Food is an important element of the identity of local communities and is often considered a heritage to be valued. However, the relationship between the process of constructing typicity of agri-food products and territorial processes is complexand multivocal. This contribution aims to deepen four axes of research related to the relationship between typical products and the territory, analyzing the role of typicity as a tool for heritage preservation and local development, the process of identifying and codifying a typical product as an object of negotiation between local and supralocal actors, the risk of hyper-specialization of production, and the tension between local cultural practices and trends in the market and global production systems. The contribution concludes by outlining some underexplored areas and indicating future research directions to further investigate the relationship between typical products, territory, and local development.