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Innovation of the Day: Italian retailer fights reading decline by printing Madame Bovary on packs of biscotti

Findings:

Italian hypermarket chain Bennet is addressing the decline in reading rates by launching Good To Read Packs, featuring excerpts from famous literary works printed on food packaging. The initiative aims to inspire Italians to rediscover the joy of reading by integrating it into their daily routines.

Key Takeaway:

Bennet creatively combines literature and food to encourage reading by turning everyday grocery items like milk cartons and biscotti packs into portable literary experiences. This initiative illustrates how brands can foster cultural engagement and personal growth beyond their traditional offerings.

Trend:

The trend is creative brand engagement, where companies incorporate cultural enrichment—in this case, literature—into their products, offering more than just a transactional experience.

Consumer Motivation:

Consumers are motivated by the opportunity to easily access literature during their routine activities, allowing them to fit reading into their busy lives in a seamless and enjoyable way.

Driving Factors:

  • Decline in reading rates in Italy, where only 35.4% of people read for pleasure in 2022.

  • A desire to reconnect with literature after an uptick in reading during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Brands seeking to engage consumers with value beyond products, fostering emotional and intellectual connections.

Target Consumers:

The article refers to Italians over the age of 16 who are not regular readers, particularly those who may feel they don’t have time for books. Bennet's initiative is aimed at everyday consumers who frequent supermarkets.

Product/Service Description:

Bennet’s Good To Read Packs feature literary excerpts from well-known authors like Flaubert, Salinger, and Murakami on common food items such as biscotti, milk cartons, rice boxes, and cans of beans.

Consumer Age:

The initiative is aimed at adults, particularly those over 16, but it could resonate broadly with both young adults and older generations who enjoy literature.

Conclusions:

Bennet is successfully blending everyday shopping with literary engagement, turning routine grocery trips into opportunities for cultural enrichment. This demonstrates how brands can innovate by integrating intellectual value into their products, offering consumers more than just functional benefits.

Implications for Brands:

Brands should explore ways to incorporate culture and education into their offerings, positioning themselves as facilitators of personal growth. This strategy can enhance brand loyalty by providing consumers with enriching experiences.

Implications for Society:

This initiative highlights the potential for retail spaces to serve as hubs for cultural engagement, helping to combat societal issues like the decline in reading and promoting lifelong learning.

Implications for Consumers:

Consumers gain easy access to literature in a convenient, digestible format that fits into their daily lives, potentially reigniting a passion for reading in a time-poor world.

Implications for the Future:

As consumers look for meaningful connections with the brands they support, companies that provide cultural and educational value will stand out. This trend could expand beyond literature to include art, history, or science in daily products.

Consumer Trend:

The consumer trend is cultural integration into daily products, where everyday items are used as vehicles for intellectual engagement.

Consumer Sub Trend:

A sub-trend is multifunctional packaging that serves both practical and cultural purposes.

Big Social Trend:

The big social trend is cultural enrichment through commerce, where companies embed educational experiences into everyday life, promoting learning and growth in an accessible way.

Local Trend:

In Italy, this initiative responds to the local trend of declining reading rates, especially after COVID-induced increases in book consumption.

Worldwide Social Trend:

Globally, there’s a growing trend towards meaningful brand engagement, where consumers expect brands to contribute to personal enrichment and societal well-being.

Name of the Big Trend Implied by Article:

The big trend implied is Cultural Commerce.

Name of Big Social Trend Implied by Article:

The social trend is Intellectual Enrichment through Consumer Goods.

Social Drive:

The drive is the desire to reconnect with literature and cultural experiences, especially in a world where screen time often overshadows reading.

Strategy Recommendations for Companies to Follow in 2025:

  • Incorporate cultural elements into everyday products to promote intellectual engagement and personal growth.

  • Focus on multifunctional experiences, offering consumers both practical and enriching benefits.

  • Collaborate with cultural institutions or literary figures to enhance brand authenticity and credibility.

  • Leverage social campaigns to highlight the cultural value added to consumer products, making them more than just items of utility.

Final Sentence:

In 2025, brands should seek to blend culture and commerce, creating intellectually enriching products that foster personal growth and brand loyalty by making daily activities more meaningful.

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