RRomania does not perform well outside its borders, and internally, the Romanian product competes side by side with foreign competition. Maybe we could use a radically different way of thinking compared to the strategies so far, proven ineffective (totally or partially) or even stupid.
In recent years (actually decades), the press has reported on Romania's disastrous participation in all kinds of fairs abroad. Usually the tourism ones, where either the money allocated by the local or central authorities reached the party clientele and disappeared into the nothingness of tax evasion and state theft, or they were few and our stands were a total embarrassment. The last discussion on the subject revolved around ProWein (March) where, for better or for worse, 21 wineries tried to get noticed without state aid, although many countries participating in the fair in Dusseldorf had huge stands, entire halls , subsidized by governments. Why? Because it is in the interest of the country, not only of different entrepreneurs. I am intentionally omitting any discussion of the other hot topics that have sparked debate and hubris these days.
I return to the thesis from the beginning of the text. If instead of going to them, we would create a pretext for them to discover us at our house. I know that this is the main purpose of participating in such fairs, and I'm not even talking about a boycott, but instead of promoting with a snarl, we could break "the mouth of the fair or at least knock out two of its teeth".
Before going directly into the bread, I also emphasize the impact of VINARIUM, the largest international wine competition in Romania and the only affiliate of OIV and VINOFED, organized by Cătălin Păduraru, which for many years has managed to bring not only foreign experts to Romania in wine but especially important and credible communicators worldwide. And Romanian wines reach them not only as classified samples in the competition but also alongside Romanian food at related events. It is one of the examples of success and international notoriety made by us here. There is another edition in May and I wish them even more success.
The idea is older, it belongs to my friend Cezar Ioan who recently resurrected it in a new formula that seems to me could bring consistent added value to the country (in general) & the relevant industries, but also directly generate other profits related.
Treasure of the East is such a capacious concept that the only limitations would be niche and targeting. A Fair-Festival in Bucharest of Travel & Gastronomy (food & wines) that will become the largest in Eastern Europe and that, here at the gates of the East, will present the East of the West. We are, however, the largest capital in the region and should also assume this centralizing and catalytic role. Mongolian distillates, Serbian brandies, Polish apples and Georgian wines would find their place here. There would be room for ramen and soup and hummus and refried beans. We would know better Azerbaijani dolmas and Ukrainian borscht (both included in the list of intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO). We could compare the cevapcici from all the Balkan countries that we would associate with Băbeasca or Răra.
A popularization and B2B event.
That would mean our association, many of us, and joint pressure on the authorities. Can we?
Photo credits: Wine Festival © Radio Kafka | Dreamstime.com
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