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Strategy
At Bergner, we believe in cooking as a universal language: it connects cultures, sparks emotions, and brings people together. That’s why we collaborate with chefs who bring authentic and memorable stories to life.
This week, we visited those who make that magic possible from different corners of the world: Pilar San Gil and Marta Alonso (Iberia), Francesca Serrani (Italy), Roman Domnich (DACH), Isabella Ávila (LATAM), and Deborah Belho (India).
Which chefs have been (or are) active in your market during 2024 and 2025? Please indicate their names and the Bergner brand(s) they are associated with.
Spain / Pepe Rodríguez – MasterPRO & San Ignacio
Spain / Carlos Maldonado – MasterPRO & Lidl
Spain / Samantha Vallejo – Casa Samantha
Spain / Eneko Fernandez de Garayalde – MasterPRO
Germany / Roland Trettl – MasterPRO & Lidl
Germany / Hans Lange Rogriguez – MasterPRO
Germany / Florin Dumitrescu – MasterPRO & Lidl
Italy / Carlo Cracco – MasterPRO
Italy / Gianfranco Vissani – Bergner
Portugal / Henrique Sá Pessoa – MasterPRO & Lidl
Mexico / Carlos Leal – MasterPRO
What are the usual dynamics of your collaborations with these chefs?
Collaborations with chefs are one of the key initiatives driven by our marketing team to strengthen brand awareness among our audience. Choosing strategic partners—such as chefs, specialist media, or gastronomic projects—is fundamental to earning credibility in the culinary world. These talents act as true brand ambassadors, recommending our products to a demanding and specialized community.
To ensure these collaborations are credible and effective, it is essential to build long-term relationships that go beyond one-off, isolated actions. That's why we invest in long-lasting ties that reflect authenticity, mutual trust, and consistency over time. This continuity strengthens brand image and solidifies our market positioning.
Our chef strategy rests on three core pillars: collaboration agreements of at least one year, optimized use of their image as Bergner representatives across all channels, and their involvement in commercial campaigns—thus lending credibility to the partnership.
Are any chefs under exclusive contract with a specific Bergner brand?
From the marketing team, we work to ensure that, when entering a collaboration with a renowned chef, we secure exclusivity in kitchenware and small domestic appliances (SDA) categories. This exclusivity is key to reinforcing the credibility of the partnership, as the impact is much stronger when the chef solely uses and showcases products from our brand.
How many chef-led campaigns or activations have taken place so far in 2025? And how many in 2024?
Our marketing team is fully focused on building and reinforcing MasterPRO’s brand credibility. Therefore, nearly 100% of our chef collaborations are aimed at two main goals: activating brand corporate campaigns and amplifying commercial campaigns developed under the MasterPRO label.
Can you share any success story or standout campaign involving chefs (from 2024 or 2025)?
A clear success case was the collaboration with Pepe Rodríguez in the recent Excellence campaign with Carrefour. Sales, trade marketing, marketing, and design teams worked in coordination on a 360º plan that maximized Pepe’s image as an ambassador. The campaign included audiovisual and graphic content featuring Pepe, as well as his presence in all online and in-store communication assets. This strategy generated a strong sense of trust in the product among Carrefour’s audience.
Additionally, we’ve just signed a new contract with Eneko, winner of MasterChef, who will bring fresh energy to the MasterPRO brand. His inclusion promises to powerfully activate our digital channel through fresh, dynamic content deeply rooted in today’s foodie universe.
How do you measure the effectiveness of chef collaborations?
As mentioned earlier, chef partnerships are part of broader initiatives focused on gaining brand credibility in the sector, so the results are more qualitative than quantitative, based on generating trust, affinity, and positioning. Still, certain actions within these campaigns are geared toward traffic or conversion and can be measured through KPIs like clicks or final sales—though these are typically not the main goals.
Which chefs have been (or are) active in your market during 2024 and 2025?
Carlo Cracco – MasterPRO
Gianfranco Vissani – Bergner
Are they one-off projects, long-term partnerships, content creation, own-brand collections, events, media appearances, etc.?
Long-term partnerships with own-brand collections (MasterPRO by Carlo Cracco, Bergner by Vissani, Casa Vissani, named after the restaurant). No budget for events, although they are included in the contracts. The same applies to media.
Are any chefs under exclusive contract with a specific Bergner brand?
Both chefs are under exclusive contracts for all our categories.
How many chef-led campaigns or activations have taken place so far in 2025? And how many in 2024?
Most MasterPRO products sold are branded as MasterPRO by Carlo Cracco, both online and offline.
Can you share any success story or standout campaign involving chefs (from 2024 or 2025)?
Acqua e Sapone 2025
Unimax D+: Casa Vissani project
Which chefs have been (or are) active in your market during 2024 and 2025?
