THE TASTE OF NORTH JUTLAND
Food, production, experience
and place
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
THE TASTE OF NORTH JUTLAND
Food, production, experience
and place
1. Taste of North Jutland – what and why?
2. Wider perspectives: Markets, networks, place branding
3. Case study: Local food to international tourists
4. Beyond Taste of North Jutland
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
TASTE OF NORTH JUTLAND
in a nutshell
Who?
 North Jutland region
 Local authorities
 National ministeries
 Major food producers
 VisitNordjylland
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
What?
 Website in Danish
 Promote producers of
quality food in region
 Targets professional buyers
Why?
 Strengthen collaboration
between producers
 Build regional food cluster
 Supplement customeroriented activities (food
festival, food theatre, …)
TASTE OF NORTH JUTLAND
- wider perspectives
What/not?
 Focus on quality products rather than high-volume mass production
 Focus on small(ish) niche producers, NOT big mass producers
 Support creation of new high-end niche markets
 Through loosely-coupled network (visibility >> direct interaction)
Why/not?
 Assumed market failure: Small producers less visible / cooperative
 Assumption that place is added value (additional quality)
 Assuming that small producers can more easily be influenced
 Soft cluster governance, initiative mainly with private actors
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
TASTE OF NORTH JUTLAND
- wider perspectives
Core characteristics
 Internal networking >> direct promotion
 Combining cluster building AND place branding
Cluster challenges
 A fragmented industry with external ownership
 Long tradition of mass-production
 Cluster-building an element of wishful thinking
Place-branding challenges
 Place-branding through food: The Taste of Anywhere / Nowhere
 Absence of recognisable unique selling point / profiling
 External and/or internal audiences?
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
LOCAL FOOD TO INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS
Case study
From tempting prospects of synergy …
 tourists will eat anyway
 food experience add to attraction of destination
 local food an exotic quality
 boost local food production directly/indirectly
 Reduce consumption of food imported by tourists
… to international food experience production chain
 regional food experiences must be produced
 regional food made accessible to visitors
 attractions of regional food communicated to visitors
 regional food experiences demanded by visitors ??
Henrik Halkier, Pennie F. Henriksen & Luigi d’Ambrosio, TRU – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
LOCAL FOOD TO INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS
Strategic alternatives
Communication
=
Organisation
+
=
Localise suppliers
Market local products
+
Build cross-sectoral
networks
Food tourism
destination brand
RDA
DMO
F
T
T
F
F
Exchange
to be
increased
T
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
INTER/NATIONAL
CONTEXT
LOCAL FOOD TO INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS
Research design
Focus on
 local and/or quality food
 desirable well-off visitors
 extension of season
Key actor interviews
 food producers
 food retailers
 local policy makers


Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
tourism / DMOs
food / RDA networks
(local trade council)
LOCAL FOOD TO INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS
Markets and networks matter






Production and perceived demand: local food
experiences, tourists and locals, what qualities?
Private drivers: financial crisis, limited private resources,
strength in numbers, a unified product
Private conditions: product complementarity,
limited direct competition, brand compatibility
Private results: producer-driven collaboration, crossreferrals, supplier relations, bottom-up networks
Public aims: bridging actors, bundling products,
knowledge sharing, access
Public initiatives: Network, distribution channels,
branding
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
LOCAL FOOD TO INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS
Markets and networks matter
Communication
=
Organisation
+
=
Localise suppliers
Market local products
+
Build cross-sectoral
networks
Food tourism
destination brand
Many strategies unfolding, synergies
 Links to wider strategies for extending season?
 Holliday homes: Self-catering and beyond?
 Degree of fit with development of food demand by
(international) tourists?

Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk
BEYOND TASTE OF NORTH JUTLAND
- some policy pointers
Implementation
 Review of food resources / entrepreneurs
 Review of demand trends
 Long-term projects of networking and marketing
 Different (food) cultures of producer groups / intermediaries
Politics
 Copy / paste strategies, sexy policies, follow the money
 Fiercely competitive market for speciality food / place branding
 Internal versus external audiences
 Need to be seen to address traditional sectors
Henrik Halkier, Tourism Research Unit – halkier@cgs.aau.dk