Once having restyled the new brand, the business needs of the company became premiumisation. The path chosen to obtain a prime positioning and perception was that of opening POS located in airports and city centres, privileged points of encounters with the most sophisticated and international clientele.
Retail design privileged the creation of boutiques similar to jewellery stores making the brand the focus point of a tangible experience. An elegant environment and a chic showcasing of all the products with explanatory reversible cards in several languages. The concept was to exhibit this unique product with all its rituals, gestures and transformations. A precious raw material to be preserved and shown like a precious material or a beautiful jewel. A complete formation was given to all staff beforehand to ensure the ultimate customer satisfaction.
User needs of acquiring knowledge and adequate understanding of a product that is not yet very well-known was faced by creating various paths of sensorial discovery. Firstly the DNA of vinegar is exposed, permitting the base ingredients of vinegar and cooked wine must aromas to be smelled along with the 7 types of wood used for the casks. Secondly a central tasting desk with up to 40 different types scenically presented and a specific tasting procedure undertaken by placing a drop of vinegar to the roof of the palette via a spoon with the tongue. Thirdly packaging design included a premium line of products created exclusively for the boutiques, such as, for example 100% Modena and vinegar pearls, just like caviar. Other particular products include traditional panettone cake with balsamic vinegar.
Focus was placed on the promotion of the stores as a gift shop, gift boxes were created enticing the clientele to buy these refinery wrapped products rather the classic bottle of wine when invited as guests at dinner. Furthermore tastings are organised in front of the shops, offering finger food of bread or canapés and themed events created to help passersby and return customers learn to distinguish all of the nuances that render this a unique product.
De Nigris, with an investment of €7 million, opened in 2016 a chain of 4 POS, including a flagstore in Milan, inside the airports of Napoli and Bologna and its own Balsamic Village, a real farm dedicated to vinegar in Carpi, province of Reggio Emilia, with 70 hectares showcasing vineyards, farmhouses and cellars where the history of balsamic vinegar can be experienced firsthand.
