Just off the coast of the Italian Peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, a cluster of rocks, dating from the Paleozoic Era, have clustered to form the island of Sardinia. An autonomous region of Italy, the island is home to 1.6 million people (ISTAT, 2011) and calls the town of Cagliari its capital. Sardinia is composed of rocky coasts, inlets and a number of headlands, all of which rise up from the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean. Along with beautiful scenery, Sardinia boasts a number of unique food and wine delicacies.
In 2010, my employer Fabio Pibiri founded Buon Gusto, LLC with family members including his wife Malika Evans. Their intention was to bring these treasures of Sardinian cuisine to the States, settling in Chicago. After four years of operating, the company has a steady pool of boutique shops and restaurants in Chicago that sell their fine Sardinian products. Currently, Malika is living in Sardinia, building up rapport with the local producers that Buon Gusto buys product from. The close relationship Buon Gusto maintains with the wine makers, farmers and producers in Sardinia means two things. Firstly, they are able to keep costs lower by working directly with the folks making their product. Secondly, it means the product Buon Gusto chooses to sell is extremely high quality. Everything they distribute in the Chicago area has been carefully selected by the small team to provide the most authentic and delicious food and wine products Sardinia has to offer.
Being an island with a Mediterranean climate, Sardinia, much like the mainland of Italy is known for its cultivation of fine wines. Buon Gusto works to select a variety of the country’s best products. Most of the wines the company sells use the Cannanou grape, native to the region. Providing a rich foundation for mild and heavy red wines, the grape is also said to have health benefits. Locals say that drinking the wine of Cannonau grapes lengthens the lifespan of the individual. Though not scientifically proven, the island does have the highest rate of centenarians, along with Okinawa in Japan. Along with a variety of rosés, whites and red wines, Buon Gusto imports cheeses, olives, olive oils, bread products and other delicacies.
My role at Buon Gusto, LLC. has thus far included designing flyers, newsletters and the like to communicate with the company’s loyal guests. Working with Malika and Fabio to create and distribute materials that effectively communicate the company’s image, mission and intentions, I have come to learn a lot about the nature of an import company and the Sardinian way of life. Though their food products are rich and delectable, Sardinians are fairly simply people. Buon Gusto aims to propagate that same style into their business. Elegance, quality, and utility are the best descriptors Buon Gusto can hope for. It is my job to make sure these messages are accurately displayed to our customers in attempts to make Buon Gusto the leader in Sardian food imports in Chicago and later nationwide.
https://www.buongustomarket.com/
