A captivating story is the foundation for communicating a brand’s legacy.
Breaking in
Founded in Parabiago, Italy, in 1927, Rancilio has a deep legacy of espresso in Europe but was lesser known within specialty coffee in North America in 2017. My team’s goal was to refresh the brand with new products that squarely hit user needs and to redefine the value of the Rancilio brand in the US market with collaborative digital marketing.
To grow our regional office’s knowledge of espresso extraction and our influence on global products, I focused on developing a local R&D lab and began testing our equipment.
Beginning with Core Tech
For Rancilio to be effective in the emerging specialty coffee market, products needed to be tested to measure consistency and veracity. My goal with testing was to determine the operating threshold of Rancilio’s espresso equipment using sensory analysis and scientific measurement. I then began to study and calculate the equipment’s hydraulics to determine points for maximizing efficiency and consistency for specialty coffee parameters.
Establishing Best Practices
After developing a baseline understanding of Rancilio’s equipment, I began to study various duty cycles to determine what practical conditions provided the best performance. I then strategized how to educate the market about the findings, using scientific testing to back up results. I organized an educational US road tour called Ramp Up in 2019 that brought press coverage and grew Rancilio’s brand awareness across 16 stops in various US cities.
Market Analysis
To ensure the relevance of Rancilio’s brand repositioning, I began to research the market in regards to market needs, competitor strengths, and the brand positioning of competitors. This helped us identify Rancilio’s brand perception and strength, which was key in strategizing new messaging that was captivating and authentic. This also revealed areas to focus on to stand out in the market with new offerings.
Aligning with Industry Players
With data backing Rancilio’s core competence, I began partnering with events, competitions, distributors and public figures active in the industry. This grew reach and allowed Rancilio to be part of the conversation. This also provided understanding of what machine features interested baristas and helped Rancilio strategize next moves by keeping an ear to the ground.
Growing a Network of Influencers
By inviting influencers to partner with Rancilio, relationships were forged with standard bearers in the industry. These symbiotic relationships gave Rancilio more personalized exposure in an oversaturated market and grew a community around a brand. This also exposed the company to product needs of coffee professionals.
Galvanizing Interest with Flagship Offerings
Lab testing allowed for specific requests that allowed both US and Italian R&D teams to work alongside. This gave us the opportunity to fold in product needs for the market and focus on pillars for growth: longevity, consistency, and ease of use.
My goal was to package market needs into offerings that addressed industry trends while incorporating company history, a necessary foundation for a legacy. By focusing on two arms of the core business with two new products, the Invicta for commercial and the Silvia Pro X for home, the entire brand saw a refresh.
Utilizing Product Releases
If working with influencers and various partners is planting seeds, the product release is the harvest. New products brought real weight to Rancilio’s rebrand as a robust, performance driven espresso machine company.
By weaving in the history of Rancilio with updated versions of popular releases (the Silvia and the Invicta), longevity and story were communicated. Backing up these releases with market-worthy features strengthened the product success and the rebrand.
