Since entering the Spanish gourmet food industry in 2019, I have had the privilege of witnessing an extraordinary transformation.

Spain has certainly stepped up its game. We have exceptional producers, brands with fascinating stories and some of the finest gastronomic products in the world.

But we still face a major problem: we struggle to defend the value of our own brands.

And one of the greatest threats is the ease with which some gourmet producers agree to manufacture private-label products at the expense of developing their own brands.

Are we building Spanish brands with a future, or are we simply producing excellent products so that others can build their brands?

Because these are two very different business models.

1. The great temptation: selling more today, even if our brand disappears tomorrow

I know the argument perfectly well.

A major distributor, a retail chain or an international buyer approaches you with an opportunity. They want your product, but they want to sell it under their own brand.

The producer runs the numbers. There is volume, revenue and an opportunity to increase production.

And they agree.

I am not against manufacturing for third parties. It can be a perfectly valid business strategy when properly planned and balanced with the development of the company's own brand.

What I oppose is turning private label into an easy way out that replaces a genuine commercial strategy.

When producers systematically agree to remove their identity from their products, they are giving up a fundamental part of the value they have spent years building.

Consumers may enjoy extraordinary Iberian ham, exceptional olive oil or magnificent seafood preserves without ever knowing who produced them.

Who receives the recognition? Who builds the relationship with those consumers? Who develops the brand's value?

The answer is obvious: the company selling the product under its own name.

Meanwhile, the producer risks becoming an easily replaceable manufacturer.

And that is where the real problem begins.

2. We have extraordinary products. Why are we still competing on price?

Sometimes I feel that we Spaniards are our own worst competitors.

We have family businesses with a hundred years of history. Producers representing five generations of knowledge. Traditional production methods that cannot be industrially replicated without losing part of their essence.

We have 100% Iberian acorn-fed ham, exceptional extra virgin olive oils, artisan cheeses, Galician seafood preserves, Cantabrian anchovies and almadraba-caught bluefin tuna.

Behind every one of these products lies a territory, knowledge, people, tradition and investment.

All of that has economic value. But only if we know how to communicate and defend it.

When we allow our products to be marketed exclusively under someone else's brand, we risk making all those distinctive qualities invisible to consumers.

Buyers end up comparing apparently similar products, and price becomes one of their main purchasing criteria.

Precisely what we should be trying to avoid.

Do we really want our finest products to compete exclusively on price?

My answer is very clear.

3. International expansion requires building brands, not simply exporting products

At Made in Spain Gourmet, we work with more than 100 Spanish companies and maintain constant commercial contact with professional customers across Europe and the United States.

This experience has taught me something fundamental.

Exporting a product and developing an international brand are not the same thing.

You may convince an importer to purchase several pallets of olive oil. That is a commercial transaction.

But getting that importer to understand why your olive oil is different, communicate its distinctive qualities and encourage customers to ask for it by name is something far more important.

That is international brand building.

In the United States, we still have considerable work ahead of us to strengthen the recognition of premium Spanish gourmet products.

In Europe, we benefit from greater cultural and gastronomic proximity, but that does not mean our market positioning is guaranteed.

And that is precisely why we must defend it.

When an international buyer tells us they are only interested in our production if they can market it under their own brand, we must evaluate much more than sales volume.

What margins will we achieve? What level of dependency are we creating? What opportunities are we sacrificing? Where will our brand stand five years from now?

Sometimes, saying NO to a business opportunity means saying YES to our company's future.

4. Digital transformation: our great opportunity to reduce our dependence on intermediaries

This is something I particularly want to emphasize.

For decades, sales departments have invested enormous effort in finding customers, visiting markets, attending trade shows and personally explaining why their products are different.

All of that remains necessary.

But today, we have an opportunity that many Spanish gourmet companies are still not fully exploiting: digital transformation.

And I am not simply talking about having an attractive website.

I am talking about turning our website into our company's best salesperson, available 24 hours a day and capable of presenting our products in any market.

Our history, production methods, the origin of our raw materials, certifications, awards, the people behind our company and everything that differentiates us from other producers must be clearly explained.

And that information must be available in the languages of our main target markets.

Artificial intelligence adds an entirely new dimension to this opportunity.

