The world evolves, flies. And it doesn’t wait for you nor the origins of the “new producers of the XXI century”. Being heir to a production family doesn’t follow the general pattern of a new enterprise. Our agriculture and livestock may have a future despite the challenges of competing against the big players in a globalized world.
When you think about Europe as the cradle of western civilization, prestigious Spanish gastronomy companies tend to have specific patterns and concepts. Legacy, heritage and multi-generational are words that come to mind. Most believe it takes many years, if not generations, to offer products of the highest quality and that without that heritage your brand will not be able to compete in the market place. Really? Those concepts started to change at the turn of this century.
However, I have to admit that this trend began to change even earlier. In the early nineties, there was a worldwide explosion of our gastronomy, thanks to Carles Gaig, Jean Luc Figueras and Arzak’s disciples such as Ferran Adrià and Martin Berasategui. This revolutionized the way the world thought about and valued Spanish gastronomy thus bringing more and more people to this sector. But of course, when we began to realize that Spanish products were internationally appreciated for their quality, that brought another type of revolution. Well, I would call it a silent colonization by very astute people not born in Spain. One of our Achilles’ Heel was failing to invest in our natural resources. Spanish people preferred to conquer other markets with indigenous raw materials. Indeed, they focused more on quantity rather than quality.
On the other hand, our clever European neighbors like the French and the Italians, began to make their purchases throughout Spanish territory. For instance, companies with poorly managed vineyards or mills and without a clear future were ripe for acquisition. In addition, the generational replacement problem played into their hands for many reasons. Lack of encouragement, temptation of easy money from a new investor (which enabled the heirs to live an opulent lifestyle) or believing that they were not knowledgeable enough to produce and market a final product all contributed to the problem.
The secret Recipe? Maybe
These new producers began to optimize these companies with these two essential ingredients:
- Modernizing the company, both in internal processes: machinery, logistics, human capital, and marketing the brand’s value development which is essential for generating prestige and willingness to buy your product.
- Internationalization, a sin qua non condition to be profitable. This example is the same for the person who created the company from scratch only taking advantage of a differential value, e.g. Spanish natural resources.
We were the first world producer of both bulk wine and olive oil. As a culture, we are unfortunately still in that stage. But luckily, there is already an interesting 4.0 business base which belongs to a global minds’ generation. That means excellent product, thrilling storytelling, marketing presentations well translated into English, and branding which is similar to prestigious fashion or jewelry companies. In addition, multinational process management which is very vertical and very agile.
New partnerships, and teamwork with companies where synergy is created, is the new virtual reality that allows them to soar to another dimension. The old, archaic company model of decentralization (the right hand not knowing what the left is doing) contributed to lost opportunities in international sales.
The origins of new producers
The decision-making speed of the new premium Spanish company producing gastronomic products has patterns that Romero has detected, interpreted and emulated over the last 5 years. The key to our rapid success is human and sociocultural affinity that we call Premium Networking.
These companies are usually wholly Spanish owned or partial international ownership. Owners’ former business experience need not have been in the same business sector. We are collaborating with people who have strong and strategic profiles. That entails becoming accustomed to Germanic implementation processes (that is leaving nothing to improvisation) and learning from their experience in foreign trading, which is in their DNA.
Therefore, it is not surprising that their consumer is international, with high purchasing power, tech savvy, and who values the quality and uniqueness of the product. The price? It is not the determining factor. Other aspects such as quality prevail when the necessary investments in marketing have been made. Packaging, storytelling, digital marketing strategy (videos, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) and product promotions to true sector influencers all contribute to a brand’s success in today’s global economy.
We also find new producers of national origin. However, they usually have international experience in their profile, because they have either lived abroad or worked in an export business. They are also more likely to have a higher education and an MBA.
Something that unites them all and sets them apart from the previous generation is their crazy desire to share with other producers, even if they are the competition in the same sector. Their philosophy is a global world, not a local one. The more they cooperate, the more success there will be to share.
We are experiencing a total revolution in this gastronomic market. There are companies that were aware of this revolution and evolved favorably. However, for the companies that did not evolve, it means a great deal of work for Spanish Premium products if the want to have a seat at the international market table.
MadeinSpain has several ways to accomplish this. We have started with the first and foremost: filtering and detecting who does thing very well and need branded content and targeting the market in Spain, e.g. the resident international community with high purchasing power.
Companies that sit in this circle, what are you waiting for? Contact us and we will welcome you with open arms, because Spain has a great future in your unique sector. Together we can build your success and enjoy that future.