Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa!
'Artisan' Over used?
Has the word 'Artisan' as an adjective been over used? This is a question that was recently posed to me by one of my friends who saw it as a description for a product at Dunkin Donuts. As someone who uses this word to describe my own products it gave me great pause and I started to pay more attention to the word as a descriptor. I've now seen it used on products that are clearly factory made and on bakery and chocolate items that are made from hand with great care.
According to Websters 'Artisan' when used as an adjective is: pertaining to or noting high quality, distinctive products made in small quantities: ie artisan beer.
Not to beat up on any company in particular but it would appear that perhaps this word has been used incorrectly at the very least in some product descriptions. As much as I love Dunkin Donuts coffee I would never use 'Artisan' to describe any of their products, I feel the same way about large bakery chains using this word to describe their breads and pastries.
So what do you think? Has 'Artisan' jumped the shark as it were?
Mark
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Jessica DeMay on -
http://thatisnotartisan.blogspot.com/
Very funny blog about exactly what you are talking about...
Jess
-
Permalink Reply by Felipe Jaramillo F. on -
Great contribution. Very funny, thanks for sharing!
On a more serious note, what makes us artisan or not? We are surely not making chocolate like the old mayans did but most of us are far away from being industrial in the sense many people think about.
-
Permalink Reply by Andy Ciordia on -
Oh we could have a long tirade of over used notions.. Dark chocolate? Abused percentages? Starbucks trying to own the word macchiato and then redefining it as something that it's not.. The incorrect usage of Gourmet.. Whitewashing, Greenwashing, Pinkwashing..
As a marketer I'm jaded--for a fun (hehe) read check out Brandwashing.
-
Permalink Reply by Patti Humbert on -
I know i have recently read that Dunkin Donuts was being sued over the use of the word "artisan" describing their bagels. I try not to use the word exactly for this reason- everyone is using it so it has lost its meaning. It is being used to describe products that are decidedly NOT artisan, so it has lost all its meaning. At least that is my opinion. I think I will just refer to my chocolates as ' small batch and hand crafted."
Member Marketplace
Notice to members:
OpenX took their service offline permanently without notice over the weekend. I am looking for a replacement hosted ad server.
Promote TheChocolateLife
Follow Clay on:
Twitter :: @DiscoverChoc
F'Book :: TheChocolateLife
F'Book Group :: LaVidaCocoa
Paper.li :: @DiscoverChoc
Badge
© 2013 Created by Clay Gordon.
