According to Fipe data, the average life of a pastry shop in Italy is only five years . In fact, cutthroat competition and growing economic pressure often cause the projects of young masters of the art of confectionery to fail, even if they are talented. Furthermore, 87% need new tools to meet the new demands of the public. In the era of market liberalization, with bars and supermarkets that have further complicated the position of traditional pastry shops, many pastry chefs find themselves unprepared to manage the new challenges of the market, often due to a limited knowledge of the tools needed to bring out their excellence.
The anti-reflux pancake
According to Alessio Mura , an entrepreneur from Alghero, a pastry chef who has already been awarded the Made in Italy Excellence award by the Italian Food sector for his brand “Nuvola”, the only anti-reflux and highly digestible pancake in Italy, «it is no longer enough to make good products to be successful. You also need to know how to communicate them, enhance them, make them unique and desirable in the eyes of customers».
Marketing therefore becomes a fundamental weapon to stand out in an increasingly crowded and standardized market. "Pastry shops have historically relied on word of mouth but, in the web era, visibility and online presence are essential tools to reach a wider audience," says Mura.
Likewise, innovation becomes the most important differentiator of all.
"This is where the most important game for the future of our pastry shops is played," says Alessio Mura, "because if it is true that the quality of the products remains the beating heart of every business, it is equally true that without an effective marketing strategy, this quality risks remaining invisible and unappreciated."
Marketing
The training support project “Dolci Profitti”, conceived by the Made in Italy ambassador Alessio Mura, is aimed at pastry chefs who want to grow and stand out on the market, and comes from a long entrepreneurial experience in the field.
The entrepreneur explains that he is the son of an artist and that he has always breathed «the inebriating air of sweets since he was a child. In 2008, we decided to take the big step and invest in a real pastry shop in Alghero. It was a leap in the dark, a challenge that we took up with courage and determination. I then realized the two main problems that pastry shops have to face: the difficulty of attracting new customers in an increasingly competitive and standardized market and the challenge of increasing prices without losing customers, in a context of growing pressure on costs and reduction of margins». With “Nuvola” the leap in quality. Beyond the goodness, thanks to an innovative marketing strategy, the digestible fritter has become a mass phenomenon, attracting the attention not only of customers, but also of colleagues in the sector, and which has earned Mura the Made in Italy Excellence award.
The project is based on a key principle, that of the "Dolce Unico", which involves the creation of a unique, differentiating and irresistible product, transforming artisan mastery into a competitive asset, teaching pastry chefs how to develop a strong and recognizable brand identity and communicate it effectively.
The unique dessert
"In my entrepreneurial experience," the pastry chef continues, "it's not just about inventing an original recipe, but about studying the market, trends and consumer desires in depth. It's more about identifying that unexpressed need that no one else is satisfying. Once you've identified this unique dessert, you need to focus your efforts on promoting it and making it known. You need to communicate it clearly and precisely, have people try it as much as possible, and stimulate word of mouth. Naturally, over time you can add new unique products, perhaps following seasonality or customer requests. I myself did this after creating Nuvola. But the principle remains the same: each new dessert must have its own precise identity. It's not simply about chasing the latest trends by copying the competition."
