What does “Italian identity” really look like in CPG today?

In the latest issue of Mark Up Magazine, Francesco Buschi and Lorenzo D'Ambrosio from our team in Milan explore the idea of a “new vintage” in Italy: not as nostalgia, but as a contemporary reinvention of brand in response to decades of homogenisation.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲
Unlike other markets, Italian packaging has not been built on a shared visual language. Identity often sits in the product, the maker, or even just a surname on pack, rather than in codified design cues.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
Post-war retail introduced an imported, largely American visual system built on clarity, consistency and scale. Over time, redesign meant standardisation, making brands clearer and more modern, but also increasingly alike.

𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀
Today, Italian identity is often reframed externally and reflected back to us. Global culture simplifies and aestheticises “Italian-ness”, and that outside perspective is reshaping how brands rediscover and reinterpret their own roots.

𝗔 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
As trust in industrial systems declines, consumers are rediscovering local, small-scale and process-driven brands. In packaging, the focus is moving beyond functionality towards cultural meaning, aesthetic belonging and storytelling.

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗶𝗮
Brands like Leone, Rummo or Marvis show how historical cues can be reworked into something contemporary. These are not faithful reproductions of the past, but constructed identities that feel authentic because they answer a real need.

Ultimately, this “new vintage” signals a reversal. After years of normalisation, brands are rediscovering distinctiveness by reinterpreting the past and making it work within the complexity of modern brand systems.

If you're interested in reading more, and you're based in Italy, the article appears in the June issue of Mark Up Magazine.