I was fascinated reading about how being a legend can almost magically help a product overcome the toughest challenges. An out-and-out luxury, Parmigiano Reggiano has still managed to increase sales amid a ‘challenging geopolitical environment’…
Have you noted an up-swing in advertising and promotion in recent months, lauding real Italian Parmigiano Reggiano as the only ‘real’ parm? And, therefore, worth every premium penny they charge for it?
If you’ve got ‘it’…
It’s been more about ‘soft’ exposure in editorial copy than ‘hard’, paid advertising and earned news coverage. But Earned Media Value (EMV) has consistently proven more impactful and more valuable than hard coverage mere dollars can buy.
The Parm Consortium has been spending millions of Euros spreading the word about how its DOC (heritage law-protected) brand is, “The ONLY Parmesan’.
To be ‘real’ Parmigiano Reggiano, a cheese must be made within a prescribed geographical region to detailed specifications one might judge to be so exacting that it would be impossible for any entrepreneur to meet them. But the Consortium insists that its members employ more than 5o,000 people, “who dedicate themselves passionately every day to a unique and inimitable cheese.”
A successful campaign
By all standards, the promo campaign has been exceptionally successful, pushing an overall 9.2 percent increase last year in Parm sales volume. The domestic market (Italy) accounted for a 5.2 percent increase, while exports rose by a remarkable 13.7 percent.
According to a Food In Canada report, “despite a challenging geopolitical environment, uncertainty in international markets, and concerns over increasing trade restrictions,” the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium reported 3.2 billion Euro in total sales, for a 4.9 percent increase in total sales for 2024, over the previous year.
Distinguishing ‘marks’…
Being lauded by mega-food website Taste Atlas year after year as the world’s best cheese type certainly hasn’t hurt Parmigiano Reggiano’s image or reputation.
And being surpassed in overall volume sold and consumed only by Cheddar ranks as a remarkable achievement, considering Cheddar had become the global standard for all sorts of cheese applications across dozens of cuisines. Parmigiano Reggiano is still generally recognised as a ‘topping’ and garnishing cheese.
And it’s universally associated with Italian cuisine specifically – having ridden into other cultures and cooking styles on the back of Pizza and thereafter being very selectively adopted for specific roles outside the big ‘Mediterranean Boot’.
My take
In spite of all its achievements, both culinary and economic, Parmigiano Reggiano’s brand custodians still insist it’s one of the most counterfeited foods. And they claim that costs them millions every year.
There are less-expensive, nutty, fruity, salty, umamiful Italian hard cheeses you could use in place of Parmigiano. But the name is somehow so trancendental that those alternative types are often falsely labeled ‘Parmigianno Regianno’ by crooks who want to take advantage of the brand magic and pass off lesser products as the top-priced ‘real deal’.
Therefore, the Consortium’s emphasis on making sure you get what you pay for – and your Parm dollars end up in the right place: their pockets!
~ Maggie J.