(The method)

The Erbacipollina method, a sensitivity to food that becomes a tool

Since 2010 we have worked only in Food & Beverage. Out of it came an expertise that no manual teaches. Food Sensitivity is the filter through which we read a brand before deciding how to act. From this sensitivity come three proprietary, equally weighted assets that turn it into a repeatable, measurable method. FBBP® sets the brand's strategic direction, Food Buyer Personas brings the person choosing the product into focus, and The Flavour Index listens to food's digital ecosystem. Three applications of the same discipline, one single way of creating value.

(Where it all starts)

Everything starts with Food Sensitivity

Food Sensitivity is the ability to recognise what makes a Food & Beverage brand relevant, even when it isn't obvious yet. It's an eye trained by continuous practice, able to read a retail shelf, spot where a HoReCa line is losing ground, and sense which visual code opens the dialogue with a buyer.

It's the filter through which we look at every project before choosing the right tool. From it came the three proprietary assets that structure our work. They are the FBBP® methodological framework, the Food Buyer Personas profiling tool, and the The Flavour Index digital observatory. Three different applications of the same discipline.

(01 Framework)

FBBP®. Food Brand Building Process

01

FBBP®is Erbacipollina's methodological framework, applied to every food & beverage project. Five competencies guide the process from the very first brief meeting. They are Food Buyer Personas, food communication strategy, market and competitor analysis, food brand positioning and strategic food marketing consulting. A single discipline governs every strategic decision. It applies to naming, packaging, the editorial plan and the launch campaign.

  • / Framework structured in five competencies
  • / Applied to every food & beverage project
  • / Unified governance over brand, communication, positioning
Example case coming soon

(02 Tool)

Food Buyer Personas

02

The proprietary profiling tool that translates Food Sensitivity into operational knowledge of the consumer. It's built on classic buyer-persona models, rewritten around the variables that make the difference in food & beverage. What counts is dietary preference and regime (vegetarian, flexitarian, plant-based, free-from), the reference culinary culture, religious and geographic influences on consumption habits, the perceived balance between taste and health, moments of consumption throughout the day, and use occasions by category. The final document becomes the operational reference on which we base strategy, content, packaging and advertising for the entire project.

  • / Food-specific consumer profiling
  • / Sector variables that generalist tools ignore
  • / Operational reference document for the entire project team
Example case coming soon

(03 Observatory)

The Flavour Index

03

Our observatory of market signals, across digital and social. It analyses a food & beverage brand, its competitors and the entire category to show where there's still room, meaning the consumer themes and needs no competitor is covering today. The starting point is audience perception, the one signal that reads the same way for everyone on digital. It works across two complementary areas. The first is the performance of the brand's own channels and properties. The second is the spontaneous listening of what people say and search across social and the web. What gives the data value is Food Sensitivity, our ability to recognise which signals truly matter for a food brand.

  • / Monitoring of owned channels, competitors, online niches
  • / Integrated social listening and web listening
  • / Digital signals translated into content and positioning decisions
Example case coming soon