Bon Appetaggio!

Seldom do I have more fun working on a naming project than I did on this one for Fiorucci. Fiorucci is basically a legend in the meat and cheese world — a virtual smorgasbord of fine Italian deli meats under a brand that’s been around for more than 160 years. Their products are deliciously authentic, exceptionally high quality and a perfect homage to their Roman namesake, the Fiorucci family.

As part of the Sigma family of brands, Fiorucci stands for flavor, passion and culinary creativity. As such, the brand’s latest snacking innovation needed a sophisticated, international-sounding name to match. The new products are fruit-infused cheeses wrapped in cured meats like prosciutto and salami, so the Sigma team challenged me to generate names that sound Italian and cue tempting flavor, but aren’t actual Italian words. They also wanted the name to make sense to English speakers since the products were launching in the U.S.

The winning name is Appetaggio™: a heavily Italian-influenced coined word that rolls off the tongue and is just downright fun to say. Visually, its two pairs of double letters complement the double-c in Fiorucci for a natural brand fit. The name originates from ‘appetite’ or ‘appetizer’ (a nod to snacking) + the suffix –aggio, which indicates the root verb of a noun. So basically, its own Americanized way, the name means ‘to have an appetite’ or ‘to snack’.

(Image credit: Fiorucci Foods)

Look for all four flavors of Appetaggio products, plus other Fiorucci favorites in a grocery store near you. And until then, arrivederci my friends.