The effectiveness of meta-brands in the typical product industry: mozzarella cheese

The development and spread of protected denominations for typical products has been one of the most interesting phenomena recorded over the last ten years, in terms of both extent (there are more than 500 protected denominations in Europe, 20 per cent for Italian products) and the implications for the marketing of food products. The role played by these meta-brands is rather a complex one, as a number of different factors come into play, such as the commodity itself, the size and type of the company using the brand, the end consumers who actually buy the product, and so on. These assumptions are confirmed by the existence of a number of studies focusing on particular commodities and or countries. While furnishing a few general considerations, which are common to several contexts, this work aims mainly at analysing the role of protected denominations for typical products both as marketing instruments and as a springboard for competition for small local producers. In particular, the study will concentrate on the dairy industry and "made-in-Campania" buffalo's milk mozzarella cheese, an Italian product benefiting from the protected designation of origin (PDO) brand Mozzarella di Bufala Campana.