep actually starts. The history of Sigep is one of exponential success ever since its inauguration on 17 January 1980. Created at the suggestion of gelato makers belonging to the associations of artisans, who were pushing for an event to support their work, the first Sigep witnessed the participation of 180 enterprises from the gelato and confectionery sector, displaying over a surface area of 9,500 sqm, with 30,000 professonals attending. At the very first edition, the idea of having a rich programme of spectacular events running parallel with the main exhibition immediately proved to be a winner. Thus, at that first expo, master pastry chefs took part in a competition that saw them produce mon- umental confections depicting the major architectural monuments of Italy, while 138 gelato makers vied with one another to elect the new tastes of the summer of 1980. Now more than ever, the secret of maintaining the very highest standards in the collateral events is the su- perb organisation, which ensures the whole-hearted, ac- tive collaboration of the most important artisan associations for the various sectors. The statistics have continued to demonstrate the success of Sigep. Thus the 33rd Expo, held in 2012, welcomed 122,697 profes- sional visitors (+ 15% compared with 2011), with 850 en- terprises exhibiting over an area of 90,000 sqm. The number of foreign visitors, 23.845 from 138 different countries, represented a 21% increase over the previous edition. A tremendous amount of work is done on the communications front. Advertising pages and publicity material are printed in dozens of languages. Sigep also communicates though viral marketing, an effective means ALL NUMBERS OF SUCCESS 185 FOOD-AND-DRINK • PASTRY • GELATO