As consumers shop for unique culinary experiences, they look to legacy figures in the food industry for support. Giada De Laurentiis, chef, author, and Emmy Award-winning television personality founded Giadzy (her childhood nickname) in 2017 to showcase new recipes, travel tips, videos, and a curated selection of specialty foods to share Italian traditions.
De Laurentiis will give the keynote address, The Four Trends in Food That Matter Now, on Monday, June 26 at 9:15 a.m. on the Main Stage (Hall E, Level 1) at the Summer Fancy Food Show. She will speak about a range of topics including at-home culinary experience, product sourcing, and clean ingredients.
SFA News Daily spoke with Giadzy.com president and COO Carolina Grabowsky about the brand, shopping trends, and specialty food.
What is Giadzy?
Giadzy is a community and content-driven ecommerce platform bringing customers a taste of Italy at home through unique experiences, culinary expertise, and supplier relationships forged by its founder, Giada De Laurentiis. After decades of inspiring the Italian spirit in home cooks everywhere through her Emmy-winning TV shows and New York TImes best-selling books, Giada is making authentic Italian food products accessible, through her brand, Giadzy. With a mission to spread ‘La Dolce Vita,’ Giada continues to make the luxury of the Italian lifestyle within reach for all.
What trends have you noticed shoppers respond to on Giadzy?
At Giadzy, shoppers can access curated Italian ingredients, recipe kits, and meal kits with ease and convenience. Curation is essential as is the storytelling that accompanies the product's origins and how to use it. We see a trend in the accessibility and expedience of the 360 [degree] experience. Giadzy also offers quality, clean ingredients, a big trend in the food space.
Are there any products or brands your customers tend to buy again and again?
Stand-out categories are tomatoes, pastas, and gifting solutions such as gift boxes and recipe kits.
What are some emerging trends in the food space that are propelling Giada's restaurants, catering, and lifestyle brand?
We are seeing a resurgence of experiential dining, whether it be in a home setting with entertaining, in a restaurant, or in events. Consumers are looking for an elevated experience that appeases all the senses. The experience of dining—the ease of ordering, packaging, the tablescape, and taste—are all equally important to today’s consumer.
How was the process of building the ecommerce business during the pandemic?
During COVID, demand shifted from restaurant and out-of-home consumption to at-home consumption. This created a big demand for restaurant-quality ingredients. COVID has accelerated the growth of ecommerce, especially in the grocery space which helped customers become more familiar with buying online. However, it also caused big bottlenecks in the logistics and supply chain space, which created big challenges with how to maintain your stock position when importing products from abroad.
With home chefs tending to be more adventurous when preparing for mealtimes, have you noticed that more involved recipes and niche products have received more attention?
We have noticed that customers are very willing to experiment and try new products. They also value the quality of the ingredients, the origin, and the production process, as they have noticed this makes a big difference in the end result.
How does Giadzy choose which brands to partner with and stock?
Giadzy's brands and products are personally curated by Giada De Laurentiis. We look for brands that have the best quality ingredients, respect the land and the environment, and bring tradition and knowledge to produce the best product.
What does specialty food mean to Giadzy?
At Giadzy this means ingredients that are hand-picked, often hard-to-find or exclusive, could be seasonal, or come from a specific region with limited resources, and have integrity for the way they are produced.
What's next for Giadzy? Can you share its strategy as it reimagines the company and how funding will help support this?
Giadzy has gone through two rounds of funding, raising approximately $5 million, through different venture funds. The funding has come to help Giadzy grow with a mission to spread ‘La Dolce Vita’ and build an Italian lifestyle and commerce platform.
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