The archive · Business Models · Strategic decision · 2007–2010
Eataly turns a Turin vermouth factory into the 'supermarket of the future'
Oscar Farinetti opens Eataly in 2007: market, restaurants and cooking school under one roof — commodity groceries sold as culture reach €684m revenue
Eataly
What it had to solve
In 2007 food retail was a commodity race and artisanal Italian food was locked away in expensive gourmet boutiques. Farinetti — who had just sold his consumer-electronics chain — wanted to bring Slow Food's philosophy to a mass market at fair prices.
How it works
Eataly opened at the end of January 2007 in Turin, in a restored vermouth factory in the Lingotto district. Its founder, Oscar Farinetti, had made his fortune in consumer electronics — selling his chain for about €500 million in 2002 — and came from a Piedmontese food family with close ties to the Slow Food movement. The store combined a food market, restaurants, counters and a cooking school under one roof, and The Atlantic's feature declared it 'a persuasive model for the supermarket of the future'.
The mechanism made premium food feel safe to buy: nine areas cooked food to order, two teaching kitchens ran classes, a wine cellar hosted tastings, producers delivered goods and met customers, and price tags sat near the farmgate level — far below the gourmet boutiques that had previously owned artisanal food. Average daily visits reached 8,000 and the market was heading into the black within its first year.
The format then travelled: a 50,000-square-foot New York store opened in 2010 with queues down Fifth Avenue, followed by Rome, Milan, Chicago, Tokyo, Paris, Munich, Stockholm and Toronto. By 2024 the group operated roughly 55 stores across North America, Europe and the Middle East/Asia, on revenue of €684 million (+4.3 per cent), with its net loss halved to €13.4 million; in 2022 UK fund Investindustrial took 52 per cent control via a €200 million capital increase and a €140 million share purchase.
Why it lands
- Eating on-site removes the biggest barrier to premium food — uncertainty about whether it is worth the price; the tasting counter does the selling before the till does.
- Education gives customers a reason to value the product: two teaching kitchens and producer meetings justify prices with knowledge rather than labels.
- The experience makes the store a destination — 8,000 visitors a day — so dwell time, foot traffic and basket size grow together instead of competing.
- Local sourcing at farmgate-adjacent prices undercut gourmet boutiques, so the model carried its own proof rather than relying on brand prestige.
What it did
The Turin market averaged 8,000 visitors a day and was heading into the black within its first year; The Atlantic called it 'a persuasive model for the supermarket of the future'; by 2024 the chain ran roughly 55 stores across three continents on €684m revenue
What you can take
Sell the knowledge, not the product: when customers can taste, learn and meet the producer, commodity retail becomes a cultural experience that travels further than discounts.
Since then
Eataly grew into a global chain — about 55 stores by 2024, with around 60 per cent of revenue earned in the Americas. Its 'eat-shop-learn' format became a template copied by food halls worldwide, and its owner structure changed in 2022 when Investindustrial took majority control, followed by new formats such as the smaller 'Eataly Café' in 2025. The Turin original that critics once feared would exploit its artisans is still cited as the store that made quality food retail a cultural export.
Sources
- The Supermarket of the Future
- Eataly (Investindustrial), nel 2024 ricavi a 684 mln euro (+4,3%) e perdita netta di 13,4 mln (più che dimezzata)
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