The public debate is saturated by the idea of disruption. Celebrated as a mantra, innovations that seek to reinvent everything, from artificial intelligence to space exploration, capture collective imagination. However, this obsession with very ambitious projects often leaves the industries that form the fabric of our daily culture, such as wine and gastronomy.
These sectors, far from futuristic speculation, face tangible challenges. The wine industry, an emblem of tradition and pride, records a worrying fall in per capita consumption globally. Similarly, the gastronomic sector is going through a complex readjustment after the post-pandemic boom, where consumer’s desire remains, but its economic rationality has worsened. Given this situation, an unavoidable question arises: Are these industries aimed at a slow contraction, or is there a way to revitalize them?
To find a solution, it is vital to understand a fundamental distinction that is often confused in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: the difference between creativity and innovation. Creativity is spark, the initial idea; It is necessary, but alone, it is insufficient. Innovation, on the other hand, is that idea already implemented and validated by the market. It is the bridge already built, not only the plane of the bridge. Many startups fail not due to lack of creative ideas, but for a deficit in the complex discipline of implementation, by falling in love with their idea instead of becoming obsessed with solving a real problem.
Faced with this scenario, a different approach emerges: “acupuncture innovation”. It is not a major surgery to change the product – the wine is already exceptional, the experience of a good restaurant is already valuable – but a minimum and precise intervention at a disregarded friction point. The problem to be solved is not the product itself, but the barriers that prevent a more fluid and frequent connection with it: the cost of experimentation, paralysis due to excess options or the perception that certain experiences are only for special occasions.
The effect of such intervention, when it is accurate, is expansive. A virtuous circle is generated that revitalizes the entire ecosystem. For the consumer, friction is reduced and curiosity is transformed into a habit, promoting a constant exploration. For proximity trade – the Wine Bar, La Vinoteca, the restaurant – this translates into a constant and predictable flow of customers, an organic marketing engine that energizes valley hours and power additional sales. For the industry as a whole, the impact is an expansion of the market. It is not competed for a portion of the cake, you work to make the biggest cake.
This logic of acupuncture innovation is extrapolable to other sectors. Industries such as the editorial, local tourism or crafts face similar challenges; All have a product of immense cultural value, but also friction that limit their consumption and enjoyment.
From Vinitus we consider that the next great transformation for our most beloved industries may not come from an algorithm of unprecedented complexity, but from a simple and brilliantly executed idea. An idea that reminds us of the pleasure of discovering, in an accessible and daily way, the extraordinary value that has always been there, waiting to be reconnected.
*Lorena Reatti is a founding partner of Vinitus
By Lorena Reatti
