Open Cheese factories: 50% more visits to Parmigiano Reggiano production sites
Open doors in 45 establishments at the weekend. Growing presence of gastronomic tourists: 180,000 in 2024, 50% foreigners. And 85% buy at the company shop after the experience
by E.Sg.
Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October sees the return of Caseifici Aperti, the event promoted by the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium that twice a year offers the opportunity to participate and immerse oneself in the production of the PDO. The aim is to exceed the numbers obtained for the spring edition last 12-13 April, where a50% increase in visits was achieved compared to that of 2024, when a total of 22 thousand visitors were recorded (over the two weekends).
With benefits on sales as well, since 85% of participants at past editions purchased Parmigiano Reggiano at the outlet. These initiatives reflect the trend of an increasingly widespread wine and food tourism (worth 40.1 billion euro in Italy according to the report by Aite and Visit Emilia) where foreigners also play an important role for Parmigiano Reggiano: in 2024 visits to dairies involved around50% of curious visitors from abroad, especially from the USA, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
In addition to the two appointments, however, the dairies in the district can be visited all year round by booking, with growing interest: total accesses in 2024 were over 180 thousand, up 5.9% on 2023.
"Opening the doors means showing the supply chain, the cheesemakers, the maturing rooms and the history of each wheel. Getting people to touch the craftsmanship of production,' said Nicola Bertinelli, President of the Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano, 'is the most effective way to create brand ambassadors. Visitors become customers, book future visits, choose local restaurants and take tourism out of season, amplifying the message through user-generated content. This is why Caseifici Aperti is at the heart of our experiential strategy, transforming the Parmigiano Reggiano brand into a true love brand".
This weekend, "the initiative involves 45 cheese factories in all the provinces of the area of origin, of which 18 in Parma, 12 in Reggio Emilia, 9 in Modena, 5 in Mantua (to the right of the Po as per the regulations) and one in Bologna (to the left of the Reno). And there are plenty of opportunities available to the curious: by connecting to the Caseifici Aperti website it is possible to book them, starting from a visit during production to the always coveted opening of the cheese wheel, passing from tastings to lunches and even activities for children,' the Consortium announced.
