Future’s food
Saving tradition by innovating. From food production to distribution to food consumption, everything has changed profoundly in recent years, upsetting habits, behaviors, and business routines. Saving tradition by innovating sounds like a paradox but it is not.
Large-scale food retailers for example, which are investing in improving customer relations through new services and the use of social media, seem to be simply engaged in a matter of communication and style, but this is not the case, there is much more at stake. With the advent of Amazon and increased competitiveness, building beneficial relationships with the consumer has become vital. The very defense in the kitchen of the food of our cultural identity, in catering and hospitality establishments, has long been not a matter of taste so much as an economic issue because it means quality of life, stimulus for winning creativity, opportunity or failure.
Three panel discussions by experts and witnesses went into new consumer trends and experiences, the use of innovative technologies and sales channels, and communication tools such as social networks that are breaking into a vital sector of our economy, agribusiness, at an increasingly rapid pace.
In the first panel discussion, moderated by Eugenio Puddu, (Deloitte and Why Liguria project), “Present and future of large-scale distribution: how scenarios are changing in light of new communication perspectives” and speakers included Lucia Bruzzone (Sogegross), Mario Gasbarrino (Unes), Luciano Villani (Coop Italia) , Michele Rinaldi (Soluzione Group). Supermarkets, born exactly in 1916, remained basically the same until a few years ago when, due to increasingly rapid, unpredictable and global changes, they were forced to carry out an epochal revolution. Consumers have increased but, above all, eating habits have changed: food more than a physical need is a desire and the speed of service, ensured by the Internet and a widespread logistics network, beats distance. The result is, on the one hand, the need to increase efficiency and innovation in distribution, and on the other hand, to give more attention to quality rather than quantity and the stories that accompany products and their origin. Chains increasingly need to dialogue with “people” rather than “customers.” Their identity and credibility are vital. Someone has argued that the real product to sell is the store itself, what it contains goes without saying. New communication tools are essential to show that we are trustworthy, that we are transparent, that we have passion.
The second panel discussion, moderated by journalist Rosanna Piturru, involved entrepreneurs who, in their deep roots, more than nostalgia find stimuli for the future. At the debate “Food and new media: communicating innovation. Historical enterprises that have innovated tradition,” was attended by Diego Bosoni (Cantine Lunae S.r.l.), Stefano Bruzzone (Il pesto di Prà S.r.l.), Mattia Noberasco (Noberasco S.p.A.), and Savino Muraglia (Frantoio oleario Muraglia Savino). “There is no innovation if there is no knowledge of our roots,” ‘Dialogue with the consumer is part of our tradition and is the secret of our ability to innovate,’ ‘The balance between innovation and tradition is a mix of great importance in communication’: these are some contributions that stuck with me. In the different stories of family tradition that makes Ligurian agribusiness SMEs great, some recurring words brought out a common feeling that explains their success and sense of direction. Credibility, truth, contact, respect, identity, values, technology, adaptation, novelty, and professionalism represent the cultural and managerial humus that, sedimented in the past, enables food businesses to face the future. The introduction of social makes it possible for businesses to more easily build their online identity, improve customer listening, and above all, be accessible and interact at all times. A tremendous opportunity.
“Food as tradition, identity, cultural and economic value” was the theme of the third panel discussion coordinated by Luigi Caricato, journalist and editor of Olio Officina. Participants included Maurizio Sentieri (Lecturer and Essayist), Carlo Radicci (Casa Radicci S.p.A.) and two star chefs Mauro Ricciardi (Locanda dell’Angelo Restaurant) and Ivano Ricchebono (The Cook Restaurant). “People’s food consumption habits have profoundly changed, but this does not mean that the values and culture of food, which have always been determining factors of our national identity, are also outdated.” From this consideration began a reflection on changing eating habits on the one hand and the need to manage the increasing complexity of consumers on the other. There is a tendency to eat less and healthier, more and more attention is paid to quality, variety is demanded in products and their use, intolerances have to be coped with, idiosyncrasies arise caused by media fads about wellness, is investigated to learn more about food and where it comes from. In the face of all this, the best answer comes from the ability to serve genuine products, and the link with the territory becomes a factor of legitimacy and success for service and restaurant businesses. However, this does not mean not going down the road of innovation in the kitchen because the customer today is increasingly demanding and willing, if not eager, for new sensory experiences. Trained chefs and appropriate hotel schools (Liguria is gaining points in this) and manufacturing companies that use excellent raw materials from the territory or from different regions to achieve the optimal quality/price ratio are the solution. In communication we need to hold high the values of Italian cuisine and be able to tell and consider that the customer can visit our pages from anywhere in the world and compare them with others. What we need to convey is the real task of a cook in our culture: to make people feel good. All Ligurian cuisine goes in the same direction.
The conference closed its proceedings, also symbolically, with a Pesto Genovese al Mortaio competition among the students of the Nino Bergese Institute, led by Roberto Panizza president of the Palatifini Cultural Association, valid for the 2020 World Championship. The conference also brought out that the economic and social impact of products and services of Ligurian agribusiness companies is increasingly important, is a megaphone of local excellence and a major source of tourism appeal. To the many participants, particularly young people and entrepreneurs in the sector, the Genova Gourmet Association finally offered a light lunch curated by chef lvano Ricchebono.
This article appeared in Genova Impresa, the magazine of Confindustria Genova, September/October issue.
