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To celebrate its 10^th anniversary, 10 cities and 1 unique concept starting 10 June 2013

Berlin / Copenhagen / Dubai / Hong-Kong / Milan / Montreal / New-York / Paris / Sao Paulo / Tokyo

Much more than an art, the Apéritif à la française is a can’t-miss experience.

The 2013 edition will feature 4 themes that highlight the French lifestyle:

• The Bistro-style aperitif
• The Club-style aperitif
• The Bohemian-style aperitif
• The Home Sweet Home aperitif

These themes will be featured on all communication and events media to give you greater visibility.

Communication

Highly artistic, impactful photos to draw a broader audience and ensure greater press coverage.

Events and promotion

Engaging, stylishly-staged theme-based special events, such as the French Happy Hours at trendy venues, in order to enhance your brand image and provide foreign consumers with the best possible setting in which to enjoy your products.

For the 5^th consecutive year, the Apéritif à la française treated Italians to an evening party celebrating fun, flavour and music.
Following a street marketing campaign that spanned an entire weekend, over 1,000 young Italians were on hand for the “Je suis Apéritif à la française!” event on 16 June in Milan. The party was emceed by 3 high-profile DJs: one Italian, Steve Benny, and two Frenchmen - DJ Ravin (who spins at the Buddha Bar in Paris) and Michael Canitrot (producer and creator of the So happy in Paris? project, musical director for major fashion labels and composer of the soundtrack for the Festival de Cannes).
The “Je suis Apéritif à la française!” event was a delightful mix of flavours, scents and music that kept the crowd partying late into the night.
This operation continues throughout the month of June at retail outlets and at more than 50 trendy locations all around Italy, with special Apéritif kits that include a compilation of music by DJ Steve Benny and a guidebook bringing delicious new ideas for after-work cocktails amongst friends, breaking with the traditional and combining French food and drink products with local specialties!

The 5^th edition of the Apéritif à la française in Mexico kicked off on 9 June. The terrace at El Mayor restaurant played host to 350 guests, including consumers, food industry professionals and journalists. Those on hand enjoyed partner products and appetizers cooked up by chef Yann Gallon and entered drawings to win French food and drink products as well as a Club Med holiday! The party also featured the awards ceremony for the “Best Apéritif à la française” contest on Facebook. The evening was capped off with a concert by Mexico’s Triciclo Circus Band and music by DJ Olivier.

This party was followed by a French market on 11 June at the Common People store, where Mexican shoppers had the opportunity to sample and purchase products from event partners.

As well, the Apéritif à la française is currently being promoted via special offers at Europea, Bacus and selected Mexico City restaurants.

De plus, une promotion Apéritif à la française dans l’enseigne La Europea, dans les boutiques Bacus et une sélection de restaurants de la ville de Mexico est actuellement en cours.

The Apéritif à la française in Beirut was held Thursday 9 June 2011 at the Movenpick Hotel in a warm, friendly atmosphere where France’s Ambassador to Lebanon was on hand for the festivities.

This event, which mainly targeted food and beverage professionals, was highlighted by the presence of several renowned chefs and a crowd of amazing partygoers, to the delight of the participating brands and partners.

Indeed, over 400 guests - chefs, restaurateurs, hotel managers and journalists - came to discover the diverse range of French food and beverage products and dive head-first into French-style art de vivre, a concept beloved by the Lebanese.

Some 26 brands took part in this successful 2^nd edition with a selection of cheeses, creams, wines, champagne, vodka, foie gras, deli meats, breads, syrups, desserts, chocolate, and jams deliciously prepared by the hotel’s chef for this special tasting. At least 30 journalists from various media outlets were amongst the guests, and Lebanese TV channel MTV and several other magazines and daily newspapers also had reporters in attendance.

The Aperitivo “à la française” campaign kicked off Thursday June 9 at Madrid’s Gourmet Experience. In all, over 150 guests - industry professionals, partners, the trade press and VIP members of the “Club del Gourmet” - came together for the celebration. Guests were treated to deli foods from partner companies, including Rougié foie gras, Fromi Roquefort and Brie, Sorlut oysters and Mumm Champagne, while discovering the Gourmet Experience eatery, an emblem of fine foods in Spain. The evening was a smashing success!

The Apéritif à la française continues in 14 cities across Spain with promotion of partner products throughout the month of June at 48 Club del Gourmet stores and 63 El Corte Inglés restaurants. Shoppers will also be able to discover French-style art de vivre, its products and its aperitifs in Club del Gourmet’s quarterly magazine.

This year, the Apéritif à la française in Portugal teamed up with Portuguese wines to toast just how well the two countries’ culinary traditions go together! On 8 June journalists, industry professionals and opinion leaders enjoyed samplings of French products paired with a range of Portuguese wines in a lounge-style atmosphere at the Aura restaurant in Terreiro do Paço, Lisbon’s most emblematic square. The event was attended by France’s Ambassador in Lisbon, Mr. Pascal Teixeira da Silva, who praised the idea of bringing French foods and Portuguese wines together in one menu. Président and Galbani cheeses and Panzani pasta and sauces were also served to the delight of the 148 guests in attendance. The event also celebrated the publishing of a book, Plaisirs Partagés, written especially for the delight of Portuguese shoppers. This book presents the French lifestyle with a host of original recipes and great tips for combining French foods with Portuguese wines - at aperitif time, of course!

