‘Supper Market of style’: Kean Etro’s men’s fashion show on the shelves of the Esselunga in Via Washington, 2001

In 2001, Kean Etro 'wandered around [in the Esselunga on Washington Street] presenting his collection of plant-dyed cotton sweaters among the very first organic product counters. 'They took us for fools. Then the organic line is still there' ". In 2014, Chanel also paraded its models among the shelves of a supermarket at the Grand Palais in Paris. Only the supermarket was fake.

The Caprotti family and the Esselunga supermarkets: the Americans’ pasta factory, c. 1950s.

With regard to the supply of certain fresh products, the problem was the lack of adequately prepared and controlled goods. This is why Esselunga decided to start producing on its own as early as 1959, setting up a bakery, an ice-cream parlour that sold its products even in winter, a coffee roasting plant, a cold cuts warehouse, a poultry farm to supply fresh eggs, but above all a large pasta factory for ravioli, tortellini and gnocchi, the success of which even excited the Americans, who were able to sell one of their favourite products, pasta, to Italians at excellent quality and 50% savings.

The birth of marketing at Esselunga and two Armando Testa advertising campaigns

In 1994, under my impetus, the Esselunga marketing department took shape and I became its first director. Marketing was structured to manage the following areas: promotions – including the whole Fidaty world – the call centre, press office, market research, supermarket space, advertising