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The role of
The role of ideology in brand ideology
strategy: the case of a food retail
company in Italy
109
Silvia Massa and Stefania Testa
University of Genova, Genova, Italy Received 24 September 2010
Revised 26 May 2011
Accepted 2 August 2011
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to study the role of ideology in brand strategy with reference to
large-scale food retailing. By means of a thorough case study investigation of highly ideology-focused
food retailer Eataly, the paper aims to enrich existing theory on retailer branding. The various
elements of Eataly’s brand have been studied in order to identify how they enact the ideology for
which the retailer stands. This topic is particularly relevant in a context where consumers appear
increasingly committed to social responsibility and business ethics. So the final goal of the paper is to
identify ideology-focused brand choices that lead to a preference towards the retailer.
Design/methodology/approach – In order to address this paper’s research aim, a well known
framework developed by Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen is adopted to conceptualize the retail brand. Case
study methodology is applied.
Findings – This paper provides both research-related and practical contributions. From a research
perspective, it provides empirical evidence on the role of ideology in large-scale food retailing, a field
which has been traditionally neglected in the ideology debate. From a practical perspective, it provides
a contribution to retailers and brand managers. Three main lessons can be mentioned. First, a
company’s ideology should be pervasively applied to each aspect of a brand and it seems to be
primarily situated within tangible and physical attributes, rather than within symbolic features, at
least in the case investigated. Second, an explicit ideology is not exempt from risks. Third, ideology
can be subject to multiple interpretations that may give rise to unintended consequences.
Research limitations/implications – This study tries to attenuate the reliability issues that are
inherent in qualitative research by interviewing multiple informants with different positions inside the
company. Triangulation using different types of data sources and systematic data analysis was also
employed.
Originality/value – The paper raises the importance of ideology in large-scale food retailing. It
adopts the Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen framework and introduces the dimension of ideology as a lens
through which each aspect of a brand can be interpreted. Moreover, it suggests that a brand’s
functional attributes play more of a leading role in transmitting ideology than symbolic features,
which is somewhat counterintuitive.
Keywords Italy, Food products, Brand management, Retailers, Ideology, Branding
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Brand strategy is affected by general societal trends, such as shifts in values, culture or
ideology (Katsanis, 1994). The trend of growing consumer demand for ethical behaviour
by producers of goods and services has recently been recognized in the literature International Journal of Retail
(Anselmsson and Johansson, 2007; Carrigan and Attalla, 2001; Auger and Devinney, & Distribution Management
Vol. 40 No. 2, 2012
2007; De Pelsmacker et al., 2005; Newholm and Shaw, 2007; Nicholls, 2002). As a growing pp. 109-127
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
number of consumers become more ethically conscious, ethical branding could provide 0959-0552
the company with a competitive advantage (Floor, 2006). An ethical brand enhances the DOI 10.1108/09590551211201865
IJRDM firm’s reputation and such a reputation reinforces the brand in turn. On the other hand,
40,2 any unethical behaviour can severely damage or even destroy this totally intangible
asset as evidenced by recent high profile corporate scandals (Fan, 2005). Thus, this
ideological orientation is changing the way companies – both producers and retailers –
manage their brands, from product features and slogans to product/service assortment
and pricing strategies. This paper aims to study the role of ideology in brand strategy
110 with reference to large-scale retailing where a lack of contributions is evident (Dubinsky
et al., 2004). In particular this paper focuses on the food retailing sector in which ethical
issues assume particular relevance as consumers’ anxieties concerning safety and health
reinforce the demand for ethical behaviours. By means of an in-depth case study, the
various elements of a food retailer’s brand have been studied in order to identify how
they enact the ideology for which the retailer stands. Therefore the paper’s goal is to
enrich the existing theory on retailer branding by introducing the theme of ideology.
The paper is organized as follows: The theoretical background focuses first on the role
of ideology in retail brand strategy with particular reference to the food sector. Second it
addresses the various dimensions of retail branding. The investigational framework
section introduces the model adopted to conceptualize the retail brand and the
methodology section describes the research approach. Afterwards a brief section
describes the setting and the following section discusses the case study, organizing
evidence on the retailer brand according to the proposed framework. These evidences are
compared to corresponding brand choices of traditional large-scale retailers and to
literature in order to point out possible differences and new elements. In conclusion, the
final section summarizes the paper’s main findings and contributions to literature, as well
as providing advice to retailers and brand managers and suggesting further research.

