Success factors for GI initiatives
How to make GIs a success
1. Meaning of success for GIs
Underlying motivation
Whether a GI initiative can be considered successful or not depends, first of all, on the underlying motivation of the producers to register their product as a GI. The main reasons for protecting GIs are legal and economic.
Legal reasons:
- To protect a product from other similar products from the same region of lower quality that undermine the product’s reputation of the product or even the whole region.
- To protect a product from high quality products from other geographical areas.
- To prevent a product from becoming generic. which would mean that everyone could use the geographical indication on any product.
Economic reasons:
- To regulate production and thus achieve price stability.
- To create consumer demand for a specific quality guaranteed by the GI.
- To access new markets.
- To create added value.
- To be able to charge a price premium.
- To be compensated for the effort involved in setting up the GI and meeting its requirements
Once we understand producers’ reasons for engaging in a GI initiative, we can better evaluate whether a GI initiative will be successful. Two short examples from Indonesia illustrate different levels of success:
Example 1
Garam Amed Bali salt In Amed on the island of Bali (Indonesia), sea salt is produced in a unique, traditional way. The islanders launched a GI initiative to protect their tradition and obtain compensation for the hard work it involves.
“Garam Amed Bali” was protected as a GI in 2018. As a result, the salt’s reputation increased and prices doubled. The GI initiative was thus a success.
Further information:
Success story – Garam Amed Bali (PDF)
Example 2
Tenun Ikkat Sikka
Traditional, handwoven textiles called “ikat” are part of the local cultural identity in eastern Indonesia. The people of the Sikka region started a GI initiative to protect these textiles and thus also their identity.
“Tenun Ikat Sikka” was protected as a GI in 2018. The price did not increase, but the inhabitants of Sikka consider it a success because they can now legally protect their cultural identity.
Further information:
2. Crucial factors for GI success
Unfortunately, not all GI initiatives are successful. We will now look at some very crucial factors that are important for the success of a GI initiative:
The product needs to be sufficiently specific and unique (not directly substitutable)
The product should be traditional. It should be produced in a specific region and in a specific way, resulting in a specific quality different from that of other products. If it could be easily substituted by other products, consumers would not be ready to pay the extra price.
The product should have an existing reputation, at least in the local production area
There should be an established market demand for that product prior to certification, at least in a specific segment of the market. As GIs are products that have a certain history or tradition, they usually also have an established reputation.
Producers must be highly motivated and have a sense of ownership
Producers must be convinced that the GI is a useful tool to create added value, and they must be ready to take charge of its management. If the GI is imposed by others, it is less likely to be successful.
The value chain must have a certain degree of organisation
A certain level of organisation and existing structures in the value chain are necessary before starting a GI initiative. This makes it easier for producers to collaborate and set up a GI management organisation.
There is a strong legal framework in the country
A product needs to be protected as a GI at the national level first before it can be protected internationally. There should also be strong mechanisms for quality control and law enforcement in place. Otherwise, the GI will not be properly protected.
Challenges in meeting these conditions
Criteria difficult to fulfil Many GI initiatives do not fulfil one or more of these criteria, in particular the need for producers to be highly motivated.
Benefits not immediate
Why should I make an extra effort and pay fees if I don’t get any premium?
One of the most critical moments during an GI initiative is when the GI is in place and producers have adopted the GI rules, but no economic benefit has yet been achieved. This can be demotivating. It is therefore important to analyse the chances of success before starting and not to have unrealistic expectations.
GIs and product differentiation
To position themselves on the market, producers need both a differentiation strategy (or a unique selling proposition) and an IP strategy.
Differentiation strategies Producers can differentiate their product based on: price quality quantity appearance origin sustainability
Marketing strategy To help differentiate products, a marketing strategy is needed. This may involve: story-telling using labels and certifications
Differentiation from commodities
Product differentiation with a GI is particularly challenging for specialty products in sectors that are traditionally traded as commodities, for example coffee, cocoa, palm oil, soya beans, corn, rice, sugar and wheat. Commodities can be easily substituted. They compete mainly in terms of price and quantity.
A GI is such sectors might need to make more effort to justify its specific nature and thus compete in terms of quality.
