On our New York trip in May, Helena Stendahl Hägg and I had the privilege of meeting and discussing branding philosophy with Giorgio Deluca, co-founder of the exclusive and amazing Dean & Deluca indoor marketplace. Grounded in the Soho area in the 70's, Dean & Deluca's loyalty and dedication to top quality global foods has grown to selected locations around the world.
A short walk from our hotel at the Soho Grand, we rounded the corner and took the industrial elevator to the top floor to find ourselves in an open, enormous, relaxed atmosphere known as Mr. Deluca's home in the heart of Tribeca. The kitchen was the obvious gathering place to have a discussion about how important branding was to the Dean & Deluca story. A fresh cup of herbal tea with shortbread biscuits, and opera playing in the foreground rather than background, we were ready to begin.
Actually, we cannot really call our experience a 'discussion'. We should rather call it a fabulous 'one-man show' by a creator who has so much to say and share that there is no time to ask questions.
For Mr. Deluca, or Giorgio as we were allowed to call him, the word branding seems to burn on his tongue. Fire lies on every spoken word. “There is a reality behind the brand that the customer associates. We built up our world and made the names Dean & Deluca stand for this world. We just became associated with quality. We were passionate people. But passion isn't enough. You need to edit that...challenge that passion...shape and mold it. It boils down to intelligence. We were about taste - good taste. We could easily see ourselves as a department store even early on.”
The first store in Soho created a following almost immediately. Giorgio explains that Soho during the grounding period was known as 'Hell's one hundred acres.' The cast iron facades were neglected in the area. Artists were sprouting, and according to Giorgio, this was due to the fact that painters realised that the size of the canvas was the determining factor for the selling price of the piece. Hence, artists needed enormous space to create, and they found these in the abandoned warehouse areas of Soho, behind blackout shades to hide their co-existence. Giorgio reflects, “Imagine! The idea of living in such a real place, with such history! Not bourgeois...they hated the bourgeois because of all of the lies. In 1973 I set up a cheese store in Soho because that's where the artists gathered, drank wine with cheese, and talked art.”
Reflecting on the early days, Giorgio says, “Passion is not enough. You must be married to sensory perception. I had enormous passion that couldn't go anywhere. I was screwed up, in a small box. Answers of religion didn't hold me. I needed something bigger.”
One thing lead to another. Once the cheese shop took hold and became the local buzz, Deluca continued on his entrepreneurial journey, forming an iconic brand in ten years from one grocery store. He states, “ I started by selling great goat cheese. Fresh. The smart people got it. Then I sold olive oil. Then I decided to sell them together. Because I knew all about cheese, and then learned all about olive oil, ONLY then could I know about the match. You must know each component individually before you know how to combine them.”
Mr. Dean and Mr. Deluca complemented each other as business partners. Dean was a brilliant interpreter of quality. And we had witnessed with our own eyes during the interview that Deluca was the fire. Pacing backward and forward with swaying hands, an occasional touch of the heart, and a self-confidence that would blow you away, Giorgio continued his story for us.
Dean and Deluca's focus was always on quality and good taste. Their name spread rapidly, and they were wined and dined throughout the world by companies who wanted Dean and Deluca to associate with their products. Giorgio recalls the time as hectic but extremely enjoyable. They were highly influenced by the European culture, where art and eating were closely linked to each other.
Giorgio and Dean developed their own philosophy about taste. "What is taste? What is aesthetics? That is what is behind a great brand. It isn't a gene. It is something one can learn...to perceive more accurately. I couldn't distinguish from good or bad wine in the beginning. Dean and I started by throwing out the notion that one product is considered better than another. This was important to us. Products then became the value that we gave them.“
Dean was a composer, and his life partner Jack was a visual artist. Jack created the logotype that is still used today. Giorgio recalls, “Jack's stuff would be in top windows of 5th avenue. Between Dean and Jack's talents, the audio and visual intelligence was there. I could barely talk with them at the beginning."
Giorgio's respect for Mr. Dean's business sense is very evident. Giorgio explains, "Dean was pure genius. You have to know a product's level. Is it a 10 or a 2 ? If it is a 10, you want to have it. If it is a 0, then you don't want it. But the hard part is to pick a 6 and know that it isn't a 10. Or vice versa. Dean knew if something was a 6 or a 3."
Continuing on the 0 to 10 scale analogy, Giorgio describes their secret weapon to business. "When we found something too expensive, then we took the next one down. If you don't know quality, you will pick stuff for the wrong reason, maybe because it is cheap or you like the packaging. We went with the better quality version. We gave not what they (the customers) wanted, but what we thought they needed. We could go to the marketplace with a mind of great artists. We made ourselves giants. We had the power to penetrate the market. If an 8 or 9 was best, we took it. But we always took the 10 also - but ONLY for image."
Can one confuse quality with elitism? Giorgio explains, '"You are what you eat aesthetically. If you live with junk, then you will take in junk. This is a brilliant insight. Quality is objective, not subjective. It doesn't occur to people in the U.S. that they like many things which are not quality. That is a revolution! To live in a world of aesthetics makes life worthwhile. To please all 5 senses…because that’s all you have! You can know that this is better than that, that there is no energy in this one, that this has layers and layers of richness. Eventually you become what you take in aesthetically. Challenge and exercise it, and then you can perceive better."
Giorgio reminds us, ”Taste is learned. I didn't absorb it through my mother's milk!”
"People resent people for feeling superior, for having privileges. They are wrong. You can make yourself better. Sorry, but you CAN be superior. People want to get into their Gap clothing, sit in front of the tv and drop to the lowest level. The food section in the United States was deplorable (when we started). Tv dinners were considered chic! Eating was something to get done with. If you show people a better thing in a way they can understand, not through intimidation, then they will respond. We appealed to a small audience who were ready."
Giorgio looks at us. “Are you getting this?” he asks.
In fact, we were soaking in an enormous amount of information in this two-hour timeframe. We knew the time was nearing its close, but we wanted to ask Giorgio a final question. Would Dean & Deluca move toward the organic path? Giorgio had much to say.
“America is screwed up! They get crazy on sugar, salt, and fat, most of which is not harmful if in the right proportion. America can't taste; it chooses quantity over quality. They threw the baby out with the bathwater. They couldn't get there by dieting. So what do they do now? ORGANICS! Companies are having a field day! People are now searching for the word organic on products! But when you prepare the food, it is indistinguishable. Organic food does not taste better or have different properties than non-organic. What I believe in is the excitement and freshness of food, like a particular variety that has certain properties, from a certain area. Same with the pesticides. Like the problem of smoking a cigarette and at the same time being worried about the environment. INSANE!!!”
But his fiery nature doesn't mean that he doesn't support true organic products. It has more to do with his philosophy of food honesty. He adds, “It would be great if we had food that was not covered with chemicals. But I wouldn’t go out and call them organic tomatoes. I would say tomatoes from an area 'x' of Rome instead.” That is, the value of an environmentally-friendly produce can be interpreted in different ways.
Deluca’s words were very inspiring for us. We left with a feeling of having met a great artist with great taste. And much of what Giorgio discussed is how we at Identity Works see the branding process also, such as his reference of ‘picking stuff for the wrong reason.’ This is why we never go straight to the design process, but are adamant in following a process of auditing, strategy and concept prior to the design phase. In this way, the final product will attract the right target group for the right reason.
Giorgio is now a consultant for Dean & Deluca. Let us hope that his creative fuel continues to enhance and inspire Dean & Deluca's future path.
Questions? Contact Gail Baker at gail@identityworks.se
http://www.identityworks.se/blogg/deluca_article.pdf
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