With Romania's opening to the world and the influx of foreign products and customs that followed, our wonderful Romanian dishes and traditions seem to have somewhat lost their shine, with many considering them a bit dusty and uncool.

Profi is taking a stand and launching a comprehensive campaign today that brings these values back into the spotlight, promoting the Via Profi spirit that connects the community to local small producers who carry on our vibrant traditions and good tastes.

We love to eat local food and appreciate a good soup both at the restaurant and at home, but other than on festive occasions, we rarely think about authentic Romanian dishes and those who prepare them. Profi is launching a campaign that highlights tradition and brings us closer to the heart of authentic Romanian taste.

“If until now we have exported traditional Romanian musical rhythms, traditional motifs, and the Romanian blouse, while importing many products from abroad, it is time to better appreciate the treasures of Romanian villages and communities, to enjoy them together, and to ensure that they survive and thrive for a long time to come,” emphasizes Gaetan Pacton, Profi’s General Director.

“Via Profi is a concrete bridge between producers, authorities, and the general public, benefiting all parties involved. Romania is beautiful and, judging by the goodies on via-profi.ro, particularly delicious!”

Local producers from Romania are featured on the platform www.via-profi.ro, through which anyone can get to know them and thus enjoy the flavors preserved by culinary artisans who respect traditional recipes or seek to integrate new ones into the gastronomic heritage.

A year after its official launch, the platform brings together over 346 producers from 23 counties, presenting nine product categories: meat, preserved foods, dairy, vegetables and fruits, eggs, bakery, fish, beekeeping products, and alcoholic beverages.

Moreover, by the end of July, producers from an additional 11 counties will be added, meaning that Via Profi will gather more than 500 artisans waiting to be discovered.

Building a bridge between new generations and the keepers of Romanian values, references with which all Romanians can identify, regardless of age or existing connections with Romanian villages, Via Profi dusts off tradition and elevates the image of local products and traditional Romanian dishes to match their taste.

Four local producers from Cluj, Olt, Mureș, and Suceava contributed to the making of the commercial that brings Via Profi to TV and, through an emotionally charged story, shows how Gen Z can discover the authentic craft and flavorful goodies of the rural world using the right key.

Start exploring: www.via-profi.ro, the platform that allows the direct search and contact of producers, grouped by fields and counties. The action unfolds against the backdrop of an original song starting from a modern reinterpreted folk music sample, as an ode to the new generation that has preserved tradition for the young but also carries it forward.

Every day, delicious and healthy products from small local producers are born in households, farms, or small family businesses. Often, these remain unknown outside the local community. Their creators struggle to find resources and help to reach more consumers, so they can continue their activity and preserve natural, traditional preparation methods.

“Via Profi tells our story as a people, with all that is good and beautiful, everything that unites us and brings us together at the table. Via Profi is Profi's initiative from which we all benefit: authentic producers are thus easy to find on the map, have direct contact information, share their stories while we ensure that we encourage them to carry the good taste forward. The initiative highlights their ability to reinvent themselves; we found young people creating flavors we never imagined existed.

No local producer is limited by any contractual relationship with Profi. Our desire is to offer them genuine support, to promote Romanian food and the keepers of authentic recipes in a fresh, original way, in a cool light, before it becomes cool.

Because Profi puts its heart into Romania and we want to discover together the good around us, this campaign brings together good people and everything that does us good, in a language accessible to everyone,” says Călin Costinaș, Profi's Deputy General Director.

Via Profi is the imaginary road that connects all of Romania through its culinary artisans and supports a healthy lifestyle, both for each of us and for the local economy.

“For those who need a sign to enter this story of which we are all a part, we bring shine back to traditions and make authentic Romanian food a part of pop culture. To get on Via Profi, small producers just need to want it: it costs them nothing, they have no obligation to Profi or anyone else.

It is a platform created to help them and connect them with all those eager for healthy local products. Via Profi is our insurance policy for a sustainable future, one in which everyone puts their heart into it and together we put our heart into Romania.

Via Profi is where we ensure that we gather everything worth discovering, preserving, and passing on. We put our heart into the community, and Via Profi is the community we are happy to be a part of,” says Gabriela Sîrbu, the sustainability director of the retail network and coordinator of this program.

The via-profi.ro platform is a living one, constantly supplemented with new producers suggested by visitors, discovered by Profi teams, or who sign up themselves using the contact form.

From authentic fresh products to gastronomic delights, the products on Via Profi allow a different kind of exploration of the country's cultural wealth and real support for local communities. Moreover, local entrepreneurs looking for expert advice can find it through the eponymous blog, where stories from Romania of good taste are also presented.

With 28,000 employees in nearly 1,730 own and Partner stores present in 860 urban and rural locations, Profi is the largest private employer in Romania. PROFI SUPER, PROFI CITY, PROFI GO, and PROFI LOCO, the network's four store formats, offer a range of 5,000 products appreciated by the over 1.2 million customers who shop daily in these stores. More than 94% of these products come from suppliers in Romania. (Photo: Profi)