In 2024 and 2025, chefs like Carlos Leal (various utensils from MasterPRO and Bergner), Paula Silva (Navy Bergner collection), Nicolas Renteria (Foodies collection), Luis Carlos Bonilla (Hi Tech), Jorge Jimenez (Navy Bergner collection), and Pablo Marigliano (notably Orion and Toledo collections) have been active.
What are the usual dynamics of your collaborations with these chefs?
Collaborations usually combine one-off activations (like cooking shows or launch campaigns) with mid-term agreements to generate content for social media. Some chefs have launched personalized product lines, such as Pablo Marigliano.
Are any chefs under exclusive contract with a specific Bergner brand?
No.
How many chef-led campaigns or activations have taken place so far in 2025? And how many in 2024?
There have been 4 campaigns in 2025 so far. In 2024, 6 chef activations were executed.
Can you share any success story or standout campaign involving chefs (from 2024 or 2025)?
Yes, the Navy campaign in Colombia was a new launch with high product turnover at Homecenter stores, supported by two chefs' content. The fast rotation exceeded expectations, allowing for the launch of a second capsule collection—Lines—simultaneously. It was the first time this client had two promotions running concurrently.
How do you measure the effectiveness of chef collaborations?
We use metrics like total reach, engagement rate, redirected web traffic, and sales increases tracked via promo codes.
Which chefs have been (or are) active in your market during 2024 and 2025?
Roland Trettl – Germany
Christin Kashou – Sweden
Carlos Maldonado – Spain
Thierry Marx – France
Karol Okrasa – Poland
Roman Paulus – Czech Republic
Meri Tuuli – Finland
Florin Dumitrescu – Romania
Henrique Sá Pessoa – Portugal
All the above had exclusive MasterPRO collections at local Lidl stores.
Are they one-off projects, long-term partnerships, content creation, own-brand collections, events, media appearances, etc.?
All except Roland and Thierry are short-term partnerships. We’ve built a long-term relationship with Roland to boost our brand.
Are any chefs under exclusive contract with a specific Bergner brand?
All the above collaborate exclusively with MasterPRO.
How many chef-led campaigns or activations have taken place so far in 2025? And how many in 2024?
2024: 8 campaigns
2025: 7 campaigns
How do you measure the effectiveness of chef collaborations?
Through sales 😊 and direct customer feedback.
Which chefs have been (or are) active in your market during 2024 and 2025?
The key active chefs in India are Vikas Khanna and Chef Koushik. He’s played a leading role in major brand projects. Chef Koushik was a special guest on the BergCast Podcast, contributing his expertise in South Indian cuisine and helping strengthen the brand’s culinary identity.
What are the usual dynamics of your collaborations with these chefs?
Collaborations in India, especially with Vikas Khanna, follow a strategic, long-term, multi-channel model. Vikas has led campaigns like Discover South Indian Cuisine with Bergner - Arusuvai, the Indian Cooking Club, product activations on Swiggy Instamart, and has been the face of the BergCast Podcast. These include audiovisual production, presence on ecommerce platforms, educational podcasts, and influencer partnerships, spreading the brand’s message across digital channels and reinforcing Bergner’s image as a leader in authentic Indian cooking.
Chef Koushik contributed expert podcast content, bringing culinary authority to the brand.
Are any chefs under exclusive contract with a specific Bergner brand?
Vikas Khanna is under contract as "Brand Ambassador" through August 2025 and is linked to nearly all strategic campaigns in India.
How many chef-led campaigns or activations have taken place so far in 2025? And how many in 2024?
In 2024, foundational campaigns such as Discover South Indian Cuisine were developed, and BergCast Podcast recording began. In 2025, at least three major activations have been launched: the Indian Cooking Club, the Swiggy Instamart campaign, and the continuation of BergCast with new episodes featuring experts and chefs such as Chef Koushik, Pooja Makhija, and Ryan Fernando.
Can you share any success story or standout campaign involving chefs (from 2024 or 2025)?
One standout campaign is Discover South Indian Cuisine with Bergner – Arusuvai, led by Vikas Khanna. It highlights the richness of South Indian cuisine through deep cultural storytelling, social media content, and influencer collaborations.
Another success is the Indian Cooking Club, a digital platform combining community, recipes, and audiovisual content.
Lastly, the BergCast Podcast stands out as a value-added tool, featuring guests like Chef Koushik and nutritionists Pooja Makhija and Ryan Fernando, broadening the brand’s reach to include wellness and health.
How do you measure the effectiveness of chef collaborations?
Through various metrics: digital content impact (reels, recipes, interviews), social media interaction, podcast views, and product activation performance, especially sales on platforms like Swiggy Instamart.
