News

Serrano Ham To Conquer México and Brazil

20 Jun 2012

Two Spanish Serrano ham organizations protect and promote a much sought after delicacy.

The Spanish Serrano Ham Foundation and the Spanish Serrano Ham Consortium expand their promotional actions in Latin America.

The Spanish Serrano Ham Foundation signed an agreement with Quintana Roo’s Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Riviera Maya Hotel Association to implement a marketing and educational program to promote Serrano ham throughout this Mexican region’s hospitality sector.

The agreement expects to develop a communication and training initiative that will help introduce and consolidate Serrano in the culinary offer of the State of Quintana Roo, which has one of the largest tourism sectors in the Caribbean. Showrooms for importers, distributors, media, and purchasing agents will be complemented with ham slicing courses for the State’s hotel and restaurant professionals, led by Master Slicer Sergio Bellido.

In South America, the Serrano Ham Consortium will undertake a new series of activities in Brazil, with tastings at the upcoming SIAL Food Fair and at Spain’s Cervantes Institute in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where it debuted last November. The seminar series at the Cervantes, geared at media and trade, will be led by the Consortium’s Manager Miguel Sanz and Master Slicer Ricardo Garrido. The Consortium has made a strong bet on education as a cornerstone of its promotional activities, with the aim of helping consumers distinguish the peculiarities that set Serrano apart from other cured hams.

In spite of the challenges imposed by the homologation requirements for pork products in many American markets, cured Spanish ham exports in México and Brazil have grown considerably in recent past years.

The Spanish Serrano Ham Consortium was founded in 1990 to certify and guarantee this product as a premium quality export, and now groups 17 top Spanish meat companies that are leaders in the production and international sales of Serrano ham. On its side, the Spanish Serrano Ham Foundation was created in 2000 and groups approximately one hundred ham producing industries from 13 autonomous communities, which seek to promote, disseminate and protect the “Jamón Serrano” appellation as a Guaranteed Traditional Specialty (E.T.G.).