2. Theoretical background
There is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that many consumers in developed
countries are switching towards more socially and environmentally responsible
products and services (Thogersen, 1999; Shaw and Clarke, 1999; Hendarwan, 2002;
Nicholls, 2002; Harrison et al., 2005). Ethical issues associated with purchase behaviour
include a wide range of issues, including products that might endanger the health of
consumers or others; cause significant damage to the environment during
manufacture, use or disposal; consume a disproportionate amount of energy; cause
unnecessary waste; use materials derived from threatened species or environments;
involve unnecessary use or cruelty to animals [or] adversely affect other countries
(Elkington and Hailes, 1989) and, more broadly, “matters of conscience such as animal
welfare and fair trade, social aspects such as labour standards, as well as more
self-interested health concerns” (Cowe and Williams, 2000, p. 4). The market for
products positioned and marketed on the basis of ethical standards (eco-friendly/green,
natural/organic, humane, and fair trade) is thriving despite the recession, showing
annual growths in the high single- to low double-digits over the past five years, with
reference to the developed countries (see, e.g. Packaged Facts, 2009; Clavin, 2008).
Although sales in this area still represent a limited share of the overall consumer
market, such growth patterns undoubtedly show great potential. Thus, ethical issues
are assuming paramount importance in retailer brand strategy (Floor, 2006, p. 144):
Honesty and integrity are playing a more important role in customers’ choice of store. Big
retail companies are especially being challenged about their social responsibility. So a retail
 brand that truly stands for a certain social ideology can create a competitive advantage for The role of
itself over stores that merely exist.
ideology
Retailer brand ideology can be defined as a set of ideas, beliefs, moral values that
translate into a set of brand choices culminating in “a perfect place, rich in values,
encouraging a type of ethically-grounded acquisition, where consumers find that
purchasing and partaking they adhere to an ethical model that help them gain or
regain morality” (Borghini et al., 2009, p. 371). The role of ideology in retail branding 111
has been recently recognized by several studies with reference to retail advertising
(Arnold et al., 2001), retail environment (Haytko and Baker, 2004), and themed brand
stores (Borghini et al., 2009; Kozinets et al., 2002), only to cite some recent trends in the
literature. The demand for more ethical and responsible behavior by providers of
goods and service is becoming a priority in the food sector especially (Grunert, 2005).
However, to the authors’ knowledge, the role of ideology in large-scale food retailing
has been scarcely investigated until now. On the contrary, ideology is the focal point of
several rural and sociological studies referring to alternative food networks (Watts
et al., 2005; Marsden, 2002; Goodman, 2004), which, however, play a secondary role
with respect to large-scale distribution networks (Venturini, 2008a).

3. Investigation framework
Retailers operate shops, i.e. their “product” is an amalgam of components sourced from
other companies within a retailer-controlled environment. Retailers are thus a hybrid
organization (Burt and Sparks, 2002) and the key concept of branding in retailing
raises different issues from other sectors. In fact, retailers do not simply sell
manufacturer branded products, rather they perform a “bundle” of activities and
services, which provide “added value” in the eyes of the customer (Burt, 2000).
Through their brand strategy, retailers offer particular meanings and interpretations
to consumers in order to influence them how to make sense of a certain store or retail
chain. In order to address this paper’s research question – i.e. the role of ideology in
retailer brand strategy – the framework introduced by Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen (2009)
was adopted to conceptualize the retailer brand. The authors synthesize different
perspectives on retail branding (see, e.g. Davies, 1992; Keller and Lehman, 2006;
Lievens and Highhouse, 2003) in the concept of retailer brand architecture, defined as
the material and symbolic context for consumer choice. According to the authors,
consumers are not just passive recipients that automatically make the meanings
offered to them by retailers their own. They actively participate in the construction of a
particular retail setting by selecting, carting, transporting and scanning goods and by
assigning meanings to their shopping experience and the products they buy. Thus, as
Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen (2009, p. 414) explain: “Consumers invest brand architectures
with their own interpretations and meanings and make purchasing decisions that serve
as input to retailer decision-making”. A few studies have considered consumers as
co-constructors of service settings (Kozinets et al., 2002; Sherry, 1998), and only a small
fraction of these (Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen, 2009; Petermans and Van Cleempoel, 2010)
have looked at how consumers participate in constructing retailer brand architectures
in grocery retailing. Retailer brand architecture has two dimensions and spans four
domains (see Table I). Retailers’ brands are made of two main aspects: product brand
and process brand. Product brand refers to the totality of products sold in a store and is
generally comprised of a combination of manufacturer brands, retailer brands and
IJRDM
Retailer process brand Retailer product brands
40,2
Functional aspects Location Product quality (retailer brands,
Retail store (building) manufacturer brands and generic
Store layout, décor, fittings products)
Assortment (goods, services) Packaging
112 Relative importance of retailer Visual, olfactory, aural, gustatory and
Brands, manufacturer brands and tactile dimensions
generic products
Space allocation, placement
Visual, olfactory, aural, and tactile
dimensions
Crowding
Symbolic aspects Store layout Product brand names (retailer brands,
Pricing strategy manufacturer brands and generic
Store name products)
Slogans Scope of retailer brands
Logos Prices
Colours Slogans
Employees Logos
Table I. Other customers Colours
Elements of retailer
brand Source: Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen (2009)

