From Chestnuts to Luxurious Marrón Glacé: A Successful Marketing and Positioning Strategy

Resumen

Ancient cultural history and tradition surrounds chestnuts all over Europe. During periods of poverty and hard times, entire nations survived on chestnuts, thus being considered for long time the meat of poor people. Nowadays, despite chestnut continues to be linked to production and consumption patterns of a past of poverty and rural hardship, the marrón glacé -a confection consisting of a chestnutcandied and glazed with sugar- has become a luxury food product. So, a food previously consumed as part of a rural agrarian subsistence diet is today increasingly valued worldwide for its premium quality, delicacy and gastronomic value. The present study analyzes the case of the marrón glacé industry located in Galicia -Northern Spain-, suggesting how a successful positioning and marketing strategy can turn a simple abundant local food into a premium food product, elevated to the status of a luxury gourmet product.