<p>GI is a legal label marking in which region a product comes from. GIs can be domestic or international.</p><p><br></p><p>Domestic GIs are protected by local governments and international GIs are protected by the TRIPS agreement, which is part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Once a GI status is approved, the label functions similar to trademarks.</p>

Geographical indication (GI)

<ul><li><strong>Consumers</strong>: GIs act as a quality guarantee that meets certain production standards.</li><li><strong>Producers</strong>: GIs can help  local communities to invest in their unique production process and raise prices.</li></ul>

GIs can benefit consumers and producers

<h2>Legal labels that mark where a product is from can be big business for local food producers.</h2><img width="600" height="330" alt="" src="https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/News-Brief_2022-02-24T023910.591Z.png" srcset="https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/News-Brief_2022-02-24T023910.591Z.png 600w, https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/News-Brief_2022-02-24T023910.591Z-300x165.png 300w, https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/News-Brief_2022-02-24T023910.591Z-50x28.png 50w"><div>Rob Litterst</div><div>
      February 24, 2022    </div><p>Florida oranges, Idaho potatoes, Washington apples — what do they all have in common?</p><p dir="ltr">A nifty little <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/trademark-policy/geographical-indications#:~:text=Examples%20of%20GIs%20from%20the,reason%20that%20trademarks%20are%20valuable." dir="ltr">label</a> called a geographical indication (GI).</p><p dir="ltr">A GI is essentially a legal label marking that a product comes from a particular region. Per <em dir="ltr">The Economist</em>, GIs <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/02/19/how-the-sugarloaf-pineapple-became-the-champagne-of-benin" dir="ltr">carry</a> benefits for both consumers and producers.</p><h4><strong>So how does it work?</strong></h4><p dir="ltr">GIs can be domestic or international. Domestic GIs are protected by local governments, while international GIs are protected by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIPS_Agreement" dir="ltr">TRIPS agreement</a>, which falls under the World Trade Organization (WTO).</p><p>Once approved for GI status, the labels function similarly to trademarks.</p><UL><LI><strong dir="ltr">For consumers,</strong> GIs act as a quality guarantee and can signify that a product meets certain production standards</LI><LI><strong dir="ltr">For producers,</strong> GIs can help allow local communities to invest in their unique production process, while also allowing them to boost distribution and raise prices</LI></UL><p>Case in point: The average premium for foods with a GI label is 43%. For wine, it’s 300%.</p><h4><strong>Higher prices…</strong></h4><p>… can have an outsize impact in regions that depend on farming.</p><p>In Benin, a West African country that just secured its first GI label for the coveted sugarloaf pineapple, 38% of the population works on farms, and 45% live on less than $1.90 per day.</p><p dir="ltr">How lucrative can GIs be? Just look at the EU, which reportedly <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2020/04/22/Geographical-Indications-worth-a-mouth-watering-75-billion-study" dir="ltr">logged</a> <strong dir="ltr">~$84B</strong> in sales from goods marked with GIs in 2017.</p><h2>Get the 5-minute roundup you’ll actually read in your inbox​</h2><p>Business and tech news in 5 minutes or less​</p><p>100% free. We don’t spam. Unsubscribe whenever.</p><div>
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Legal labels that mark where a product is from can be big business for local food producers.

food

Food

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

<p>Florida oranges, Idaho potatoes, Washington apples — what do they all have in common? </p>

<p>A nifty little <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/trademark-policy/geographical-indications#:~:text=Examples%20of%20GIs%20from%20the,reason%20that%20trademarks%20are%20valuable.">label </a>called a geographical indication (GI). </p>

<p>A GI is essentially a legal label marking that a product comes from a particular region. Per <em>The Economist </em>, GIs <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/02/19/how-the-sugarloaf-pineapple-became-the-champagne-of-benin">carry </a>benefits for both consumers and producers. </p>

<p>GIs can be domestic or international. Domestic GIs are protected by local governments, while international GIs are protected by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIPS_Agreement">TRIPS agreement </a>, which falls under the World Trade Organization (WTO). </p>

<p>Once approved for GI status, the labels function similarly to trademarks. </p>

<ul><li><strong>For consumers, </strong>GIs act as a quality guarantee and can signify that a product meets certain production standards </li><li><strong>For producers, </strong>GIs can help allow local communities to invest in their unique production process, while also allowing them to boost distribution and raise prices </li> </ul>

<p>Case in point: The average premium for foods with a GI label is 43%. For wine, it’s 300%. </p>

<p>… can have an outsize impact in regions that depend on farming. </p>

<p>In Benin, a West African country that just secured its first GI label for the coveted sugarloaf pineapple, 38% of the population works on farms, and 45% live on less than $1.90 per day. </p>

<p>How lucrative can GIs be? Just look at the EU, which reportedly <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2020/04/22/Geographical-Indications-worth-a-mouth-watering-75-billion-study">logged </a><strong>~$84B </strong>in sales from goods marked with GIs in 2017. </p>

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What the heck is a geographical indication?

Geographical indication (GI)

GIs can benefit consumers and producers

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