generic products. Process brand is a service brand defined as the “process to which the
customer is exposed from leaving home to leaving the store”. Product brands and
process brands have both functional attributes and symbolic meanings. Functional
attributes describe the product or process brand in terms of objective, physical and
tangible attributes. Symbolic meanings refer to the meanings that consumers imbue
product and process brands with and these meanings go beyond the intrinsic content
or obvious functional use of objects. In practice, the distinctions become blurred and
different aspects may be closely related and may overlap. Nevertheless, the
conceptualization of retailer branding provided by the framework is functional to
investigating how and to what extent a strong retailer ideology may impact on one or
more aspects of the brand, as a result of the co-construction process that involves
customers and retailer. Retail decision-makers analyze customers’ purchase choices
and create specific situations to improve their knowledge of how customers experience
and make sense of retail brand architecture. Reflecting on when and how to invite
consumer involvement in the construction of material and symbolic aspects of process
and product brands, as well as deciding which customers or customer clusters are
really able to actively co-construct their shopping experience, are crucial challenges for
retailers. In fact, involving consumers in co-construction presupposes consumer
capabilities, such as reflexivity, imagination and the social, cultural and economic
means to successfully explore experiences, which not all customers possess (Esbjerg
and Bech-Larsen, 2009). In the following, the criteria and means adopted to involve
customers in retail brand construction will be described with reference to the case
study. The main aspects of retail brand architecture, according to the framework by
Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen, will be discussed through the lens of the retailer’s ideology.
4. Methodology The role of
A case study methodology was adopted as qualitative approaches are the most ideology
appropriate ones in order to deeply investigate and understand complex phenomena
such as the one under investigation. The case study has been conducted according to
the guidelines and suggestions for qualitative methodologies provided in literature
(Yin, 2003; Pratt, 2009). The case study centres on a recently founded Italian retail
company named Eataly. Eataly’s focus on ideology that seems to permeate each aspect 113
of its brand represents an extreme case, which made it ideal to investigate the research
question. Data collection was primarily carried out using semi-structured in-depth
interviews, including many conducted in the retail environment, and was supported by
documentation and observation. In particular, data were extracted from the firms’ web
sites and other publications (such as annual reports, newspapers, articles, Master’s
theses, blogs about food issues, books produced about the company, etc.). Observations
of consumer –staff interaction and consumer – consumer interaction were conducted at
the store itself, as suggested by Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen (2009).
Use of multi-method approaches, designed to compensate for any single method’s
weaknesses, was thought to be particularly useful in terms of increasing the richness of
data and constructing a “full picture” of the organization under investigation. The
study thus incorporates Kanter’s (1977) suggestion that different sources of data be
used to validate one another. The organization was studied for a considerable length of
time (20 months) in order to observe the implementation of the brand strategy deeply
rooted in the declared retailer’s ideology. In fact, as Eataly is a relatively young
enterprise, it seemed important to verify the coherence of brand strategy along a
reasonable span of time. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with
the founder/entrepreneur and ten other key informants (e.g. sales manager, marketing
manager, accounting manager, purchasing manager and members of a consumers’
association that act as consultants for Eataly). Interviews were conducted in a
narrative way: this offered the researchers the possibility to modify the line of enquiry,
follow-up on interesting responses and investigate underlying motivation for
particular choices. A total of 20 interviews were conducted, between November 2008
and June 2010, and each session lasted from one to two hours. Every effort was made to
transcribe interview and observation notes verbatim as soon as possible. After
transcribing the recorded interviews, they were returned to the interviewees for
verification. Subsequently, the case study reports were adapted in light of any
additional information obtained. This process of interaction provided an opportunity
to validate findings. Responses from the interviews were used to develop a case study
database that included tables to record data. These tables were helpful in guaranteeing
that the data collected were based on the research questions.

5. The setting
Eataly is a successful food retailer which currently has seven shops in Italy, six in
Japan and one in New York. In 2011, it counted, only in Italy, 550 employees, about
63Me sales, 2.5 million customers. It was founded in 2007 in the heart of the Italy’s
so-called “Food Valley” in the North West of the country through an idea of a
successful entrepreneur, Oscar Farinetti (hereafter OF), who was already well known in
the retail appliance business. A close personal friend of Carlo Petrini, founder of the
Slow Food consumer association, OF succeeded in convincing Mr Petrini and his
IJRDM Association to join in the Eataly enterprise as consultants. In particular, OF adopted
40,2 the Slow Food Association’s ideology of “Good, Clean and Fair Food”, which is to say
that food must taste good, be ecologically sustainable and produced in a socially fair
way (see, e.g. www.slowfood.com/; Petrini, 2005). Choosing Slow Food as a consultant
represents a clear manifesto of intent, which is to actively engage consumers in the
construction of Eataly brand architecture. In fact, Slow Food has a direct line with a
114 community of informed and aware consumers with its 100,000 members worldwide
who sustain the association and actively participate in events, campaigns and debates
in person and through social networks. The outcome of such a collaboration is an
informal and simple environment in order “to make people at ease and not feel like
they’re in a sacred place as many gourmet-shops often do” and where customers can
“buy, eat and learn about high-quality foods”. Eataly visitors are not intended to be
niche consumers, as the founder clearly states, affirming “our target customer base is
very simple: everyone”. The environment is warm and cosy with wood furniture
dominating the layout, which allows for customer movement throughout the shops as
though they were in an outdoor street market. Pre-defined paths and endless aisles of
traditional large-scale food stores are replaced with defined areas dedicated to different
product categories with squares, crossroads, refreshment stands, etc. The resulting
space is articulated and animated by people eating near people buying, reading or
surfing the Net. Slopes rather than stairs are used to contribute to the idea of irregular
and free urban paths. Posters and photos everywhere provide information about
products, places of production, processes and related initiatives or projects. Indeed, the
space dedicated to services (mainly learning facilities) is larger than the marketplace
itself (3,200 vs. 2,450 square meters respectively).

