In addition to investing in the creation of a production space that respects, in the smallest details, the conditions and quality standards of di Varzi salami, it was expected that finding the right direction for positioning and developing the brand identity would be a great challenge. That's why the initiators of the unusual Premio Gusto project wanted to make sure that everything will be done properly from the beginning, and turned to us to create and enliven the brand.

Being a new product, which is part of a niche of the Romanian cold cuts market, we aimed, first of all, to find out which is its reference category, who are the competitors in this category and to whom it is addressed. At the same time, we wanted to understand what implications the product particularities, such as the type of salami, the designation of origin, the recipe, could have on the brand and business strategy, to help the Premio Gusto team with recommendations regarding all marketing mix components, from portfolio and packaging, to distribution and promotion, in preparation for its market launch.

Category and business discovery

We started the project with a first part of documentation on the category from different perspectives: the Varzi type of salami and aspects related to its manufacture and marketing, knowing that it is a product with Protected Designation of Origin (P.O.D.), the Italian cold cuts or specific to other countries that are present on the Romanian market, the sales channels in which they can be found, the visual positioning, packaging design and communication of representative brands for this segment, and also the possible final consumer profiles and B2B customers in the HORECA field.

The next step was to analyze the information together with the Premio Gusto team and to continue exploring the business from an internal perspective, to discover the fundamental elements on which the brand will be built: development vision, values, personality, functional and emotional benefits that can be promised to the target audience.

Visual identity

Based on the experience of the Italian lifestyle, the next step was to discover and analyze it visually to find those key elements on which we can build a natural, authentic visual language. Thus, we came to the conclusion that it is a very rich, decorative style, which can be described as a combination of almost perfectly geometric shapes combined with organic ones, cursive or imperfect elements with human, handmade influences.

The letters are based on a simple, condensed and monolinear geometric structure. The components that break this grid refer to the imperfect Italian signage, hand-drawn, with small flourishes giving the logo authenticity and memorability.

Packaging design

In the packaging design we introduced those elements that give us a sense of familiarity and trust in an authentic product: craft paper, natural textures, a human touch which gives the feeling that someone has created and packaged each product with love.

The shape of the label evokes the elegance of the art deco style - which largely overlaps the Italian style. The graphic composition is dynamic, rich in elements and fonts with personality, and the colors are used to make an easy differentiation between the product variants.

Creative platform

The visual universe was developed within the brand's creative platform, which contains examples of marketing materials used in online and offline communication, from digital banners to merchandising concepts for product display at points of sale.

Website and e-shop development

Knowing that the digital environment has favored the emergence and development of niche brands in various fields, including food, but also specific online outlets that sell them (eg specialty stores, grocery stores, etc.), the Premio Gusto team has chosen to have its own e-shop from the beginning, aiming to gradually expand its distribution network to other channels.