MadeIT’s mission is to communicate Italian style, which is also represented in the pay-off “Le meilleur de l’ITalimentaire”. A manifesto that, along with last year’s rebranding, is even more defined and drives every corporate strategy.
“The rebranding was an important task for our company,” says MadeIT General Manager Elena Cavallo.
“We have developed a kind of ‘internal compass’ that guides us in the right direction, for example when it comes to establishing new partnerships with new suppliers. We are not looking necessarily for top Italian brands, but companies that know how to communicate the Italian lifestyle abroad.”
INTRODUCING THE AMBIENT PINSA ON FRENCH SHELVES
True to this policy, the company has entered into new partnerships with Italian manufacturers over the past year to further expand its own-brand offerings.
“The big news in 2023 was the introduction of the pinsa for the shelf stable. A launch that was very well received, even above our expectations”, Elena Cavallo continues. The launch of the pinsa ambient under the Ciro brand (MadeIT’s private label) is part of the trend of the apéritif dînatoire, the apericena. This is a trend that was consolidated and evolved strongly in France during the pandemic and continues to grow today. So much so that MadeIT, in recent years, has developed a wide range of products in line with this trend and moment of consumption, which have been promoted in store with the claim “Voyage en Italie”.
“Within the stores, we create dedicated areas, where we offer a range of products suitable for aperitifs. In this promotional aisle we find breadsticks, taralli, savoury biscuits, sauces and pestos, pickles, olives, prosecco and spritz and, of course, the aperitif breads: bruschetta, piadina and, from today, pinsa. We are the first in France to propose it for the ambient shelf and we have already included it in all the assortments of the chains we work with, with excellent results. Within our Voyage en Italie formats, we present it in combination with the rest of our range, with the support of promoters who offer gifts and discount vouchers and who cook the pinsa directly at the point of sale so that it can be tasted fresh out of the oven, at the same time showing how simple and quick it is to prepare”. And the aim is to continue along this line also for 2024: “We are preparing meetings with buyers to present next year’s new products and I can already anticipate that we will further develop the range of breads for aperitifs”.
CHRISTMAS, THE ITALIAN WAY
In the meantime, “La gourmandise à l’italienne” campaign continues, suggesting alternative consumption moments, not strictly linked to breakfast, for Mulino Bianco brand biscuits (MadeIT has been a partner of Barilla for over 18 years, ed.); while for the upcoming Christmas campaign, French stores are set to showcase dedicated promotional areas for “Noël à l’italienne”.
This new concept will be launched between November and December, highlighting Italy’s classic festive treats: panettone and pandoro. “We will work mainly with the Ciro brand, to offer large Christmas leavened goods, in different weights, both plain and with more sophisticated fillings, in combination with other products such as nougat or prosecco. An exciting challenge, given that in France Christmas is predominantly associated with chocolate, which MadeIT is aiming to win with its trump card, namely the creation of attractive in-store settings with impactful graphics and the help of promoters for tastings and gifting. Once again, we want to provide retailers with a consumption concept, where the leavened product, panettone or pandoro, is placed in a context, creating a new moment of consumption also thanks to synergies with our other products”.