6. Empirical evidence: analysis and discussion

Empirical evidence shows how the retailer ideology of good, clean and fair food, shared
with Slow Food Association, is enacted in the retailer’s brand architecture. Moreover, it
emerges how these ideology-based brand choices ultimately result from a continual
process of co-construction starting from a consumer association’s participation in the
definition of Eataly guidelines and continuing through an active customer role in
forging them through feedback to the retailer. First, empirical evidence will be
discussed to analyze how the co-construction process, prefigured by Esbjerg and
Bech-Larsen, takes place. Evidence derives mainly from observations of the setting and
interactions at the store site. Second, Eataly’s ideology will be analyzed in-depth,
comparing its main traits to those of another well-known retailer whose brand choices
are also driven by a strong ideology. Finally, Eataly’s main ideology-based brand
choices will be analyzed following the proposed framework.
As noted in the previous section, the store itself was designed as a place for
customers to liger, relax, seek community, learn and so on, as well as shop. This choice
is quite different from the traditional grocery setting where low prices, convenience,
choice and speed of shopping are considered a priority. Eataly’s setting choices and the
presence of selected and competent personnel in the store seem to put customers in the
right mood for the co-construction process (Kozinets et al., 2002). However, the choice of
limiting assortment to high quality food tends to exclude a one-stop/fast shopping
mode and favor a selection of customers who are more inclined to assign meanings to
their shopping experience and the products they buy. This is in line with Esbjerg and
Bech-Larsen’s (2009, p. 421) claim, that “involving consumers in co-constructing retail The role of
brand architecture presupposes consumer capability . . . which not all consumers ideology
possess”. Thus, selecting clusters of informed and aware consumers to involve in
co-construction is exactly what Eataly tries to do. These consumers include Slow Food
members, customers who spend extra-shopping time within the store and those who
participate in events, tastings and learning experiences. Feedback from such
customers is collected through questionnaires or simply through conversations with 115
shop staff. Analysis of purchasing choices contributes to refining the retailer’s brand
choices, reinforcing some of them and eliminating others (in the following some
examples of brand choices will be provided). The retailer also includes the customer
vision in contributing to its brand architecture through systematic browsing in blogs
and social network pages of well-known food experts and opinion leaders in the field
who frequently deal with Eataly. Moreover, staff (and occasionally the entrepreneur
himself) directly observe customers in store to collect impressions, comments and
opinions and these observations are held in high esteem.
As previously noted, Eataly’s ideology consists in offering “good, clean and fair”
food to all, as the Slow Food Association has been claiming since its foundation over 20
years ago. Eataly’s target is so extremely extended only in appearance. In fact, the
three adjectives with environmental, social and economic implications that
characterize their offering – good, clean and fair –, identify a not-so common kind
of consumer. Eataly’s customer is supposed to possess the cultural and economic
resources necessary to open their mind to over-arching themes such as agricultural
sustainability, animal welfare, working conditions in the countryside and
environmental protection at the national level as well as on a global scale. While
sipping a cup of coffee, Eataly’s customer is led to think about the working conditions
of Guatemalan coffee farmers and the social rehabilitation of inmates in Turin’s
prisons who established a coffee roasting cooperative with Eataly’s support. Such a
customer is able to put aside their own everyday concerns, expand their horizons and
inform themselves while learning and improving their own knowledge of what stands
behind food. This kind of consumer is profoundly different from the customer of
another ideology driven retailer such as Wal-Mart (see Arnold et al., 2001). Wal-Mart
bets on low prices, which has become almost its mantra: “Every day low price”. This
targets a working or middle class customer with a family to support, expenses such as
rent, loans, food, clothing and other living costs and who seeks comfort and bargains.
These families demand everyday food and non-food merchandise at the lowest possible
cost. Wal-Mart’s emphasis on low prices and symbolic connections to dominant
ideologies of American life (e.g. frugality, family, religion, neighbourhood, community
and patriotism) evokes a family’s consistency, constancy, confidence, permanence,
predictability and reassurance (Arnold et al., 2001). In this context, the world’s largest
retailer is experienced as the neighbourly, small town shopkeeper, thereby legitimating
itself among its consumer constituency. Moreover, it is worth noting that Wal-Mart’s
patriotism imbued with star and stripes pride is unrelated to Eataly’s attitude to Italian
products. Eataly promotes Italian food and emphasizes the value of products that are
“Made in Italy” as this represents a universally recognized worldwide standard of
excellence in this field. Thus Italian-made products are especially connected to Eataly’s
ideological aspects of “good” and “clean” when it means promoting local or seasonal
food. Eataly’s ideology always seems to be strictly connected to food and to its
IJRDM production, transformation and distribution, etc., whereas Wal-Mart’s principles seem
40,2 to be more general and relegate the actual goods sold to the background.
From empirical evidence collected concerning the details of Eataly’s main brand
choices, the retailer’s ideology emerged as the main driver of all four elements of its
brand (functional and symbolic aspects of processes; functional and symbolic aspects
of products).
116 In the following, several key examples highlight ideological aspects at the root of
decisions on brand strategy (see Figure 1). In addition, findings are compared to extant
literature and other cases. The identification of the ideology’s aspects that drive the
decisions on brand strategy has been derived with the support of the informants
themselves. Furthermore, the clear and effective communication enacted by Eataly
towards its customers is consistent with the interpretation made by the research team.
For example, as will be clear in the following, Eataly itself explains to its customers the
meaning of avoiding private labels or loss-leaders which has to be interpreted as a sign
of respect towards identity and efforts made by the producers and not as a sign of
retailer’s weakness in the market-place.

