Parmacotto

Repositioning an Italian fine meats brand for a major US retailer

Project services

Positioning & Purpose
Communication Strategy
Creative Guiding Principles

Our brief

Parmacotto, a leading Italian fine meats brand, was entering the US market with plans to land on Whole Foods shelves. Its Italian positioning, Tutto il Buono della Semplicità (“All the Goodness of Simplicity”), reflected its credentials as the first GAP (Global Animal Partnership)-certified Italian salumeria in America—made with humanely raised pigs, clean ingredients, and Parma origins. But U.S. consumers—particularly Gen Z and Millennials—didn’t view Italian meats as simple. They saw them as everyday luxuries, indulgences that elevate hosting moments.

Our challenge was to reimagine Parmacotto’s positioning for this cultural context while staying true to its roots and product story.

What we did

Category & competitor analysis

We audited and mapped the US category, identifying key messaging themes, design codes, and whitespace. Most fine meats brands leaned on the same charcuterie board clichés, with packaging that felt more like a commodity—something to serve and discard—rather than a product that elevates the moment or signals luxury.

With no U.S. market data available to the client, we looked beyond the category for inspiration—exploring adjacent sectors like olive oil, cheese, and coffee, which have successfully evolved from pantry staples to hosting centerpieces. By studying cult brands like Graza, Formaje, and Chamberlain Coffee, we identified a shared approach: each leaned into its heritage while emphasizing consumer occasions and flavour storytelling. These insights shaped a series of strawman concepts, which we refined and aligned on through a collaborative workshop with the client.

Mapping competitors on a positioning framework to identify the white space

Positioning

From there, we developed Parmacotto’s positioning, purpose, personality, and value proposition—blending its Italian origin with a fresh focus on Italian lifestyle. We anchored it in Sprezzatura, an Italian word that refers to a kind of effortless grace, the art of making something difficult look easy. We called it Sophisticated Simplicity, bridging the American perception of Italy as elevated with the brand’s Italian positioning around simplicity.

This brand idea became the foundation for the brand’s messaging, comms art direction, and packaging design.

Messaging frameworks

To bring the new positioning to life, we developed a brand tagline that appeared on every pack and campaign by-lines. Using The Art of Italian Salumeria as the brand line, we framed Italian heritage through a lifestyle lens.

Inspired by Stella Artois’ cult campaign “It’s not a glass. It’s a chalice,” we introduced Italian words while educating consumers on the new products with comms by-lines like It’s Prosciutto Cotto, not just Cooked Ham. Bold, fashion-inspired art direction reinforced the brand’s origins in a lifestyle way—steering clear of the overused charcuterie board visuals.

Launch plan

With positioning, messaging, and design direction in place, we developed a robust go-to-market plan. We created a brand world we called Trattoria Parmacotto—a retro yet pop Italian trattoria aesthetic brought to life with vibrant colours, bold stripes and checkers, and a playful sense of indulgence.

The plan included:

  • Retail Activation: Concepts for in-store tasting stands, point-of-sale materials, and product displays aligned to the new brand world.
  • Launch Event: A fashion-week pop-up Trattoria in New York where influencers and food lovers could sample mortadella sandwiches made by a celebrity chef.
  • Social Strategy: We outlined the social media strategy across earned, paid, and owned channels, defined content pillars, and recommended a list of influencer chefs to collaborate with.

Approach

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