Methods for differentiating GI coffees
Coffee GIs need to apply all the following methods:
- A sustainability label: Organic, Rainforest, Fairtrade or a company-owned label
- Fulfilment of high-quality standards, such as those of the Specialty Coffee Association.
- Specific quality – a unique taste profile linked to the natural and/or human factors of a specific region.
With these three aspects – sustainability, generic quality and specific quality – a coffee can be differentiated. Typically, such coffees belong to high-end niche markets that have high price premiums but are much less important in terms of volume.
How to establish a functioning GI
1. Check the product’s suitability
Use this checklist to ensure the product is suitable.
□ The product has specific characteristics and a good reputation. It is of a high quality and is closely linked to a specific geographical region
□ There is a specific geographical area where the product is historically produced (exact geographical area needs to be agreed by consensus later)
□ There are common quality standards, ingredients and methods for the production of the product (exact rules to be agreed by consensus later)
□ The value chain is organised with cooperatives, companies, producers, processors and exporters or has similar existing structures (composition of the GI management organisation to be agreed by consensus later)
□ There is a legal system in which a GI can be registered and the law enforced, including a control and certification system
□ Producers and processors in that region have a common interest in certifying their product as a GI (a clear majority of them should agree to engage in this collective market strategy)
2. Boost understanding of GIs
Value chain members must have sufficient understanding of GIs to be able to decide on whether to pursue the GI initiative.
Understanding of GIs can be boosted in workshops, consultation meetings and training sessions with national and international experts, authorities and representatives of existing GI management organisations.
3. Form a GI working committee
If most value chain actors show a clear interest, we recommend forming an informal or ad hoc GI working committee. It should consist of people particularly committed to the GI initiative. It is not necessarily the same as the GI management organisation that is formed later (see next point).
4. Draft the GI book of specifications
The first task for the GI working committee to produce the book of specifications (it can have different names, depending on the country). This is the document needed to register a product as a GI at a national IP office or at the relevant ministry in charge of registering GIs. Click here to see the information it usually contains:
A justification for GI protection This section explains the context and the history of the product and its links to the local natural and cultural environment. The claim of specificity and authenticity needs to be concisely explained and proven. The focus should be on explaining the links between the geographical and cultural environment and the quality and taste of the product.
Example 1 – coffee If the taste of a coffee to be protected as a GI is specific, it should be explained that this specificity is due to the altitude where the coffee grows, its variety, the soil composition (minerals, clay structure, etc.), rainfall patterns, temperature differences, the topography or the processing factors (fermentation, drying, etc.).
Cows that produce the milk for Formaggio delle Alpe
Ticinese cheese.
Example 2 – cheese If a cheese to be protected as a GI has a specific taste, there must be an explanation of why this is the case. This might include the composition of the pastures where the cows graze and the way the milk is transformed into cheese (bacteria, ingredients, temperatures, humidity, ripening, etc.). Usually, some studies are required to prove the claimed specificity and links between natural and cultural factors and the specific taste of the end product. These can be soil data, climate statistics, sensory evaluations, chemical analysis or historical evidence.
An exact definition of the geographical boundaries (the “GI area”) An exact line needs to be drawn between “inside” and “outside” of the GI’s protected area. This can be a very sensitive matter, so it is crucial to set the boundaries in a consultation process based on objective criteria. Often a political border, such as the border of a province, is chosen to avoid disputes.
The idea is to include as many producers as possible, but without compromising the quality and specificity of the product by extending the border too much to areas not suitable for the product.
A code of practice / a set of rules on how a product must be produced A code of practice should only list production steps that have a direct impact on the quality and specificity of the final product. Production steps that have no impact on the final quality and legal requirements (e.g. for hygiene and food safety) should not be included. Again, the idea is to include as many producers as possible within the given GI area, but without compromising on quality and specificity by allowing excessively low standards. Rule-setting should follow the principle “as little as possible but as much as necessary”. It is a balance that the value chain actors need to discuss and agree on.
A description of the GI management organisation and its responsibilities The GI management organisation is the entity that will manage the GI once registered. It needs to be formed in parallel with the book of specifications. Depending on the legal system, the book of specifications itself may contain a section about the functions and responsibilities of the GI management organisation.