6.1 Functional process aspects and ideology

6.1.1 No exclusivity tie-up for suppliers – ideology: fair. Eataly’s first main goal is
well-documented and proclaimed commitment to providing market outlets to small
producers who guarantee top-quality products. In fact, small, excellent producers risk
not having a market outlet for their products unless they accept the rules of large-scale
distribution characterized by savage pricing competition in which suppliers are often
the losers. With Slow Food’s support, the founder and his team invested over two years
in selecting 18 small-scale high-quality food and beverage producers. They committed
themselves to ensuring product quality, showing their faces and narrating their
histories, thus co-constructing Eataly’s brand architecture. However, as a matter of
conscious choice Eataly does not ask its suppliers for exclusivity. Such a choice is

Figure 1.
Ideology/brand choices
representative of the fairness aspect of its ideology. As noted in literature, exclusivity The role of
contributes to making suppliers locked or tied-in (Grunert et al., 1997; Larson and ideology
Kulchitsky, 1998; Howe, 1998). Eataly’s choice is rather uncommon among other
large-scale retailers. For example, Aldi requires exclusivity of its suppliers (Varley,
2001). Among large-scale retailers, such a practice is frequently accompanied by other
forms of “buyer power” (Dobson et al., 2001). According to the literature, such buyer
power may have adverse economic effects on the viability and survival of suppliers, 117
mainly if they are small and medium enterprises (Dobson, 2002). A good example of the
control that large-scale retailers can exert on suppliers is Tesco’s recent formation of a
“hit squad”, empowered to call on any supplier day or night to test their compliance
systems (Fearne and Hughes, 2000).
6.1.2 No private labels – ideology: fair. Eataly product assortment does not include
any private labels. Such an aversion to private labels is another consequence of the
concept of fairness in Eataly’s ideology. The literature recognizes that private labels
represent damage to competition among manufacturers’ brands (Hultman et al., 2008).
Eataly is concerned that developing private label products will create tension between
themselves and the branded small manufacturers they want to preserve. Furthermore,
Eataly believes that private labels make producers anonymous, in line with those
authors that speak about “theft of identity” (Davies, 1998). This choice is rather
uncommon among other large-scale retailers (Huang and Huddlestone, 2009).
Traditionally, large-scale retailers have focussed on the benefits provided by higher
margins on private labels. More importantly, private label are recently being seen as
“an opportunity for building store image and differentiating [their] stores from
competitors” (Collins-Dodd and Lindley, 2003, p. 345). For example, Wholefoods,
despite its declared interest in supporting small local producers (see www.
wholefoodsmarket.com/values), introduced its first private label in 1990 and largely
uses private labels to build consumer loyalty and trust (Richmond, 2002). Instead,
Wholefoods supports small local producers providing them with low-interest loans
without asking exclusivity.
6.1.3 Loss-leader product: bread– ideology: fair. The product chosen as loss-leader
to attract customers is bread, which is continuously produced on-site to ensure
availability. This choice is a consequence of the concept of fairness in Eataly’s ideology
towards both suppliers and customers. On the supply side, it has been widely accepted
since the 1950s that manufacturers dislike seeing their products used as a
“loss-leaders” to induce customers to come into a store (Bowman, 1955) because they
fear that loss-leaders will break down product differentiation, encourage substitution
and ruin product image (Codeluppi, 2009). Thus providing in-house produced bread as
loss-leader product can be interpreted as a sign of respect towards Eataly’s suppliers.
On the demand side, Bowman (1955; p. 836) defines “loss-leaders” as “mis-leaders”:
“Customers are lured into a dealer’s establishment by advertised bargains”.
Furthermore, when a brand is sold at a loss, stores try to avoid selling large
quantities of the loss leader product and want to sell other goods with larger mark-ups.
As a result, some stores limit purchases of loss-leader items to one per customer, while
others run out of the leader products soon after the promotion (Hess and Gerstner,
1987). On the contrary, the loss-leader product in Eataly is produced all day long and is
never out of stock. Moreover it is worth noting that the retailer has received such
positive feedback from customers on this specific product that it has decided to
IJRDM progressively increment production quantities to satisfy growing demand. The retailer
40,2 claims that bread assumes a symbolic value for customers and recalls an elderly
customer who once told him: “The fragrance of this freshly baked bread takes me back
to my childhood. That’s why I come here every day”.
6.1.4 Limited assortment breadth/depth & limited quantities – ideology: good. Eataly
provides neither a great breadth nor depth of product assortment with respect to
118 traditional large-scale retailers. It also supplies limited quantities of goods, it is not able
to provide the same array of products each day and does not offer certain products that
have no hand-crafted equivalent (e.g. precooked or frozen food, snacks and so forth).
Such choices are deeply influenced by the concept of “good” of Eataly’s ideology. The
Eataly’s concept of “good” starts from the awareness that top quality and attention to
details is frequently not compatible with large-scale business models. In OF’s own
words: “A specific quantity threshold exists, beyond which quality is no longer
guaranteed. Large quantities require speed and speed kills quality. Thus, beware of
what we put on the shelves! Our reputation could be very easily ruined!”. In this vein,
the retailer received clear customer feedback through specific blog contributions when
