The history of Caffè Lavazza: Origins and expansion

The history of Caffè Lavazza: The birth in Turin

Anyone who sits in front of a Lavazza cup and watches the steam rising has no idea how many stages have brought that aroma to this point. The history of Caffè Lavazza began in 1895, when Luigi Lavazza opened the grocery store on Via San Tommaso, in the center of Turin. Today, the brand is present in over 140 countries, the result of a growth path supported by entrepreneurial skills and research. In 2024, the Group recorded revenues of 3.35 billion euros, up 9.1% compared to 2023, despite the complex economic context.

The Pioneering Origins

In the small Turin workshop, Luigi Lavazza experiments with the first domestic blends, an innovation in an era of unstable tastes. In the 1920s, he introduces Pergamin packaging, a double layer of paper designed to protect the aroma from oxidation. In 1927, the company becomes Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. with a capital of 1.5 million lire, laying the foundations for industrialization. The trip to Brazil in 1934 consolidates the founder’s interest in the entire production chain, a theme that will remain central to subsequent company policies.

Lavazza: Industrialization and brand identity

In 1947 Aerostudio Borghi designed the logo with the characteristic enlarged central “A”, still in use today. 1965 saw the inauguration of the Settimo Torinese plant: 73,000 m² and a production capacity of approximately 40,000 kg of beans per day, at the time the largest in Europe. With these features, Qualità Rossa was born in 1971, presented in the first domestic vacuum-packed aluminum bag, designed to prolong the freshness of the product.

The expansion in Italy and beyond the border

From 1977 to 1993, the television campaign created by the Armando Testa agency with Nino Manfredi as testimonial aired continuously for sixteen years, becoming the longest-running series of commercials associated with a single face in the history of Lavazza. The actor was chosen after market research that highlighted his high popularity and appeared in over fifty films set in everyday domestic life, often together with the “lady” Nerina Montagnani and, in the early nineties, the housekeeper Gegia. The slogans «Coffee is a pleasure, if it’s not good, what pleasure is it?» and «Lavazza, the more you swallow it, the more it lifts you up» entered common parlance and are still cited today in marketing studies as examples of advertising memorability, contributing decisively to the popularity of the brand in Italy and abroad.

Lavazza continues to expand and in 1982 opens the Vincennes branch, on the outskirts of Paris; in a few years Germany, Austria, the United States and the United Kingdom follow. At the beginning of the 1990s, exports exceed half of the turnover. In 1993, the first Lavazza Calendar, entrusted to Helmut Newton, consolidates the international image of the brand and inaugurates a photographic project that continues to this day.

Lavazza coffee machines

Lavazza’s journey into capsule systems began in 1989 with Espresso Point, designed for offices and small professional businesses: 8 g sealed single-dose capsules and compact machines guarantee constant extraction without the need for specialized personnel. In 2007, A Modo Mio was launched, developed with Saeco for home consumption: the first two machines – “Extra” and “Premium” – inaugurated a catalogue that today includes the famous Jolie models and a range of blends that cover everything from classic espresso to milk drinks. For the small and medium-sized office channel, Lavazza introduced the Lavazza Firma line in 2013: machines such as “Inovy” and “Inovy Compact”, awarded with the iF Design Award 2018, use dedicated capsules and telemetry functions to monitor consumption.

Globalization and strategic acquisitions

On April 14, 2015, the International Space Station received ISSpresso, the first espresso machine in microgravity, developed with Argotec and the Italian Space Agency. In 2016, the acquisition of Carte Noire (around 800 million euros) strengthened the position in France. In 2017, 80% of the Canadian Kicking Horse Coffee was acquired for 215 million Canadian dollars, consolidating the organic segment in North America. At the end of 2018, the integration of Mars Drinks (Flavia and Klix) extended the offer for vending and the office sector in over 35 countries.

Cultural Heritage

The “Nuvola”, a 30,000 m² headquarters inaugurated on 8 June 2018 in the Aurora district of Turin, integrates offices, public spaces and events. Inside, the Lavazza Museum offers an archive of 8,500 documents that retrace 120 years of company history through multimedia installations. The Condividere restaurant, led by Federico Zanasi, obtained a Michelin star in 2019, combining gastronomic research and the brand’s tradition.

Ultimately, we can consider Caffè Lavazza as a leading brand of Made in Italy of the highest quality and fame, a true Italian excellence.