Being the first, being unique and being the best — the story of the Pirot Ironed Sausage
Being the first, being unique and being the best — 3 things every marketer wants to operate with.
3 things every producer wants its product to have.
The truth is, if you are the first, you are the best and unique, but you can’t affect that.
There will be someone stepping on your battlefield soon who’ll have the better offer and you won’t be the best.
So you’re left with being the first.
Which is not bad, right?
You can always use that, like:”The first at..”.
If you I have to choose between being unique and being the best, I’d choose to be unique.
Why?
Someone can always become better.
That’s just a fact.
Besides that, it’s not cool to brag with being the best. Except when it’s measurable. ;)
Being unique can get you the unique advantage and it is exactly the position I’d aim for.
In my hometown, Pirot, there’s a product called Flat Sausage or Ironed Sausage.
Behind it, there’s a story of the festival and the story of the city which is a great example of how being unique and being the first, combined, can get you somewhere you didn’t ever imagine you’d be.
If your travels take you to southern Serbia, you have to stop in the city of Pirot and try this unusual sausage.
Pirot ironed sausage specialty is manufactured from the highest quality meat, mixed with spices.
Pirot ironed sausage belongs to the sudzuk type, more or less hot sausages made of fermented meat of older animals — cattle, sheep, donkeys, goats, beef, etc.
The weight ratio of different types of meat has never been strictly defined, but pork meat is never used.
The carefully selected pieces of goat, sheep, beef and donkey meat, such as shoulder, ham, chop and fillet, are commonly used raw materials for making ironed sausages.
They can be used in combination, for example, goat and beef, or just one type.
All blood vessels, fat and tallow are extracted from meat which is ground and mixed with spices.
The combination of spices is the secret of every individual craftsman.
Garlic and crushed pepper are frequently used. Ironed sausage should be hot or at least lightly spicy.
Producers are resistant to creating a unifying recipe because it is believed that the variety of recipes, and especially meats used, represent distinct individuality and character of the local population.
Why the hell it is called Ironed Sausage?
After the meat is prepared, the hose is filled with the meat, linked to the letter U and left to dry in a draft — the drying temperature is between minus five and five degrees Celsius.
During drying sausages are ironed every three days, usually with a bottle, to get their authentic form and taste in which they are recognized and why are named ironed.
Ironing of the sausage provides discharge moisture from the product, thus increasing its life.
Sausages containing no additives, preservatives, artificial colors, has not been heat treated or exposed to smoke and it’s a completely organic product.
As you can see, it is unique!
Being unique, as we said, is one of the most important thing when you’re coming out with a product.
It’s important for those people who are creating the product, and for the marketing.
Being the first, being unique and being the best — 3 things every marketer wants to operate with.
Here, so far we have two of them — being unique and being the first.
There’s no other similar product, so it’s the best, too.
People here were clever and they branded the sausage, which proved that it’s unique.
But, there’s also one more thing.
Ironed sausage is popularly called the “Pirot Viagra” because it represents the energy bomb, has a full flavor, it’s hot and spicy, and a big calories value that gives strength to those who consume it.
So if you are planing marathon in the bedroom, the iron sausage will make you last all night. ;)
Funny, but the story of this aphrodisiac, as people from Pirot are calling the Ironed sausage, is creating a buzz.
Some producers are even creating packages with funny cartoon stories emphasizing the seducing power of the sausage.
Men are turned on when they eat it, women love it.. Of course it’s not true, have you read above that there’s onion, spices..
Translated — no kisses after eating it. Lol.
But.. Who cares?!
All around the Balkans, Europe and now world people are telling stories about the Ironed sausage, the aphrodisiac!
It’s the most unique and the most expensive delishes from Serbia.
It’s really expensive.
One of the reasons is that it is available only during the winter because of the way it is produced.
This amazing product is one of the main reasons the city of Pirot is awarded with the EDEN Award as the excellent gastronomy destination in Europe.
And producers along with the city of Pirot created the festival around it — the festival of the Ironed sausage.
Each year around 15000 visitors are coming to the festival to visit Pirot and buy the Ironed sausage.
The whole city gets the benefit from it.
People are selling souvenirs.
Producers of the milk products are selling cheese.
The economy of the city is going up!
This caused the avalanche of brands and festivals around other products, like the cheese festival (around the hard cheese — also one of the best food products from Serbia), the festival of food from Stara Planina mountain, the wine festival and so on.
Each village has a festival now and Bulgarian tourists are coming looking for the fresh meat.
Overall, it’s a great story!
What other products you know which are unique, first and the best?
p.s. if you’re looking for someone to take care of your brand, create a strategy around your product or just help you reach the right audience, don’t hesitate to contact me.
