Ibérico Land 2025, Meat Attraction's platform for Iberian cured meat products in all channels and markets

Meat Attraction, the leading International Trade Fair for the meat industry, continues its journey towards its opening on the 25, 26 and 27 February 2025 at IFEMA Madrid. As part of its promotional activities and with the collaboration of the National Meat Processing Industries Association of Spain (ANICE), it has held a day to promote 'Iberico Land', one of the most interesting areas of the sixth edition dedicated to Iberian pork products and which presents a unique opportunity for operators, both for the national and international markets. The conference was attended by more than 60 operators interested in learning about the commercial possibilities of this specific tool for Iberian products.

The welcome was given by Raúl García, president of Iberaice, who stressed that "Meat Attraction is a commitment by the sector to create initiatives that improve the positioning of our products in international markets and represents a unique opportunity for the producers of Iberian products who want to increase their sales at national level, but also in those countries where our product is so highly regarded."

Next, Jesús Pérez, deputy director of ASICI, presented the industry's main data and spoke about the important worldwide promotional campaigns for Iberian ham that Interprofesional has been running for years and which serve to open the way for companies in the sector in international markets. In this regard, Pérez stated that "there is a growing demand for Iberian products, and specifically for Iberian hams, in markets such as China, Japan and the United Kingdom, among others. ASICI has been making headway in many of these international markets for years with promotional, information and training campaigns, which apart from positioning the product and gaining visibility, are aimed at facilitating the internationalisation of the companies in the sector."

During his speech, the deputy director of ASICI presented a decalogue for the internationalisation of companies that want to operate worldwide.

For her part, María José Sánchez, director of Meat Attraction, emphasised that "the fair is a tool for the sector, which is at its disposal to help it improve the internationalisation of its products in all markets. Iberico Land is the trade fair's commitment and its contribution to improving the positioning of Iberian products in all the channels where they are now so highly regarded, both in Spain and abroad," he indicated.

This was followed by a round table discussion entitled 'Channels and markets', with the participation of Salomé Martínez, deputy Food Industry assistant director at ICEX; Beatriz Cecilia, project manager at Hostelería de España; Nuria Cardoso, communications director at ASEDAS; Jesús Pérez, deputy director of ASICI; and Miriam López, CEO of Jamón Lovers.

Finally, Giuseppe Aloisio, director general of ANICE, welcomed the great effort made in terms of image and positioning of Iberian products in the national and international markets. He recommended not trivialising the product in large-scale distribution and stressed the need to improve traceability in the restaurant and catering industry. Aware of the big problem of reputation that the meat sector is suffering, Iberian ham remains out of the debate as it enjoys "diplomatic immunity" and he encouraged those present to participate in this new edition of Meat Attraction as a great showcase for Iberian production.

All the speakers agreed that the products obtained from the Iberian pig must be positioned as a premium food in all markets and channels where it is marketed. The experts all acknowledged that it is necessary to work on marketing, communication and packaging so that consumers value it and we all avoid its trivialisation.

Furthermore, both for fresh products and for hams, shoulders and sausages, the participants in the round table emphasised the importance of training prescribers in terms of the cuts and the search for maximum profitability of the pieces in the restaurants and shops where they are sold, as profitability for the establishments is fundamental to their commitment to our products.