Parmigiano Reggiano

CHALLENGE

Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of the oldest and richest cheeses in the world. Known as “The King of Cheese”, the Italian cheese producers (from five distinct regions) use the same ingredients, with the same craftsmanship and production technique as they did centuries ago. 

The product is protected under PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), and is strictly bound to its places of origin which include, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Mantua.

The Parmigiano Reggiano consortium hired MAVERICK in 2019 to spread the news to consumer, travel and food influencers about “fake” parmesan producers and inferior parm cheese in the Canadian market and the true differences between real Parmigiano Reggiano and generic parmesan. Our goal was to enlighten foodies and consumers about the differences in taste as the cheese ages and the many uses of Parmigiano Reggiano.

STRATEGIC APPROACH

It’s too much of a safe bet to host an Italian cheese event at an Italian restaurant. That’s not very creative. We had to show diversity of the product, it’s multi-use in all kinds of cuisine and distinguish the character of the three maturations of the product (12-month, 24-month and 36-month). We had to create an experience that made the cheese the hero of the day.

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SOLUTION

MAVERICK hosted a press event in Toronto for Canadian food and lifestyle journalists and social media influencers at Après Wine Bar, a newly opened restaurant in Toronto’s west end which was recently named one of ‘Toronto’s Best New Restaurants 2019’ by Toronto Life. We chose this venue specifically because it was new and media would discover this restaurant with our help. Working closely with Chef Kang, we created a far-reaching experience that showcased the diversity of Parmigiano Reggiano in unique dishes.

During the luncheon, media were treated to a special tasting of 12-month, 24-month and 36-month Parmigiano Reggiano, followed by a lunch and wine pairing experience.

The event has generated both English and Italian media coverage, both social and traditional press.  In the Fall of 2019 MAVERICK will host a number of journalists to Parma to experience the cheese dairy farms and the regions where The King of Cheese hails from.