From coast-to-coast tastings and trade education to retail discovery and digital storytelling, the European Union’s More than European Food and Drinks, Savoring Stories campaign is bringing the quality, authenticity, safety and sustainability of European food and beverages closer to audiences across the United States.
After three years of events, partnerships and storytelling throughout the United States, the European Union’s More than European Food and Drinks, Savoring Stories campaign has already created thousands of opportunities for consumers and food and beverage professionals to discover what lies behind European products.
Launched in January 2024, the campaign set out to deepen understanding of European food and drinks by showcasing the stories of origin, craftsmanship and people that shape them. It highlighted products from all 27 EU Member States, reflecting the diversity of European food and drinks - from cheese, meat, pasta and bakery goods to chocolate and confectionaries, condiments, fruit and vegetable preserves, olive oil, wine, beer and spirits. It also explained the European Union’s rigorous approach to quality, safety, authenticity and sustainability. The EU’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), and organic labels were central to that educational effort.
European food and drinks, experienced first-hand
The campaign’s most visible results came through direct encounters. Over three years, the EU campaign was present at nine trade shows and 10 consumer food and beverage festivals. It also organized six dedicated business events: two wine seminars in partnership with SommGEO and four industry lunches in partnership with StarChefs.
“Partnering with the European Union over these three years has meant a lot to us at StarChefs. It gave us the chance to bring incredible European products and the people behind them directly to chefs in the United States, and to watch those relationships turn into creativity on the plate or in the glass. We got a firsthand look at the craft and tradition behind these European products and got to share that with a food and beverage community that truly values it. We're proud to have played a small part in telling that story,” said StarChefs Managing Director Nicole Borden.
The campaign also delivered 13 masterclasses and cooking shows for professional and consumer audiences, while e-commerce box inserts and in-store tastings helped European products – and their stories – reach families nationwide.
From New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Charleston and Miami to Chicago, Nashville, Houston, Austin, Denver, Aspen, San Diego, Monterey and Sacramento, over 190,000 attendees and shoppers could taste products, meet specialists and explore how geography, tradition and production methods shape European food and beverages.
At each event, food, wine and spirits lovers discovered products from all 27 EU Member States. Through tastings, pairings and carefully prepared dishes, chefs and beverage experts took trade professionals and wider audiences on a journey through Europe’s regions, traditions and quality schemes – without leaving American soil.
"It was an honor and privilege to educate local press and food enthusiasts on the deep history and high quality of some of my favorite cheeses from Europe. Seeing someone's eyes light up when they tried a new cheese was one of my favorite parts of the entire experience" said Emilia d'Albero, 2025 World’s Best Cheesemonger.
Turning products into stories
Storytelling extended those encounters well beyond the activations themselves. European producers opened a window onto their work through documentary videos that took viewers behind the scenes of cheese, wine, olive oil, honey, beer and whiskey production at their premises in Europe, while the US-based influencers Nicole Muscari, Adriana Urbina, Tenaya Darlington and Corrina Cafarelli became campaign ambassadors, bringing European traditions to life for American audiences and carrying these stories into their followers’ feeds.
“For me, food and wine have always been about so much more than what’s in the glass or on the plate. Getting to share the people, places, traditions, and stories behind European products with an American audience has been incredibly special, and honestly, a lot of fun!” said Nicole Muscari, wine expert and campaign ambassador.
Alongside these public-facing activities, five dedicated press events gave journalists opportunities to experience the products and meet campaign experts in person. Together with prominent food and beverage titles, including Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, VinePair, Taste, SevenFifty Daily and Food Network Magazine, the campaign took audiences deeper into European food and drink, exploring how place and tradition shape distinctive flavors.
A growing digital community
The campaign website, Instagram and LinkedIn channels became year-round discovery platforms, connecting recipes and product storytelling with the farmers, makers, regions and traditions behind them. Campaign figures indicate more than 550,000 website visits, over 34,000 new Instagram followers and more than 2,200 new LinkedIn followers over the three years, alongside more than 640 million impressions across campaign channels, partner channels and media hits.
The campaign’s content evolved with its audience. The European Tasty Tales podcast introduced listeners to products and culinary traditions, while animated videos and infographic carousels took audiences on a visual journey through Europe’s landscapes and regions, revealing the origins, traditions and craftsmanship behind its products. Content on social media added a distinctly American perspective, showing how European ingredients and drinks can be discovered, served and enjoyed in everyday US settings.
From awareness to discovery and demand
The campaign was designed not only to increase visibility, but also to give consumers and food and beverage professionals the knowledge to make informed purchasing and sourcing decisions. By the campaign’s midpoint, one in two consumers surveyed could recognize and understand EU quality labels such as PDO, PGI and organic, while nine in 10 associated European products with quality and authenticity.
Throughout the three-year campaign, retail activations at gourmet specialty stores in partnership with Culture: The Word on Cheese Magazine and Di Bruno, along with e-commerce promotions in partnership with Wall Street Journal Wine and Wine.com helped turn growing awareness into opportunities to discover and purchase European products, generating over 18,300 shopper contacts and distributing more than 60,000 EU-branded information cards with customers’ online orders. The activities also translated into stronger sales: participating independent specialty retailers saw an average year-on-year increase of 17% for EU products offered for tasting, while EU wines featured on Wall Street Journal Wine outperformed standard wine sales by 24%.
The next chapter begins
These first three years are not the end of the story as the EU More than European Food and Drinks, Savoring Stories campaign continues to connect US consumers and professionals with European food and drinks through storytelling and a series of high-profile events.
Next on the agenda is a live food challenge in New York City on October 7, 2026, at Grand Central Terminal. Further campaign activities and stories will be announced in the months ahead.
To get a better flavor of the campaign, watch the recap video, featuring highlights from the past three years of activities across the United States. Stay tuned as the campaign continues and follow @MorethanFoodUS on Instagram, More than Food US on LinkedIn, and visit europa.eu/more-than-food-us for further inspiration and updates.
