Why Parmigiano Reggiano is about to become a Hollywood star

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano has launched a collaboration to represent the iconic Italian cheese in Hollywood. The agreement is with the United Talent Agency, which represents Timothée Chalamet, Harrison Ford and Bad Bunny, with the aim of bringing the “King of Cheeses” into films, streaming content and television programmes. The move marks an unprecedented step for Italian agri-food products, which are now ready to carve out a more visible presence in mainstream American storytelling.

For now, we are waiting for the official statement, but the news is echoed across multiple outlets, which speak of an agreement aimed at structuring the product placement of Parmigiano Reggiano within the entertainment industry. According to these sources, UTA will be responsible for identifying the most suitable projects and managing the cheese’s placement within film and TV productions — a field where Italian cheese has appeared only sporadically until now, and never with a coordinated strategy. Above all, never with a talent agency protecting its rights through a contract.

The consorzio, contacted for comment, explains the motives and prospects of the initiative. The goal is to ensure a more conscious and consistent presence of Parmigiano Reggiano in the international pop imagination, at a time when Italian gastronomic culture is receiving renewed attention through streaming platforms and food-related social media.

“Parmigiano Reggiano is not just a symbol of excellence deeply rooted in tradition,” says the consorzio’s marketing director, Carmine Forbuso, “but increasingly a truly iconic global brand: according to data for the first eight months of 2025, exports reached 53.2%, with a growth in volume of +2.7% compared to the same period the previous year. The partnership with UTA allows us to reach new audience segments in an authentic and relevant way. With only three natural ingredients and centuries of artisanal know-how, Parmigiano Reggiano is synonymous with simplicity, quality and depth. We are excited to explore new formats and platforms to tell this story on a global scale.”

When visibility becomes strategy

The decision is not especially surprising: for years the Consortium has been committed to defending the authenticity of Parmigiano Reggiano and combating imitations and misuse of the name in international markets.

In the United States, where the word 'parmesan' is used generically, visibility in the media could offer an additional lever to strengthen the perception of the authentic product, protecting its history, method and terroir. A coordinated entry into the entertainment world would offer a platform very different from institutional communication to counter the Italian-sounding phenomenon. It would not simply be about showing a wheel on a character’s table, but placing it within narrative contexts that build familiarity, recognisability and symbolic value. The Hollywood Reporter notes that UTA already works with global brands, and that the operation may open a new path for agri-food consortia: agreements with agencies typical of the star system.

But the issue is not only cultural or related to image — it is also commercial. Parmigiano Reggiano’s arrival on the big screen would come at a difficult moment for Italian exports to the United States. At the beginning of 2025, new tariffs brought duties on imports of aged cheeses from the EU to 25%. Although an August agreement between Washington and Brussels officially reduced tariffs to a 15% “all-inclusive” rate, in the meantime several port customs offices applied higher fees, generating protests from consortia. The new global-visibility strategy of bringing the cheese into films, series and streaming content may offer another tool to defend Parmigiano Reggiano from trade barriers by elevating the value of the brand and emphasising Italian identity and excellence beyond tariff complications.

It remains to be clarified in which productions the cheese will actually appear, what narrative approaches will be favoured and how this visibility will help strengthen the distinction between the authentic PDO product and its many imitators. It is now up to the entertainment industry to discover how to tell the story of Italy’s most recognisable cheese.