it decided to put a mass-produced commercial brand Easter cake on its shelves.
Following severe criticism that accused the retailer of inconsistent behaviour after
having claimed that quality was incompatible with large-scale production, the retailer
recalled the product.
Moreover, according to Eataly ideology, an in-depth assortment is not necessarily a
plus for consumers as some scholars affirm speaking of “choice overload” (Schwartz,
2004). Limited quantities are in line with the concept of good in Eataly’s ideology as
they are connected to the small-scale which is typical of hand-crafted production. The
number of items per square meters is also limited. Out of an area of 2,500 square
meters, Eataly offers about 15,000-18,000 items while a traditional retailer would offer
40,000. These choices are rather uncommon among other large-scale retailers whose
main focus is on optimization of space allocation and assortment as well as reduction of
stock-outs (see, e.g. Hariga et al., 2007).
6.1.5 Educational programs for consumers – ideology: fair. Compared to limited
assortment of goods, the assortment of food-related services is rather broad. In
particular, Eataly offers educational programs, which are organized daily (in
collaboration with Slow Food) for both children and adults as an invitation to
consumers to taste and understand before buying. For example, free courses for elderly
persons teach them how to cook good tasty dishes on a low budget. Similarly, young
children – the consumers of tomorrow – are engaged in workshops where they can
learn the basic concepts of good, clean and fair food. Eataly seems to focus on creating
demand made of conscious and educated consumers who agree to pay a “fair” price,
where fair means one that is respectful of quality, sustainability, safety, social justice,
animal welfare, etc. (Farinetti, 2009). Furthermore, once a month, local farmers are
invited to participate in a farmer’s market organized by Eataly in front the shop. At the
weekends, Eataly organizes trips around the local area to visit farmers and wine
producers. The founder himself is often an enthusiastic tourist guide. Guided tours
have also been organized recently inside the shop itself in both Italian and English in
order to tell the stories behind the products offered. The fact that Eataly works on
fostering an educated and confident consumer is another consequence of the concept of
fairness in Eataly’s ideology. The company aims at creating a consumer who is aware
of food issues and devotes time and effort to selecting the best food. Such a choice is The role of
rather uncommon among other large-scale retailers, which seem to prefer fast, ideology
“inattentive” and low-demanding customers. In a recent HBR article (Steenkamp and
Kumar, 2009), the authors suggest selling “unfamiliar product sizes at the discounter”
in order to make price comparison across stores difficult, thus assuming that
consumers are basically inattentive and in a hurry.
119
6.2 Symbolic process aspects and ideology
6.2.1 Pricing strategy: searching for balance – ideology: fair. Eataly’s pricing strategy is
characterized by a continuous search for balance and this choice is a consequence of
the fairness aspect of its ideology. In fact, on one hand, Eataly wants to fairly
compensate suppliers in order to preserve product quality and rural area economies
and on the other it also wants to be fair to customers by offering quality food
affordable to everyone. In OF’s words: “Traditional large-scale distribution makes
money by buying, not selling. Frequently large-scale distribution sells at less than cost
price and strangles suppliers. At Eataly, buyers are conscious of a delicate balance that
needs to be respected. Slow Food’s role was also comprised guiding purchase
negotiations indicating the limit not to be passed in each case”.
According to OF, there is a “lack of narration” in food pricing and its motivations.
OF relies on communication to explain that the price difference in the food sector
between high and standard quality is not so great and that, in any case, it is lower than
in other sectors, such as the clothing or automotive industries. Transmitting the
fairness ideology through pricing strategy distinguishes Eataly from most large-scale
retailers; the latter do not have explicit goals of fairness with suppliers and, in dealing
with consumers’ side, they follow their pricing strategy without explicit references to
social justice aims. Social themes related to solidarity and human rights are present in
cooperative retailers, but they are scarcely reflected in explicit pricing strategies and
generally ineffectively communicated to consumers. The vast literature on pricing
highlights the multiple levers that retailers use to influence their price image and
impact their price promotions (for a review see, e.g. Ailawadi and Keller, 2004; Desai
and Talukdar, 2003), but rarely investigates the ideological motivations behind pricing
strategy and the ways retailers communicate them.
Focus is given to the fact that handmade food is sold at prices comparable to those
you would pay if you visited the food producer – and appreciably lower than those at
gourmet boutiques. The idea that specialty food is offered at reasonable prices and that
Eataly is not a food boutique is conveyed through marketing choices, as well as
through verbal declarations. For example, careful price positioning follows the rule
that the vast majority of products in each category offered by Eataly should be cheaper
than the most expensive product in the same category as offered by the largest retailer
operating in Italy. Furthermore, the shops’ assortment includes several brands which
could also be found in traditional large-scale retailers. They are offered at the same
prices as large-scale retailers in order to act as benchmarks for customers.
Notwithstanding these price positioning efforts to portray Eataly as economical, severe
criticism is moved against the store’s emphasis on fairness by customers who attack its
