Victor Russo is an enthusiastic young Italian entrepreneur, who from early on in his life had a passion for Italian cuisine. Now he wants to start an Italian osteria franchise.

The question
Victor Russo believes it’s time that the Netherlands becomes acquainted with the real and honest Italian cuisine from an accessible, slow-food based, osteria formula. Besides the existing shop and wholesale, the first osteria has been opened in the city centre of Leiden. But how can Russo’s, as the formula will be called, be characterized?

The challenge
Russo’s is characterized by his own perky and personal style. The food as well as the wine comes from passionate, young Italian entrepreneurs. Not only the dishes are unique but also the design of the menu itself. The biggest challenge was to let the Dutch public experience this concept the way a native Italian would experience it. It’s about finding a way to communicate with the guests’ taste buds, the starting point being created by the flavors of the wines and carefully selected ingredients.

The concept
In Russo’s Osteria taste sensations are experienced and shared. Accurate imagination through visual accuracy. The flavors of the traditional products are the main characters of the story, each with their own biography. The Gorgonzola Picante, for example, a cow with snake-like traits, is the story of a local producer, told by Victor Russo and mastered by the dinner guests. The basis of the brand identity lies in the taste.

A sense of ornamental symbolism has been built into the design. The representations, using 18th-century engravings, remind us of the fruit and vegetable portraits of the 16th-century Italian painter Arcimboldo. These representations of taste are being used as key visuals for Russo’s.

The added value
The central logo affirms the representation. In the translation to the franchise formula the symbolism is consistent. In the naming of the individual trattorias an endorsement structure is developed, in which the nomenclature follows from the concept of ‘il traversare nei Gusti’, for example: ‘Di Gusti in Gusti – Osteria della Victor Russo’, ‘Stoccagio di Storia – Osteria della Victor Russo’, and so on. Read Less