Israel Romero / Wednesday, February 16, 2022 / Categories: Blog When Recommendations Are Everything Recommendation is everything Would you buy a ham if you didn't know the value of its brand? What if you can't tell its quality labels apart? Do you like wines or extra virgin olive oils but don't know which to choose because you're not familiar with them? For those reasons and a few more, we created Made in Spain Gourmet. Gastronomic recommendation: a growing value The unknown gourmet product that needs guidance I have spent a long time advising Spanish companies on creating or improving brand value, and almost every time the diagnosis is the same: it had not been considered a priority within the company, and it was not perceived as a need to create business and corporate development through brand value. Within the initial framework for creating brand value, networking is very important, because thanks to it, commercial, business, and customer management processes can be accelerated. And networking is nothing more than a relationship based on recommendation among your professional or non-professional contacts. That word is key: recommend, and it has a meaning that goes beyond merely giving a name or simply thinking of the right person for a task or a business. It carries the guarantee of the person who provides the contact or gives their authorization or OK to that action or choice. Forgive me if I sound like a business consultant, but sometimes I can't help it and can't explain it any other way. Gastronomic recommendation: a growing value We are at a very interesting moment in history. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rules of the game have changed. And purchasing channels have expanded dramatically. E-commerce over the internet has taken on an exaggerated prominence and has put traditional retail into question. The ease of buying and the increased habit of ordering products online has raised demand through this channel. But not all sectors behave the same online, because it's not the same to sell a product that doesn't need added value, such as fashion, as it is to sell a reserva wine from a specific designation of origin or an oil or a cheese. The unknown gourmet product that needs guidance We saw the opportunity to offer Spanish gourmet products online as an excellent channel to promote something in which Spain is a world power, and also as a business with good future prospects. However, there was a handicap we had to solve: Spanish gourmet products are generally unknown (in terms of brands) even within Spain itself. How do we make them known in Europe? It couldn't be done the traditional way, that is, leaving the products to the luck of distributors who receive countless product offers for their channels from many countries (not only European, but from all over the world). We had to look for other options. The key is to reach the final consumer, the one who wants to try new products, or who wants to find the ones they tried on a trip to Spain. That would be our objective, undoubtedly the most complicated, because it is not controlled, it is heterogeneous, and furthermore, if our market was Europe, each country would require a different approach. Even seeing the difficulties and not having references from other Spanish companies to compare ourselves with in this adventure, we accepted the challenge. We realized that ignorance has a cure: sharing knowledge. And that's what we did. The content of our website had to be broad and appealing so that people who gradually entered it would want to keep coming back in the future. Simply adding soulless products with nothing more than purely technical, cold information and no intent to attract the consumer was not our goal. In addition to providing lots of content on the site (in the product area and in the News section, with stories about the brands, the products and the people in our environment), we needed to be closer to our customers. Therefore, besides offering a direct line to us via WhatsApp, we wanted to convey that behind Made in Spain Gourmet there are 3 people who stand behind the recommendations on the site. Three people who know what they like and what is best in this country from a gastronomic and gourmet point of view. Svetlana Krolivetskaya, Russian by nationality and with more than 12 years in our country, knows everything and tries everything, and has a very demanding palate, so what passes her approval is of the highest quality. Xavier Lahuerta, our Chef and Gastronomy Ambassador, provides the professional opinion and at the same time speaks from the soul of the products, and I, Israel Romero, want to capture the essence of the people behind the products we choose, because for us it is very important that, in addition to an excellent product, the people behind it are excellent as well. That we recommend all the products we offer on our website is fundamental to differentiate us from other gourmet shops. Our community in Spain and Europe always asks us about the products and our recommendation is very important to them. We will never have products we haven't tried or that don't meet the requirements of quality, excellent packaging, good storytelling, and people with values behind each product. Thus, our business is based on recommending products according to our personal and professional criteria and, above all, they must reflect the highest quality and carry the seal of Made in Spain Gourmet. It is a goal that, if everything goes according to plan, is for life. So far we can't complain; both products and consumers have proven us right and approved our concept… but there is still much work to do. Made in Spain Gourmet: a gourmet online store that's not actually online. Why do Europeans buy Made in Spain Gourmet products? Print 2 Rate this article: No rating Tags: gourmetMade in SpainSpainSpain Please login or register to post comments.