Alessio, from a province in Ancona, follows in his father’s footsteps, running a household goods company alongside his brother, with more than 40 years of experience in plastics processing. Daniel learned the art of seafood in Rome, and there are customers in Europe and America who choose to bring his products to their tables. Fabiano is attracting new customers every day to an ever-evolving culinary heritage brand. And finally, Anna, who has been able to combine the iconic nature of Sicilian ceramic artefacts with her own passion for photography and curiosity about the digital world, which in the early 2000s was still in the making.
These are the new testimonials of the second annual ‘Made in Italy Days’, the international event by Amazon, in collaboration with the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency, for the promotion of Made in Italy products around the world.
Alessio, Anna, Fabiano and Daniel are entrepreneurs selected from the thousands of companies on our online store who have embarked on a multi-channel sales journey, successfully combining physical and digital channels.
The day was an opportunity for small and medium enterprises not only to tell their stories, but more importantly to review the advantages and opportunities that the digital medium has enabled them to seize, through developing their own businesses internationally.
Omada Design: From Marche to worldwide exports thanks to a digital platform
Alessio Adamo's journey within the company he inherited from his father began at age 30. On his shoulders rested a historic business in the plastic household goods production sector, a brand that demanded respect, alongside the responsibility of 20 employees.
Alessio says: “On the one hand we wanted to continue the family tradition, and on the other hand we were searching for new channels through which to advertise ourselves. We eventually landed on online commerce: Amazon and our e-commerce site have enabled us to increase our brand recognition worldwide, with exports now accounting for about 50 percent of total sales."
Thanks to the Made in Italy showcase, from a small province in the Marche region, Omada Design is now able to reach all corners of the world, from Europe to the United States. Alessio says: "For us, adding a new country to the already rich list of markets we cover is not just an exercise in itself, but translates into the possibility of ensuring greater stability and economic well-being for our employees. This mindset has allowed us to expand our workforce: from the twenty employees my father managed, my brother and I now work alongside a team of fifty professionals.”
CEAR Ceramics: In Caltagirone, creativity takes shape
Now in its fourth generation, with nearly 50 years of craftsmanship behind them, the Romano family in Caltagirone continues in the business of producing ceramic goods, offering a wide range of products for the table and for interior and exterior decoration. From a municipality of 35,000 inhabitants, the digital platform offers a way for these creations to be seen, and appreciated, every day throughout Italy and Europe. With 90 percent of sales generated online, the very boundaries of the physical store have been rewritten, becoming a meeting place for customers and the right location for dedicated workshops.
Anna Romano says: “Although I spent my childhood surrounded by clay, glazes and colours, I felt that the path of pottery making was not for me. Instead, I was fascinated by photography and equally intrigued by the web and all its developments. On Amazon, the real breakthrough came in 2018, after the launch of the Made in Italy showcase and the inauguration on the site of a regional route entirely dedicated to Sicily. Although still small in quantity, our sales have quadrupled."
Mr. Moris: The taste of the sea meets e-commerce
For Mr. Moris, online sales was a real gamble: born in 1976 from the inspiration of Moris Raccah, the company specialised in the production and marketing of seafood products, which were initially marketed only through physical retailers and the B2B sector. Moris’ son Daniel is credited with giving a digital soul to a culinary tradition of more than 40 years.
Daniel says: "By linking online and offline sales, I wanted Mr. Moris to develop into a multi-channel business: through our physical retailers we reach large-scale distribution, while through Amazon we interface with the end customer. The opportunity to sell through Amazon’s Made in Italy showcase came from registering for the Amazon - Italian Trade Agency call for entries. Now, thanks to this very website, our catalogue reaches the whole of Europe and America. Moreover, the growth and success we have enjoyed online has not only benefited the digital channel.
It has allowed us to invest in new equipment, IT tools, and above all in hiring and training new in-house resources. In a world that changes and evolves so quickly, I ask them, like myself, to work dynamically and open-mindedly every day. From this point of view, the decision to combine traditional sales with digital commerce proved to be a good training ground.”
Valle del Crati: Calabrian taste at the click of a button
Created in 2005 with the aim of preserving the culinary heritage of Calabria and promoting it beyond national borders, the Valle del Crati brand began its digital adventure only a few years ago. In fact, it was only in 2021 that the company decided to invest in the web and in hiring new people from within the team. At this point Fabiano Mainieri joined the company and the journey to gain the loyalty of a new target audience began.
Fabiano says: "Amazon is an international showcase, offering unique visibility opportunities for small businesses that sell their products on the store. Thanks to the support of the Italian Trade Agency and Amazon, we have been able to easily reach customers’ tables, not only throughout Italy, but also in France and Germany. In 2023, we are already preparing to move into Spain. All our products are featured within Amazon’s Made in Italy showcase, which provides our culinary excellence with an additional guarantee of quality. This has allowed us to quickly sell both domestically and internationally with success and win the trust of consumers."
The journey of telling the story of Made in Italy excellence will continue in Washington, the last stop of the initiative. In fact, at the Italian Embassy, on the occasion of the celebration of the Italian Republic, guests will have the opportunity to discover some of the most iconic Made in Italy products produced by a selection of small and medium-sized Italian companies selling through Amazon.
Among them, in addition to Mr. Moris, is Olivottoil of Lombardy, a producer of extra virgin olive oil, represented by Alex Olivotto, who tells the story of his company.
"Olivottoil was born out of my father's love for Salento and the cultivation of its land. He grew up with this passion but moved away, to pursue a career working in the United States. In 2013, with me by his side, he decided to ‘go back to his roots’, with an idea that was visionary at the time: to create a 'pocket-sized multinational' that could sell extra virgin olive oil with a high health profile directly to the end customer. Amazon is one of the channels through which, to date, we successfully reach U.S., Canadian, and European customers."