pricing policies mainly on blogs and social networks. Some customers blame Eataly for
excessively high prices and a few even blame Eataly for making margins on its sales,
neglecting the very essence of business. Some suppliers also contest certain pricing
IJRDM initiatives that Eataly undertakes. For example, Barolo wine producers blame Eataly
40,2 for ruining the wine’s image by its marketing initiative of offering a glass of Barolo at a
very affordable price. Decision-makers at Eataly carefully monitor these debates and
make necessary adjustments in a co-construction perspective in order to take actions
that can, among other things, clarify intentions, reinforce messages and fine-tune
marketing initiatives.
120
6.3 Functional product aspects and ideology
6.3.1 Short supply chain – ideology: fair. The supply chain for products on sale at
Eataly is reduced to the minimum: producers deliver goods directly to Eataly, skipping
any intermediary links in the chain. For example, fresh raw milk from local farms is
sold by means of dispensers. Customers can buy clean, empty milk bottles or bring
their own from home, insert the bottle into the machine, insert a few coins and fill their
bottle with milk. Homemade ice creams made by the first “agri-ice cream shop” in
Europe are also sold. These ice creams are made in a family-run farm using milk and
fruit produced on site. This choice allows closer cost control and fair compensation for
each link in the chain and it is clearly influenced by the “fair” aspect of Eataly’s
ideology. The only exception is fresh fruits and vegetables as one wholesaler is
involved. According to one interviewee, “One day, I would like to see posters in our
shops announcing that “these vegetables are produced at this farm” but first we have
to evaluate whether this is economically sustainable or not”. On the contrary,
traditional large-scale retailers seek to deal with fewer, larger, technically efficient and
innovative suppliers to cut costs and simplify relationship management (Fearne and
Hughes, 2000; Hingley, 2001; White, 2000). The process of supply base rationalization
by large-scale retailers culminated in the identification of the role of super middlemen
(Gadde and Snehota, 2001) heading up, in turn, a chain of downstream suppliers. Thus,
the rationalization of the supply base normally doesn’t mean a shortening of the supply
chain but on the contrary, the adding of new intermediaries.
The idea of a short supply chain is not free of criticism when connected to the
ideological aspect of “fair”. Some observers warn against Eataly’s system of goods
delivery due to its fragmented supply chain, which may increase pollution, contrasting
the ideological aspect of “clean”.
6.3.2 Local products – ideology: clean/fair. Eataly’s assortment is largely focused on
local products. About 70 percent of all products come from the local countryside
(within a geographical range of about 100 km). This choice is influenced by the
ideological aspects of “clean” (limiting pollution) and “fairness” (supporting local rural
communities). Choosing local producers frequently means managing small suppliers
that otherwise would hardly have the opportunity to interface directly with a
large-scale retailer. Indeed, as already noted, large-scale retailers tend to focus on large,
well-established and preferably global suppliers (Ganesan et al., 2009). A notable
exception in this field is the local producer’s program enacted by the UK’s Waitrose
chain of supermarkets which won the 2003 Business in the Community Award for
Excellence (Rural Action). The local producer’s program is designed to enable small,
local producers to supply the stores (Spence and Bourlakis, 2009). In this way, Waitrose
is able to contribute to the development of small rural realities in line with corporate
social responsibility issues applied to the supply chain (Aguilera et al., 2007; Andersen
and Skjoett-Larsen, 2009).
 The emphasis on support provided to small local producers, imbued with the The role of
“fairness” aspect of Eataly’s ideology, garnishes severe criticism by its most extreme ideology
wing of customers. Some customers blame Eataly for selling products from producers
that are too large-scale (considering large those with more than a handful of employees)
and also for selling some non-seasonal or non-locally produced products.
Decision-makers at Eataly carefully consider criticism and always seek balance
between ideological positions and market needs. As a result, they sometimes change 121
decisions, i.e. recalling products perceived as too commercial and supplying
explanations for certain choices. For example, with November “oyster week”
offering the best Breton oyster varieties at Eataly’s fish restaurant, a marketing
campaign was launched to underline that the initiative was a way to make oyster
tasting affordable to everyone. “Oyster lovers always dream of travelling to Brittany to
looking for the best types. But dreams cannot always come true . . . ”. Thus, selling a
non-local, luxury product becomes an act of democracy, thanks to careful
communication.
6.3.3 Light – ideology: clean. Packaging is also an important material aspect of
product brands. Eataly asks its suppliers to make it as simple as possible, in order to
put the food in the foreground. This choice also has an important ecological
component, as the words of one interviewee confirm: “The best waste is that which
does not exist: this is why we ask our suppliers for fewer decorations, less paper and
simple jars”.
Till now such a choice was rather uncommon among companies. In fact, packaging
was usually considered as “the silent salesman” i.e. a vital sales tool that goes beyond
advertising and promotions (Rod, 1990; Marsh and Bugusu, 2007). Only recently, some
companies started to believe that customers will pay a premium for products and
services that offer a lower environmental impact, adopting measures which include
optimizing and minimizing packaging. An excellent example in this field is Wal-Mart
that rewards its suppliers if they work on “sustainable packaging”
(Packaging-gateway.com).

