Food and destination branding

Dr. Chiara Rinaldi

Centre for Tourism - School of Business,
Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg
 The context
Globalization and international place competition to
attract tourists, business, and residents. We’ll focus on
tourists and destinations.

 Destination branding
•  Destination branding can be viewed as a way to
communicate a destination’s unique identity by
differentiating a destination from its competitors (Qu et al.,
2011: 466)
•  Destination brands exert two important functions:
identification and differentiation.
 F&G and destination branding
•  Globalization entails a process of glocalization (Roberts,
1995).
•  Local resources – both geographical and cultural –available
in the place can represent a “unique perceived value” to
consumers and tourists, essential to differentiate the place
and make the local available resources into a form of
competitive advantage (Askegaard & Kjeldgaard, 2007).
 F&G to differentiate a place
•  Food is considered both a reflection of the culture of a
place and an expression of a society and its people (Du
Rand et al., 2006)
•  Food-place associations helps a place to be remembered
by tourists and contributes defining the identity of a place.
 Food as sustainable branding strategy
•  Food and gastronomy build on locally-available
resources (agricultural & livestock productions/
fisheries) and on local knowhow (e.g. processing and
cooking).
•  Local gastronomy is therefore based on and reinforces
local identity (Berg et al 2014), by differentiating a place
from competitors: it helps the branding process.
•  Food is becoming an essential component in
destination choice motivation (Hall et al,2013).
•  Food is gradually replacing geographical location as
the brand destination: place is a vehicle for
experiencing authentic food in meaningful ways.
(Williams et al 2014).
 Food in experience economy

Food relates to many elements of destination experience
and it links different elements of the experience together
(Richards, 2015).


Food branding elements
Food branding elements:
•  Products (food and
beverages)
•  Practices (eating and
meals)
•  Art and customs of
preparing and eating
(gastronomy)
•  S e n s o r y e l e m e n t s
(taste, smell, touch,
look)
•  Origins of food (organic
food, ethnic cuisines,
locally produced, food
and so on.)
•  F o o d p r e p a r a t i o n
(ways of cooking)
(Richards, 2015)
In your opinion, which food and gastronomy
resources/elements can differentiate and
identify a destination?

Take a tourist perspective and a territorial

approach
 Local food and GI products
Originate from a particular area, and it is their origin, based
on their local identity or typicality, which differentiates them
from other products (De Salvo et al., 2013).

Geographical Indications (GIs) distinguish a certain food brand that is

linked to a specific place of origin. This can be registered (and
protected!) under European laws.
 Short food supply chains
Direct selling of local food in local markets/farms/shops
shorten distances between producers and consumers/
tourists (respatialization and resocialization) (Renting et al.
2003).
 Landscape (terroir)
Represents a synthesis between local biodiversity
and sociocultural traditions (Wiskerke, 2009).
 Local gastronomy (culinary practices)
Local gastronomy is linked to the culture, tradition and
identity of the place and its people (Sims, 2009).
 Local food consumption places
e.g. restaurants, agritourism, wineries, bars, etc.: the context
in which food is served and consumed represents a
branding element; it attracts tourists because it contributes
to authenticity (Renting et al., 2003)
 Food events and food festivals
They are a celebration of a community’s local identity,
values and pride and can support destination branding
(Blichfeldt & Halkier, 2014).
F&G significant local resources should
be connected for integrated devt

Rinaldi, 2017
 Linking food, place and people (1)
•  Place-based qualities give peculiar characteristics to food
products, foster biodiversity and ensure specific
gastronomic traditions.
 Linking food, place and people (2)
•  People are the local actors. They instil local skills, historical
and cultural practices, knowhow in producing, processing
and transforming products. They include farmers,
fishermen, producers and processers, chef and food
service industry, festival organizers and managers,
policymakers and authorities involved in the food system
and the community.
 Food and authenticity

Concerns exist over tourism’s role in globalization

and the potential for cultural homogenization,
including food, has led to debates about tourism’s
role in the ‘McDonaldization’ of culture (Page and
Hall, 2003; Ritzer, 1996).
 Food and authenticity

Globalisation does not necessarily only produces

homogenisation, but could support impetus for
transforming the nature and meaning of the
local.

