<https://es.coursera.org/lecture/food-beverage-management/2-reconciling-the-dilemma-nurture-authenticity-hspjL#lecture>
<http://schema.org/transcript>
"One way to reconcile the two opposites of the dilemma, tradition and innovation, is to focus on one fundamental concept in the food and beverage world, which is authenticity. Authenticity is a very ambiguous word because, by authenticity, you can mean many different things. But the point is it is very important to try to understand how am I considered authentic, and if I am considered authentic by my consumers because within authenticity, you can include both tradition and innovation. So usually, there is this view of authenticity connected to the product; so product authenticity. Product authenticity, again, can mean many different things. I don’t consider that there is an aspect which has to do with production. So the transient ability of the production chain, so the ingredients, the components, which are very technical and very important. But again, I am trying to consider authenticity from the customer's point of view, from the consumer’s point of view. So product authenticity is very often referred to tradition. That is to say that tradition is that some food products or beverages are related to specific production methods and/or specific territories. So there is a history which explains why a product is considered authentic or not. The three main aspects of authenticity for the product are the traditional methods of production, the history, and the territory. So let's focus, for example, on sparkling wine. There are many different ways of making a sparkling wine but one is considered traditional, and in many countries, it is called the traditional method, which is basically the champenoise method that basically requires that the wine is fermented twice, once in the bottle. The second one in the bottle. So there is the bottle fermentation, which is different from the other sparkling wines. This is very traditional and so you can say that if a product, if a sparkling wine, is made this way it can be considered more authentic. But if you think of the success of Prosecco all over the world, Prosecco is done a with different method. It's not made with the champenoise traditional method but for sure, many consumers in the world consider Prosecco authentic. So the real point is, would you consider Coca Cola authentic? Would you consider McDonald's authentic? Would you consider Starbucks authentic? So, for many of you, these companies are not considered authentic because many of you would associate these companies to some industrial process but if you think of Coca Cola, Coca Cola is one of the most authentic U.S. brands; so it represents the U.S. world. In many other parts of the world, it is considered a real authentic U.S. brand; and the same is for Starbucks. Obviously, Starbucks got the idea, the legend says that the idea of Starbucks was taken from bars in Italy, where there is this ritual of the espresso consumption. But if you see a Starbucks point of sale, a Starbucks restaurant today, it is completely different from a typical bar in Mediterranean countries. The point is that Starbucks has created a new authenticity and again, so the point is not to focus only on the product but on the producer. What makes a producer more authentic than others? There are a few characteristics that consumers tend to associate to an authentic producer. One is heritage, for sure. Heritage means that you have produced the product since a long time ago; and Coca Cola is a good example. If you have a history, it means you have a reputation that has been built over time, and this for many consumers is very important, but commitment is also important. What is commitment? Commitment means that the company is really committed to provide consumers with a high value proposition. Commitment for consumers has very much the with authenticity. It means that even if you are a very new company or relatively new company, and you are a very innovative company, you can be considered strongly authentic because you show the market with your actions that you're really committed to the consumers’ well being. Then there is usually this tendency to consider the authentic producer as a producer which is not basically led only by commercial goals, only by profit. That is to say, consumers know very well that companies are profit oriented, they make profit, they survive only if they make profit, but the point is that some consumers recognize some companies’ other goals. That is to say, an extra effort, which is extra compared to the profit orientation, where extra means they do more in order to satisfy their customers. They do more in order to provide customers with well being. So if we consider these two different concepts of authenticity, one is related to the product, the other is related to the producer, you can understand that both the tradition and innovation can be part of authenticity. You can be a very traditional producer or have very traditional products and as such you can be considered authentic, but if you are a very innovative producer, and you keep on innovating your value propositions, you can build your authenticity exactly on this. One good example, I think, is the vodka industry. Vodka is a typical spirit related by tradition to Russia and some northeastern European countries but the point is, what do consumers consider authentic for a vodka? Think that today one of the most popular vodka brands is a French one, Grey Goose, which is considered by many consumers a real vodka, a tasty vodka, a delicious vodka, a real authentic vodka. So the point is that even in the vodka business, authenticity can be built. Absolut vodka is a perfect example. Absolut vodka is a Swedish brand. Although Sweden has a tradition in vodka but it was not well recognized or the awareness that consumers had of Swedish vodka was not so big. Absolut vodka had to build its authenticity and it did through a very innovative communication campaign using postcards and associating and basically playing with the name Absolut. They connected this name to many different other components of communication like CDs, artists, and so on and so forth. Even in the Vodka business, which has a tradition and this tradition is related to some countries, authenticity can be built through the reputation of the producers. The producer becomes authentic because the actions it takes into the market make it authentic. In the spirits business, there are interesting examples. For example, let's take gin and whiskey. Gin and whiskey for many consumers in the world are associated to the UK. There is London dry gin. There is the Irish whiskey. The Scottish whiskey. So there is a connection, a relation, which makes this territory more authentic for many consumers but there are very powerful brands, for example in whiskey, which are Japanese, and for many consumers, a Japanese whiskey can be very authentic. Think of gin. Would you ever buy a gin which is made in Germany? There is a delicious brand called Monkey 47, which is a typical German gin. So again, the point of tradition is interesting if you want to build authenticity but it is not necessarily the point. I mean, you can build authenticity for your company, brands, and products, by only working on the reputation and the competence of the producer. From my point of view, it is much more important to focus on authenticity than tradition and innovation. Tradition and innovation are useful if you are able to build, in your market, a reputation of authenticity. This is very important from a managerial point of view because authenticity does not come out of the blue. Authenticity must be built, and more than built, must be communicated. So what does it mean to build authenticity? Trying to recognize what are the components of your history, of your reputation, of your competence, which can be recognized by consumers as authentic and which can be made authentic for the market. More importantly, once you identify this component, it is very important to define a communication strategy which is consistent. Communication is a way through which companies provide consumers with information which is necessary for consumers to figure out what kind of companies or what kind of products, what kind of brands, they are interacting with. If you want to build authenticity for your products, brands, and for yourself, you need to design it properly and to communicate it properly."
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