6.4 Symbolic product aspects and ideology

6.4.1 Good food for everyone, out of the luxury niche – ideology: fair. Eataly promotes
good food for everyone. i.e. its goal is to preserve top quality products without
excessive price mark-ups. This choice is influenced by the concept of fair in Eataly
ideology. The idea that everyone should have the right to access top quality food
emerges from slogans, marketing initiatives and, above all, from the search for a fair
price for goods. A fair price means fairly compensating suppliers as well as making
prices affordable to a large number of consumers. Good food must not be the sole
prerogative of privileged income groups, but must be inclusive of wider consumer
groups. According to OF:
Only 10 percent of people in Italy have access to high quality food, due to both ignorance and
unavailability. Many people simply do not give importance to food. Our goal is to target these
people and make them food-aware.
This concept is communicated by means of posters and brochures available inside the
shop that are aimed at explaining food prices and linking price to quality. Moreover,
several initiatives are connected to the idea of making good food more affordable. For
IJRDM example, lessons designed to teach how to use poor ingredients to cook rich meals,
40,2 which are frequently neglected by mass consumers because they are unknown or take
too long to prepare. As previously noted, another marketing initiative harshly
criticized by suppliers, was offering a glass of Barolo wine at a very affordable price. A
campaign such as this is designed to popularize a traditional Italian wine that is
frequently considered a symbol of luxury. The choice to distance itself from the luxury
122 niche distinguishes Eataly from high-quality food retailers in Europe, such as Harrods
Food Halls in London (for a list of “fabulous food shops” see Peyton, 2005), that are
universally recognized as luxury destinations for gourmet. The idea behind these
“gourmet paradise” brands is to sell exclusive products and services for the golden elite
that can afford them (see, e.g. Vigneron and Johnson, 2004; Godey et al., 2009).

7. Conclusions
This paper aims to investigate the role of ideology in brand strategy with reference to
large-scale food retailing. It intends to provide both research and a practical
contribution. The lack of evidence in research related to this issue is addressed
(Borghini et al., 2009). This paper testifies to the importance of ideology in large-scale
food retailing, a field which has been traditionally neglected in the ideology debate,
with a few notable exceptions (see, e.g. Venturini, 2008a; b). It addresses the research
issue by adopting a detailed framework known in the literature in order to
conceptualize the brand. Such framework allows for systematic analysis of this topic
and takes into consideration all aspects of a brand: from process to product and from
symbolic to functional attributes.
The investigation of how ideology has been converted into specific aspects of the
brand suggests some useful lessons that can be applied by retailers and brand
managers.
First, a company’s ideology should be pervasively applied to each aspect of a brand
in order to be effective. Eataly’s ideology is identified as the main driver behind all four
elements of the brand. Empirical evidence seems to suggest that Eataly’s ideology is
primarily situated within tangible and physical attributes, rather than within symbolic
features. It seems that, at least in the examined case, something intangible and
symbolic such an ideology could be more effectively transmitted by means of tangible
and physical attributes than through primarily symbolic features, such as slogans and
marketing campaigns. This implies bigger efforts in designing concrete elements of the
brand, such as store layout or assortment, that are generally irreversible, at least in the
short-run, making the decision process more delicate both due to the economic
resources needed and to the strategic value of the choices.
Second, an explicit ideology is not exempt from risks: it requires maximum
coherence and attention to details in brand’s attributes because customers interpret
company’s actions through the lens of communicated ideology. As emerged from the
discussion of Eataly’s main brand choices, a strongly proclaimed ideology stimulates
severe criticism every time customers perceive evidence of incoherence or scarce
attention to details.
Third, brand managers should be aware that ideology, even though explicitly
communicated, is subject to multiple interpretations that may give rise to unintended
and negative consequences. Such multiple interpretations are testified to by different
definitions bloggers use to describe Eataly, ranging from “Sex-shop of Taste” to
“Episcopal Conference of Taste”[1]. The former blame Eataly for having abandoned its The role of
self-proclaimed ideology by following the traditional rules of marketing aimed at ideology
pampering consumers; the latter blame Eataly for being too strict in judging what is
good, fair and clean and what is not. Such severe interpretations of Eataly’s application
of ideology can turn into missed sales.
Some limitations of this paper concern both methodology and findings. As regards
methodology, this study tries to attenuate some of the reliability problems that are 123
inherent in qualitative research by interviewing multiple informants with different
positions inside the company. Triangulation using different types of data sources and
systematic data analysis also serve to attenuate problems with reliability. As regards
findings, the discussion section frequently compares the case examined with
large-scale distribution chains, thus businesses with varying dimensions are
considered on the same plane. Moreover, a start-up enterprise is compared to mature
businesses. Further research is needed to address the inconsistencies involved in these
issues and to gain generalizability.
Notwithstanding such limitations, Eataly can be considered a complete and rich
example of a retailer brand strategy deeply rooted in a strong ethical ideology that
contains elements of novelty making it a peculiar case in the field of large-scale food
retailing. Retailers are aware that consumers visit stores not only to purchase products
(Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen, 2009). Therefore, they have to carefully consider how
consumers make meaning out of the act of shopping. Thus, a strong and effectively
communicated retailer ideology that is shared by consumers, who are in turn called
upon to participate in the construction of meanings of the retail setting, can be
considered a powerful tool in brand strategy.

Note
1. In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference is an official assembly of all the
bishops of a given territory.

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About the authors

Silvia Massa is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication, Computer and
System Sciences at the University of Genoa (Italy), where she received her PhD. Her main
research interest is innovation management in organizations, with a specific focus on the food
sector, both retailing and manufacturing.
Stefania Testa is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication, Computer and
System Sciences at the University of Genoa (Italy), where she received her PhD. Prior to joining
the University as a faculty member she was a consultant in a leading American consulting
company. Her main research interest is innovation management in SMEs (small and medium
enterprises) and large enterprises, with a specific focus on the food sector, both retailing and
manufacturing. Stefania Testa is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
stefania.testa@unige.it

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