Food is expressive of a region and its culture

has meant that it can be used as a means of
differentiation for a destination in an increasingly
competitive global marketplace.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie
Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 707763
 Food and authenticity for tourism devt
Geographical component (terroir) & cultural component
(cultural values shared by local community). Products and
experiences need to faithfully communicate an intimate link
between food, place and community.
Eg. of failure to become gastronomic destination: Negev
region, Israel (Hillel et al, 2013). Why?
Products
Produced
No associate
Food for food not
protected d with
export used by
origin other
locals
places

Not used
No associa9on between local food, local
by local
culinary prac9ces and community
chefs
This project has received funding from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie
Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 707763
Food, place and people: branding Bohuslän
Do you like to try local food/ typical gastronomic
dishes when you are on abroad or do you stick
to what you already know and like?

What problems/issues have you experienced

trying local food (if any)?
 Neophilia and Neophobia
Experiencing unfamiliar local food may represent a
challenge for tourists: food can be perceived as
attraction or impediment (Cohen & Avieli, 2004).
Neophilia VS Neophobia
•  Neophilia: the search for new foods and the love of
tasting novel dishes
•  Neophobia: distrust of new foods and abhorrence
of the unknown
Place and food cultures are different… but so are
tourists!
 Different branding strategies to market
destinations
E.g. Tuscany emphasises the “back-to-the-roots” rhetoric:
aestheticization of the rural and authentication of the
traditional and typical.
Each place is different and each food culture
is different too
Smalahove contributes to the image of Voss as a
tourism destination.
•  Smalahove: is not marketed with landscape or
environmental conditions, but together with the
theme of adventure, addressing different consumer/
customer segments through a co-branding of
extreme sports and extreme food.
 FOODIES
“A foodie is a person who is very, very, very
interested in food. Foodies are the ones talking
about food in any gathering—salivating over
restaurants, recipes, radicchio. They do not
think they are being trivial—Foodies consider
food to be an art, on a level with painting or
drama”. (Barr & Levy, 1984)

Foodies are an interesting tourism segment because they constitute both the highest-yield and
the most demanding food tourists, as they are willing to spend more for customized experiences.
However, they also contribute to spreading awareness that a destination is worth a visit, enhancing
a destination’s reputation for attractiveness (Getz et al, 2014)
 Interesting case: Burgos (Spain)
They tried to become European Capital of Culture involving
the whole city, but they did not win the bid.
Multi-stakeholder actions are
processes “in which actors from civil
society, business and governmental
institutions come together in order to
find a common approach to an issue
that affects them all” (Roloff 2008).

.. the most effective place branding

• 

initiatives are those where a wide

range of local players are involved and
energized. On the contrary, initiatives,
which do not engage, and in some
cases alienate local stakeholders, are
almost always destined to
fail” (Houghton and Stevens, 2011)
Branding Burgos Gastronomic Capital of
Spain 2013

“any creation or value proposition made to strengthen travel

motivation centred on gastronomy should be underpinned by
sustainability principles and practices and organized around
an effective system of public-private cooperation.” (UNWTO,
2012)

 Burgos Video

•  Burgos Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2013

h=ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q7Jn-
LtcYU&t=24s

 Longest
Devora es morcilla de Valorisa9on
Burgos Burgos 178m cultural
(leading & 200kg heritage with
event) (Guinness gastronomy
record)

Reinven9on of Many
tradi9onal Burgos’ agricultural
cuisine, strategy products (e.g.
recipes and cherries) &
menus wines

Local
Involvement community Public-Private
of chefs and directly partnerships
gastronomic involved in the to manage city
schools tourist branding
experience

Since 2015 Burgos is UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy

 Important to remember
•  Reflect on what resources differentiate and identify
a destination, and which place assets should be
marketed together with food and gastronomy.
•  Who is the tourist we are talking to: positioning and
target groups.
•  Avoiding to copy successful strategies from other
destinations: each place has different geographical
and cultural characteristics.
 Thank you!
chiara.rinaldi@gu.se