We recommend that the GI management organisation should carry out the following tasks:
- Member management: The GI management organisation must include value chain actors that live in the GI area, respect the code of practice and want to become a member of the GI management organisation.
- Controlling and certification: The book of specifications often contains a clear control plan that mentions who controls which production step, how, and when. Usually there is an internal control by the GI management organisation and an external one by the government or a third party.
- Marketing and promotion: The GI management organisation should have an overview of the number of producers, the amount of produced GI products, markets and prices. It should represent the GI product and thus also its members, and engage in marketing and promotion. It should not buy or sell the GI product itself, and it should not favour specific producers over others.
Resources on how to draft a book of specifications:
5. Submit the GI application to the authorities
Step 1 –
National
application | A product needs to be protected as a GI at the national level first. If all the required documents have been submitted to the relevant national authority and there are no objections within a certain time period, the GI is granted. |
Step 2 –
International
protection | The GI can be protected in important export markets if the product is actually exported or if there are plans to export it. There are three ways how to protect a GI in an export market:
Direct protection
Protection in the context of a bilateral trade agreement
Protection through the Lisbon system
Please refer to module 3 for more details on the different ways of protecting a GI in an export market. |
How to strengthen GI initiatives
Private sector:
Promotion by GI management organisations
The main responsibility for the collective promotion of a specific GI product lies with the GI management organisation. The organisation can create promotional tools, such as websites, social media posts, brochures and videos, as well as attending trade fairs and joining direct trade platforms.
Examples of promotional videos from Indonesia and Peru (from GI management organisations):
Attending product-specific trade fairs is a popular (but costly) option. Governments can usually support producers with the promotion of local and national products, including participation in such fairs.
GI market place in Jakarta, Indonesia (2016), which promotes national GI-certified products
World of Coffee speciality coffee fair in Milan, Italy (2022)
Salón del Cacao y Chocolate in Lima (2024)
Promotion by a national GI association
In some countries, the GI management organisations of the different national GIs form together a national GI association dedicated to promoting GI products in general. They raise consumer awareness and engage in lobbying activities.
One example is the Swiss PDO-PGI Association (www.aop-igp.ch/en), which is fully financed by its members.
In some countries, the national GI associations are government-owned, financed or controlled. In our opinion, private sector-controlled associations work more efficiently, as producers and processors have a business incentive that drives such initiatives.
Promotion in the context of tourism destination management
Destination management organisations can make use of famous GI products to promote the whole region as a tourism destination in general and develop specific tourist offers around the GI.
Gruyère cheese is one of the most popular Swiss cheeses and a protected GI. The region of Gruyère, with its medieval town, is a famous tourist attraction. Cheese plays an important role in the marketing of this region, and practically all the tourists that visit the Gruyère region sample its cheese, either during a visit to the Maison du Gruyère (a cheese dairy show, information point for the GI and museum) or as a fondue (local cheese-based dish) in one of the restaurants in town.
Similarly, the region of Villa Rica (Peru) is famous for its high-quality coffee, and Villa Rica coffee is a protected GI. The local tourism board makes use of this reputation and the fact that people associate Villa Rica with good coffee. It has developed tourist offers around coffee, e.g. in the form of a “coffee route” (ruta del café) and a visitor’s centre about coffee and the GI. A huge moka pot has been placed in the centre of Villa Rica town, indicating the importance coffee has for rural economic development, including tourism.
In 2023, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) published a paper called “Boosting Tourism Development through Intellectual Property”. While it does not mainly focus on GIs but rather on IP tools in general, it contains case studies highlighting the role of GIs in developing tourism:
Case study on “Geographical indications as a tool for developing tourism and reviving the local economy in Cambodia” (p.50 ff.), which describes how the registration of the Kampot Pepper GI helped boost tourism and create jobs in the region, even beyond the pepper value chain.
Case study on “Georgia’s Chacha grape vodka: how a protected GI can boost exports and tourism development”
GI enhancement with a sustainability strategy
GIs do not automatically contribute to sustainable development. However, consumers in differentiated niche markets increasingly require goods to be produced sustainably. Thus, sustainability criteria should be considered from the start of a GI initiative.
