Foodies' movement fostering stakeholders' networks : a regional case study

The central theme of this work revolves around the foodies' movement under three perspectives: firstly, from a conceptual point of view to give account of its relevance in terms of consumer demand; secondly, to verify how, from the supplyside, this movement can to some extent encourage and/or strengthen the creation of networks of local actors indispensable to encourage the meeting between the needs of the demandand supply of typical food products; thirdly, based on a casestudy to demonstrate that the movement of foodies can beexploited within a political action aimed at reorienting localtourism development. A national case study – Alghero, IT –was analysed.

By positioning the rural and urban spaces with respect to the foodies' phenomenon, the existence/absence of networks between local stakeholders some obstacles emerged so as many opportunities. The stakeholder analysis was appliedand discussed. This method was very useful for identifying therole, power and leadership that the various local actors havein favoring or hindering the creation of connection networksbetween the city and the countryside, and in the requalificationof the supply of typical foods that fit well into the currentdemand trend. [Publisher's text]