The Cooking up of a Gastronomy Brand for Sønderborg Municipality

Gastronomy has become a major branding asset of many places, influencing the destination image. Different actors play a role in creating regional gastronomy-related brands, yet studies of the larger ecosystem have been rare. Among places where the culinary offer has undergone a strong development in recent years is Sønderborg municipality in Southern Denmark. Through the lens of service-dominant logic, especially the value-in-use and service ecosystem concept, the aim of this qualitative study is to analyze the actors engaged in developing a gastronomy brand for Sønderborg municipality, as well as challenges they might face for maintenance and further development of the gastronomy offer. Four groups of actors are identified: (1) those producing the gastronomy offer, i.e. restaurants, chefs, specialty/craft producers; (2) those facilitating the development of gastronomy offer/brand through legislation, networking, and marketing, i.e. the municipality and the DMO; (3) those facilitating the development of gastronomy offer/brand through funding and marketing, i.e. owners, franchisors, hotels; (4) those supporting the development of gastronomy offer/brand through their consumption and recommendations, i.e. residents and tourists. The study finds that gastronomy is being used as an asset in promoting the place, but stronger collaboration and coordination, as well as shared intentions on the strategic development of a strong gastronomy brand, are needed to further develop and strengthen the image of Sønderborg as a culinary destination.