Campari UK celebrates the 2016 Italian Cuisine Week in the UK
New CGA research reveals the ever-increasing popularity of the Aperitivo moment in the UK
Aperol Spritz and Negroni among top three cocktails in summer 2016
As part of a celebration of Italian culture, in conjunction with 2016 Italian Cuisine Week in the UK, Campari UK has unveiled the latest trends that highlight the growing British love for the Italian ritual.
Research from CGA London Influencer Report 2016* reveals an exceptional increase in the demand for bitter drinks, with Aperol Spritz and Negroni, where Campari is the key ingredient, spearheading the aperitif trend as the second- and third-most popular drinks for high-end consumers in London, behind the gin and tonic. Out of 100 of London’s most influential bars visited as a part of the research, Campari is also the most-used brand on the menus, maintaining the lead it established in 2013. Additionally, Aperol is the most distributed liqueur and speciality brand in these influencer outlets, followed by Campari at number two.
In the CGA Peach BrandTrack Report 2016**, results demonstrate the growing appreciation of good food, with restaurants and food-led bars on the rise. The trend for dining out continues to grow (4% annual increase), however drinking out only has hit a slight decline in the UK (-1%). Millennials are driving the eating out movement, with 61% of the 19-34-year-olds surveyed said to do so once a week.
Pietro Mattioni MD Campari UKPietro Mattioni, Managing Director of Campari UK, said:
“The Aperitivo moment is a ritual, where friends gather to toast with Aperol Spritz or a Negroni with nibbles at the end of the working day. It’s a pleasure to see this traditional Italian celebration continuing to grow as a trend in London, a city renowned as one of the world’s most forward-thinking cocktail destinations. Our ambition? Turning the English pre-dinner moment orange and red”.
Russell Norman, the award-winning restaurateur, writer and broadcaster, said:
“As one of the first restaurants to serve Aperol and Campari in the UK, we’ve continued to see Britain embrace the Aperitivo ritual. I cannot think of anything better than an Aperol Spritz and cicchetti after work, bringing me instantly to the Bacari feeling in Venice”.
The first branch of POLPO opened on Beak Street in September 2009. For a remarkable coincidence, the building was once home to the Venetian painter Canaletto. POLPO now has eight restaurants across Soho, Covent Garden, Smithfield, Chelsea and Notting Hill in London, as well as in Brighton and Bristol.
POLPO has received the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand for the last six consecutive years.
Pasquale Q. Terracciano, Italian Ambassador in LondonPasquale Q. Terracciano, Italian Ambassador in London, concluded:
“It is an absolute pleasure welcoming in the UK another successful Italian company, a business which enchanted the world since 1860 and contributed to export the Italian way of living, made of joyous social moments where drinks are paired with food in a magical and responsible link, the so called Mediterranean style”.
Campari UK celebrated the rise of the Aperitivo, on 22 November 2016 at the company’s UK head office at The Shard. The Aperitivo celebration culminated with Loris Contro, Italian Brands Ambassador for Campari UK, preparing an exclusive vintage Negroni, with bottles of Campari, Vermouth Rosso and Gin from 1960 to honour the heritage of the cocktail and its inventor, Count Camillo Negroni.
* Research taken from the CGA London Influencers Report, October 2016, sample 100 outlets visited.
** Research CGA Brand Track February 2016, sample 5,000 consumers.