The Apéritif à la française in Portugal will also be celebrated on 16 June in Porto and until 30 June at the two El Corte Inglés restaurants.

The Apéritif à la française in Dubai has become a can’t-miss event for agribusiness professionals in the United Arab Emirates. Over 500 industry professionals came together on Monday 6 June to celebrate the Apéritif together.

The event featured 42 partner French products, ranging from dairy products, breads, fruit products, chocolates, biscuits, foie gras and seafood to poultry, fine groceries, wines and spirits, tea, syrups, coffee, bottled water and more.

The chefs at the Ritz Carlton, where the Apéritif festivities were held, cast an elegant spotlight on these partner products via cheese buffets, live cooking demonstrations, appetizers and other displays.

The event, a true showcase for French gastronomy, provides the perfect opportunity for food and beverage industry professionals to come together in a festive atmosphere - the aperitif atmosphere. 

A media event was held Thursday 2 June with 30 trade journalists and bloggers for a sneak preview of the celebration and its major partners.

On Friday 3 June the event started at 7:00 pm in downtown Montreal. Some 1,200 people attended the 8^th edition of the Apéritif à la française. This year’s Pop-Art theme made for a highly colourful celebration. Renowned Montreal chef Giovanni Apollo dreamed up a menu featuring a wide variety of traditional French dishes and appetizers. From foie gras cones to Bayonne ham and croque-monsieurs, guests were treated to high quality French foods and drinks. The major partner for this year’s 8^th edition was Grey Goose vodka, which served up 3 exclusive cocktails. The party, which ended at 2:00 am in a fury of rhythm, was broadcast live on Internet, with exclusive interviews on SAQ’s Facebook page, which has 50,000 fans.

L’Apéritif à la française celebration continues at 100 SAQ stores throughout the month of June, with aisle-end displays and tastings, as well as at local restaurants. Here, Le Pive rosé wine, just launched on the Quebec market, will be showcased at 15 participating restaurants.

Click here to discover Montreal.tv report.

In Poland, the event was presented to the press and partners at a fun evening party on 2 June. A street market and special "Apéritif à la française" entertainment livened up the heart of Warsaw for 2 days, drawing nearly 50,000 Polish visitors who enjoyed tastings of a wide variety of French products including wines, cheeses, deli meats, olives, foie gras, mustards, cakes and more. The menu also included cooking demonstrations by renowned high-profile Polish chefs and by Moulinex, and concerts by Elodie Fregé (winner of France’s “Star Academy” televised singing competition in 2003) and Justyna Bacz (a singer who is particularly fond of France; her latest CD was dedicated to Georges Brassens).

At the same time, Apéritif à la française promotional operations were held at several retail chains including Leclerc, Real, Alma, Piotr i Pawel and Bomi. 

Once again this year, the Apéritif à la française in Japan was a great success: 9,474 lovers of fine French food came together for this festive event that showcased a wide variety of French products. Despite the rain, good cheer was in the air at the Apéritif à la française celebrations in the 11 participating cities.

In Tokyo, nearly 5,000 people came together at Roppongi Hills Arena throughout the day and enjoyed a variety of entertainment, including the induction of two celebrities – Mr. Shota and Mrs. Manda – as Ambassadors of the Apéritif à la française. Other highlights included the Best Cocktail competition, the bartender acrobatics show and much more. Several television stations were on hand to capture the event!

While some of the visitors were discovering for the first time the delicious range of foods and beverages prepared by our chefs from MOMAJ (Members of the National Order of Agricultural Merit in Japan), most of the guests on hand were coming back once again this year to sample the appetizers cooked up by their favourite chefs.

In 2011, the Apéritif à la française was a show of solidarity. Our “Support for Japan” operation drew many visitors and helped to collect money to be donated to a charity in order to assist disaster victims in Northeast Japan.

The event started at 5:30 pm with a mini cooking session hosted by a chef from the French Culinary Institute in the heart of the trendy Soho neighbourhood. Journalists teamed up with the chef to prepare the appetizers for the party using partner products (namely Bongrain cheese and Le Palais des Thés). The slogan for this mini demonstration was "French is easy".

The party was held from 6:30 to 8:30 pm in a warm, friendly atmosphere. Synergies were created with the sponsors through a welcome cocktail sponsored by Barton et Guestier Sparkling and Le Palais des Thés, and innovative cocktails offered by Noilly Prat and B& B Benedictine.

At the same time, more than 11,000 Americans went to 1,000 house parties in 10 participating states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C.

Welcome to the new interface of the Apéritif à la française website, which will enable you to find out everything about this 8th edition and look back at highlights of years past.

In a few days the 8th edition of the Apéritif à la française will be officially launched! Beirut, Dubai, Lisbon, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Montreal, New York, Tokyo and Warsaw... These capitals will all live to the rhythm of the Apéritif à la française starting on the first Thursday of June, each in its very own way, with celebrations amongst friends or with family, at fun evening parties in trendy places, in the street, or even right at home…

French olives, foie gras, olive oil, biscuits, chocolates, jams, mustards, breads, all sorts of cheeses and deli meats, lemonades, syrups, beers champagnes and wines will be the guests of honour and will be used to make succulent savoury and sweet appetizers and all kinds of cocktails. The Apéritif à la française has something for everyone’s tastes!

Have a happy Apéritif à la française!