It is becoming increasingly important for search engines and AI tools to find, interpret and use reliable information about our brands.

But there is a catch.

Producing hundreds of AI-generated articles that simply repeat what our competitors are already saying is not enough.

The real value lies in publishing original knowledge, genuine experience and distinctive information that demonstrates our expertise.

Artificial intelligence can help us communicate our authority more effectively, but it cannot invent authenticity that we do not possess.

Spanish gourmet brands have authenticity in abundance.

What they need is to learn how to communicate it.

5. Marketing vs. Sales: it's time to stop working separately

Another recurring problem is the disconnect between marketing and sales.

Marketing departments publish content, prepare campaigns and manage social media.

Sales departments look for buyers, attend trade shows and negotiate deals.

But do they genuinely share the same strategy?

When both departments work together, something extraordinary happens: potential customers arrive much better informed.

They know the company's story, understand its products, have discovered what makes them different and, in many cases, already have compelling reasons to buy.

Salespeople no longer have to start every conversation from scratch.

Instead, they can devote considerably more time to what really matters: building trust, developing relationships and closing higher-value business opportunities.

Digital transformation does not replace the sales department.

It makes it more effective.

And a sales department that works closely with marketing can provide invaluable information for creating content that answers international buyers' real questions.

That combination represents one of the greatest opportunities ahead of us.

6. Learning from Champagne: selling a territory, a story and a brand

I have always found it fascinating to observe how Champagne has built its international reputation.

It is not simply about producing excellent sparkling wine.

Behind it lies an appellation of origin, a recognized territory, a collective identity and decades of investment in communication and positioning.

Cava, for example, shares the traditional production method used in Champagne, although there are significant differences in territory, grape varieties, regulations, styles and commercial positioning.

The lesson I want to highlight is not that both products are identical.

It is that perceived value does not depend exclusively on product quality. It also depends on how we build and defend our identity.

Champagne has succeeded in making its origin an essential part of its value proposition.

Spain has the opportunity to continue developing similar international recognition for many of its outstanding gastronomic specialties.

But we need a collective strategy, alongside individual brands capable of investing in their own positioning.

We cannot expect to build an international gastronomic reputation while constantly giving up the identity of the producers behind our finest products.

7. Spanish gourmet producers: we need to compete together internationally

I want to finish with a reflection addressed especially to the owners and executives of our gourmet companies.

We need to stop assuming that the only way to grow is to produce more and sell at lower prices.

Sometimes, producing less, selecting our distribution channels more carefully and properly defending our prices can generate greater profitability.

There is no universal formula. Every company has its own structure, needs and objectives.

But there is one question we should all be asking ourselves:

Are we building a company that manufactures products, or a brand that customers actively want to buy?

We need to invest in international business development, digital transformation, quality content and much closer collaboration between producers.

Extra virgin olive oil, Iberian ham, artisan cheeses, Cantabrian seafood preserves, Galician specialties and so many other Spanish products deserve an international presence that recognizes both their quality and the brands behind them.

And that presence cannot be achieved simply by attending trade shows or waiting for an importer to discover us.

It requires consistent work, every single day.

Made in Spain Gourmet: leading by example

When we founded Made in Spain Gourmet, our ambition was clear: to defend Spanish gourmet products and, above all, the value of the companies and brands that make them possible.

Today, we work with more than 100 Spanish companies, carefully selecting their products and developing international business opportunities.

Our objective is not simply to sell excellent Spanish products.

It is to ensure that our customers understand why we have selected them, who stands behind each product and what makes each company different.

We want recognition to reach the producer, too.

Because when an international customer buys a Spanish brand by name, because of its history and quality, we are creating something far more valuable than a commercial transaction.

We are building a future for that brand.

I do not want a Spanish gourmet industry that simply produces exceptional food so that others can build their reputation.

I want an industry that believes in its own brands, invests in them and has the ambition to turn them into international benchmarks.

Because we have the products, the talent and the history.

Now it is time to defend their value.

And that requires hard work, business vision and, sometimes, the courage to say no.

Inspiration comes through hard work, not divine intervention.

 

AUTOR: Israel Romero, CEO de Made in Spain Gourmet.