John Keane, Milan, Bord Bia –Irish Food Board

Eataly, the Italian up market retail chain, has just signed a strategic e-commerce agreement that will make Italian food and wine products available worldwide with just a click.

The new company, Eataly Net, was established in a joint agreement between Eataly, who own 60% of the shares, and an Italian-French venture capital fund, 360 Capital Partners, which is one of the leading companies in the e-commerce field and has funded several successful e-commerce ventures.

Eataly Net intends to become the world leader in the high end digital food and wine market. While the corporate headquarters will remain in Turin the company plans to penetrate markets abroad via International subsidiaries and local partnerships. They aim to be up and running by year end. The aim, according to the founders, is to create an on-line purchasing experience that will be quick and simple with just a few minutes passing from selection of the products to the checkout.

While Eataly is famous for its top quality Italian food, they also stock a limited range of speciality food products sourced from outside of Italy. The stores are currently located in Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Genoa, Tokyo and New York.