1. At government level The GI initiative can be linked to other rural development and tourism strategies. See the sections on Gruyère and Villa Rica.
2. At the level of individual producers The GI can obtain well-known certifications. This can only be undertaken by individual producers and not by the GI management organisation. It involves complying with strict international standards and paying high annual certification costs.
Examples:
EU Organic (European market)
Bio Suisse (Swiss market)
USDA Organic (US market)
Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS, Japanese market)
Rainforest Alliance (global)
Fairtrade (global)
3. At the level of the GI management organisation – book of specifications
Concrete sustainability criteria can be added to the product specification document as rules or a code of practice. This is only feasible if all the producers agree and can fulfil the requirements, and if compliance with the standards is consistently controlled.
Benefits - Producers can identify with these rules and are more likely to comply with them since they are not imposed in a top-down manner by third-party certification schemes. Buyers and traders can make use of this aspect when promoting the product in question.
Challenges - Every GI is different and involves a different set of sustainability criteria, if any. Different GI products are not directly comparable. This might be more challenging to communicate to buyers and consumers than just referring to a known label.
- For small producers, certification with a label such as EU Organic is sometimes impossible due to both the applicable rules and the annual costs of certification.
- Experts may need to be involved: a scientist to carry out analyses and provided scientific data, such as soil analyses; a lawyer to bring the book of specifications into a suitable legal form suitable for submission to the authorities; a facilitator to drive the initiative forward. This can be expensive.
4. At the level of the GI management organisation – additional strategy
Some GI producers prefer not to include sustainability criteria in the book of specifications, but rather to develop a separate sustainability strategy in addition to the GI.
To help them produce a strategy, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Organisation for an International Geographical Indications Network (oriGIn) jointly published a “roadmap towards increased sustainability in geographical indication systems”. It proposes indicators for the environmental, social, economic and management-related aspects of sustainability.
Governments
A GI product represents the culinary, artisanal or cultural identity of a specific region and can therefore represent the region towards the outside world. By supporting a GI initiative, governments can contribute to local and rural development.
The role of the governments includes:
- providing a national GI registration, control and enforcement system
- supporting the international protection of national GIs via bilateral or multilateral agreements
- advising producers on how to register a GI and enforce protection
- aligning GI initiatives with larger rural development or tourism development plans
- providing financial, legal, organisational or market access support to GI management organisations, but without “taking over” the initiative
International cooperation agencies
Supporting GI initiatives can be a promising way for international cooperation agencies to enhance rural development in partner countries. There are several international cooperation agencies and organisations that provide technical cooperation and training in the field of GIs, such as:
- World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
- Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)
- The Swiss PartnershIP – Intellectual Property Programme (financed by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI))
- Inter GI training programme, offered by CIRAD and the Swiss organisation REDD (takes place annually in Switzerland or France, and additionally in Latin America, Asia, the Arab Region, and Africa):
International cooperation at the IPI
Switzerland is committed to technical cooperation with developing countries in the field of intellectual property. The Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) finances the Swiss PartnershIP Programme, which is implemented by the IPI. A list of current and past projects can be found here.
Almost all the projects implemented by the IPI have a GI component. In this area, the IPI provides the following assistance:
- Identifying GI potential: inventory of products, GI impact and suitability assessments, value chain studies and mapping, baseline studies
- Assisting with the establishment of a functional legal and institutional framework: reviewing and providing input on laws and regulations regarding GIs, providing advice on the registration process, legal protection, enforcement, etc.
- Supporting producers’ GI management organisations and GI associations with IP capacity building; collective strategies, drafting of product specifications, management capacity, business plans, market studies, communication strategies, access to high-value markets, etc.
Concrete examples of GI project activities implemented by the IPI
Further reading
- Guide to assessing conditions and impacts of GIs, developed within the framework of the Colombian–Swiss Intellectual Property Project (financed by SECO, implemented by the IPI. Available in English and Spanish)
- Success Guide for GIs, developed within the framework of the Indonesian–Swiss Intellectual Property Project (ISIP, available in English) and adapted for the Peruvian–Swiss Intellectual Property Project (PESIPRO, available in Spanish)
- Paper entitled “Using GIs to improve sustainability”, published by the FAO