Billionaires

Parmigiano Reggiano The New Big Cheese In Stadium Sponsorships


Ahead of the 2025 NFL season the New York Jets announced a new partnership with Parmigiano Reggiano, an exclusive cheese product of a select Italian region that must meet strict specifications to earn the Parmigiano Reggiano official label. This is the first sponsorship with a U.S. professional sports team for the Italian cheese consortium.

This comes on a growing trend that has seen cheese take center stage in stadium and arena sponsorships across the U.S.

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Parmigiano Reggiano, which enjoys PDO status (Protected Designation of Origin status, as granted by the European Union), aims to grow its presence beyond Europe and specifically with American consumers. To that end, Parmigiano Reggiano will merge into the MetLife Stadium marketing and menu.

Inside the venue, Parmigiano Reggiano-forward dishes will pop up at a range of spaces, including the Commissioner’s Club, Green Room and Coaches Club where the Jets will offer antipasto stations featuring the cheese and tossed pasta stations highlighted by Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheels. Menu options available in the stadium’s top clubs aim to highlight Parmigiano Reggiano and the options will grow throughout the season so fans can look for new twists each home game.

Parmigiano Reggiano will also be available as an add-on at designated Delaware North Nonna Fusco’s Kitchen stands throughout MetLife Stadium.

“The Jets are excited to partner with Parmigiano Reggiano, a globally recognized and respected brand,” says Jeff Fernandez, Jets senior vice president of business development and ventures. “This partnership continues the Jet’s long-term commitment to providing fans with the world-class international cuisine they are accustomed to during home games at MetLife Stadium and throughout New York City. We look forward to collaborating with Parmigiano Reggiano this season to elevate fans’ experiences in new and flavorful ways.”

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The marketing partnership will include season-long videoboard segments that include the “Say Cheese Cam” and the “Cheesy Dance Cam.” Cheese sampling activations will occur in the Tailgate Zone on Oct. 19 and Nov. 30.

“Parmigiano Reggiano has always championed athletes and sport, and we are delighted to take to the field alongside an American football legend like the New York Jets, who share our core values of excellence and commitment to greatness,” says Nicola Bertinelli, Parmigiano Reggiano consortium president.

Parmigiano Reggiano has been produced for nearly 1,000 years exclusively in the Italian provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua to the right of the Po River and Bologna to the left of the Reno River. It is always made with only cow’s milk, salt and rennet and the feeding of the cattle complies with strict specifications that bans the use of silage and fermented feeds. The cheese is aged a minimum of 12 months, while most Parmigiano Reggiano available in the U.S. is aged a minimum of 24 to 36 months. No additives or preservatives are ever used as part of the strict production guidelines, nor are they needed thanks to the humidity-controlled aging techniques and long aging times, which result in a naturally lactose-free cheese.

The U.S. is already the cheese’s main foreign market, with a 22.5% share of sales. Bertinelli says New York is the “beating heart of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO” in the U.S. and he hopes the new sponsorship will strengthen the bond with consortium has with American culture.

“American football,” he says, “is entertainment, conviviality, sociability and sharing, in which food is the social glue par excellence.”

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