Israel Romero / Sunday, May 5, 2024 / Categories: Internacionalización The digital internationalization of Spanish gourmet products Digital internationalization We are in a new phase of internationalization. It’s no longer enough to think only about finding importers or distributors to grow abroad. At least in Europe, which is a very attractive market to make the jump now. Made in Spain Gourmet is a channel to grow in the Old Continent for Spanish gourmet brands. 2024: internationalization is an obligation for Spain Europe closer thanks to Made in Spain Gourmet 2024: internationalization is an obligation for Spain We’ve attended the two most important gastronomy fairs in Spain in recent weeks, Alimentaria in March in Barcelona and the Salón Gourmets in Madrid in April, to see the innovations from Spanish gourmet brands and, in addition to meeting several of our partners, to get a first-hand sense of the concerns, thoughts, and objectives of all these companies for the coming year. The conclusions we gathered from both events curiously have a common denominator. More than ever, attention is turning outward as a lifeline (growth) to continue evolving, because the domestic market is already showing signs of exhaustion. Although not in all channels, Spanish gourmet brands do not find the doors in the national market as open as they can abroad. Because the eternal dilemma we face when handling the commercial actions of Spanish gourmet brands is always the same: they don’t back the best products in the domestic market. In other words, they prefer to demand good products, but not the best, when they could opt for the highest quality. And they prefer to prioritize profit over offering know-how and the highest quality. Let me explain. You can offer an appetizer with mussels and other preserves in a delicatessen or a five-star hotel, and the quality of what they serve is not what you would expect in those places. Unforgivable and unjustifiable. [caption id="attachment_28993" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The digital internationalization of Spanish gourmet products[/caption] The reasons that “justify” that choice are that they need to make money, and therefore they don’t choose top-quality products, precisely in places where it should be mandatory — and that happens. A dreadful commercial policy and intolerable. When simply communicating the products on offer, origin seal (Galicia), traceability, the brand’s history, etc., would more than justify the choice of product and brand. EVOO and Iberian products also suffer from these atrocities, and the consequences are very negative for the Spanish gourmet category. Spain increasingly attracts high-quality gastronomic tourism, and we don’t capitalize on this pull to launch Spanish brands and create growing, steady international demand. For heaven’s sake, even Sir Gordon Ramsay, the most famous chef in the world in media terms, has considered Madrid one of the three “countries” essential to his gastronomy. He mentioned Madrid, along with Lagos and Vietnam, because it concentrates all the diversity that Spain can bring together in our wonderful capital of the Kingdom of Spain. And even with that kind of publicity, we don’t at all capitalize on the potential we could. The most positive thing, however, about what I’ve said above is that now is the time to look toward countries around us — and not so close — which are the best solution for recognition of the unmatched quality of Spanish gourmet products. We already made that statement from our beginnings in 2020. Well, that was our vision thanks to our international community resident in Barcelona, which pushed us toward it from the gourmet events we were already organizing back in 2016. But since we created that gateway via the digital channel as the absolute priority, now we tell them: yes, of course we must internationalize our gourmet brands, but should it be offline or online? Europe closer thanks to Made in Spain Gourmet That question is much harder for producers to answer. If in Spain they are not very well treated by top-tier restaurants or hotels (which squeeze them on price as if their products didn’t cost what they’re worth, or offer cheaper alternatives without caring about ruining the status and recognition of some Spanish gourmet products for short-term financial gain), abroad there is a mixture of fear of losing distributors if they question how those distributors manage their products, and at the same time ignorance about how the brands themselves should attack international markets. And that’s why, finding themselves at a crossroads with a difficult solution, we notice a certain pessimism when they think about their international growth as something they can manage from the brand itself. Because, let’s not kid ourselves, there is no better growth channel than the brand itself, and this is indisputable — but it’s another thing to actually embrace it as such. Made in Spain Gourmet has demonstrated over the last four years that there is no better growth channel than your own. Moreover, ours is very attractive and essential for sustainable and progressive international growth. Thanks to our organic search positioning, Google has helped us attract the kind of consumer profile that Spanish gourmet brands long for: people with high purchasing power and knowledge of our products, who just want to enjoy them; they don’t worry about price, but about access. On our online store they find them and also our advice when requested, followed by secure, affordable, and fairly fast shipping. Remember that our website is in 32 languages, and that it publishes between 10 and 15 original articles each month about our Spanish gourmet products, so our authority on Google is real. And there’s nothing more to add. A lot of work developing our brand digitally, and an ever greater reward each day. That is the recipe we pass on to Spanish brands that make gourmet products, and to those we tell that we want to be more and better in our community. Because, however obvious it may seem, only unity will give us strength, and only with committed people in the cause of bringing Spain to the highest level of worldwide recognition will those goals and aspirations be achieved. Europe is a market where growing is relatively simple at the B2C level, but if we don’t tell these consumers we exist, how on earth will we do it? More vertical and digital commercial activity and less waiting for others to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for us. The market changes at enormous speed, and we must evolve at the same pace and not fall into the victimhood that Europe only knows Italy or France, and that we are expensive. That was never a barrier on our website; the main obstacle was being discovered. After that, we have become a regular purchase-and-repurchase channel for several hundred Europeans. And we will keep growing. Because we offer only the Best of Spain, with enthusiasm, professionalism, and transparency. Navarretinto: possibly the best Iberian pig farm in Spain BEHER: Iberian hams from Guijuelo with nearly 100 years of history Print 5 Rate this article: No rating Please login or register to post comments.