LifeStyle - Impact

emlyon business school, through the Lifestyle Research Center, was a partner of Made in the Alps: The image of Alpine Products, a common resource for pan-Alpine territorial brand cooperation (2022-23).
The project was funded by ARPAF, the Alpine Region Preparatory Action Fund, created by the European Parliament to promote EUSALP, the EU Strategy for the Alps by supporting its Action Groups in implementing their work plans and establish economic and social cooperation in the Alpine macro-region.
This project generated funds for emlyon business school (budget €49,166). Lifestyle research center members involved were Diego Rinallo (project coordinator) and Marta Pizzetti, with the support of Ms Elisabeth Gelas. 

Films 

The Lifestyle Research Center commissioned two films, directed by Ms Antonia Marsetti, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Diego Rinallo, with filming and editing assured by Mr Riccardo Frizziero. These films summarize in an easily accessible language key findings from the project’s research activities. 

•  « It’s Made in the Alps »: The image of the Alps as a resource for a sustainable and collaborative Alpine Region (film, 11′ 35 »)
• EUSALP Youth Council discusses Alpine legacy: food and culture (film, 7′ 46 »)

Territorial Brands’ Uses of the Image of the Alps 

This research report is based on an analysis of the commercial uses of the image of the Alps carried out through:

1) a literature review on place brands and their effects on consumers;

2) a desk research on how the image of the Alps is used to promote local products by brands of different kinds;

3) a systematic content analysis of references to the Alps in trademarks and figurative logos, based on data from the EU trademark search engine TMViews.  

Place image connotes the image of locally made products and can generate positive consumer responses, including a more favorable attitude and greater willingness to pay a premium price. The Alps have a strong image that is transferred to products from different value chains. Based on the limited evidence available, consumers associate the Alps mostly to traditional agri-food products – cheese, but not only. Alpine references are however used in trademarks beyond agrifood value chains – for example wood and textiles/clothing – and in a wide range of services. Such is the attractivity of the Alps as a place image that even brands without strong links to the Alps use it – a phenomenon we termed ‘Alpinewashing’. 

Today’s complex value chains often require territorial specialization and an international division of labor. Globalized value chains are today increasingly under scrutiny for their negative environmental impacts and unfair labour practices. Interregional and cross-border collaboration can contribute to the relocation of manufacturing and crafts in the Alpine macro-ragion and to more environmentally and socially sustainable value chains. Consumer preference for regional products or national value chains might however penalize cross-border value chains. In this context, the Alp’s shared image is a cultural resource that can facilitate the promotion of these products. The Alps spontaneously project a strong brand image, which does not need the establishment of a formal ‘made in the Alps’ label covering the entire Alpine space. Cross-border value chains might also be facilitated by alliances among existing territorial brands. 
 

Consumers’ perceptions of « Made in the Alps »  

Building on the previous analyses, we adopted mixed methods to investigate consumers’ perceptions of products from various Alpine value chains (food, wood, textiles). First, we carried out qualitative analysis involving 23 informants from various Alpine regions, after which we carried out 9 quantitative studies, involving more than 1,000 consumers (2 surveys and 7 experimental designs), based on which we developed key implications and conclusions.  

The study concluded that the Alps have a rather positive and attractive image, which connotes some products ‘Made in the Alps’ more than others. Consumers tend however to think of Alpine products in binary terms (local/non-local). They have limited awareness of the complexity of Alpine value chains, mixing local and non-local raw materials and processing. Our findings show that the 100% Local model can co-exist with other approaches to place branding in the Alpine space. 

Policy Brief and Managerial Recommendations: Territorial brands as a tool for a collaborative, sustainable and circular Alpine Region

This report summarizes key insights from the project and proposes managerial recommendations for territorial brands, the organizations managing them, and their stakeholders; and discusses the role that territorial brands can play as policy tools in the context of the EU Strategy for the Alps, with a particular focus on the EUSALP Action Groups’ cross-cutting priority on the circular economy.