Academia Barilla Essay -- Marketing, Food Industry

Born of the idea to preserve authentic Italian cuisine, Academia Barilla has faced strategic issues to increase profitability and growth. Offering not only high quality food products, but an education on Italian gastronomy, Academia relies on a differentiated marketing message of authenticity, with the quality to prove it. While striving to teach buyers of the difference between imitation and true Italian cuisine, Academia must continue to seek new strategies to reach a broader customer base. By studying the firm’s core competencies, and performing analysis on the industry, Academia has the tools necessary to meet their objectives. Academia Barilla’s consumers are still a specialized target, despite recent efforts for expansion and growth. For its gourmet foods product line, demographics of consumers in major markets tend to be upper middle to high class citizens of middle to older age. Italy represents the major market for Academia Barilla, with Europe and North America showing promising growth. However, recent severe economic troubles in Italy, Europe, and the United States are a major cause of concern and must be monitored. Regulatory bodies in the countries which market Academia Barilla do not tend to interfere with production. Current consumer trends for healthier, more organic products should be monitored. Whole-wheat and low-carbohydrate products have increased in demand during the past half-decade. Recent developments in the IT field have helped bring e-commerce to new heights. Finally, emerging economies in countries such as Brazil, China, India, and Russia may be targets for possible future hig h growth opportunities. Academia Barilla’s industry comprises of not only fine Italian cuisine artisans, but culinary academi... ...umers, thus gaining new consumer, and building value. Educating the consumers to appreciate what Academia products offer will lead to future profits and long-term gains. A strategy of stressing Italian fundamentals will help differentiate Academia from its competitors, and at the same time increasing their target market. Italian food is continually becoming more popular around the world, and Academia’s potential to expand will increase by protecting their brand loyalty. Academia should continue to participate in culinary events such as the annual Aspen Food and Wine Festival to promote publicity. Academia should also look to advertise in broader food magazines, such as Zagat. Cookbooks would be another way to reach more consumers. With high quality products, these strategy maneuvers will help management reinforce core competencies and stay ahead of competition.