Lavazza is a popular, Italian brand in the coffee industry, adding to the prestige that Italian coffee enjoys worldwide. Today they are amongst the top coffee importers, blenders and distributers in Italy that also profit from strong international sales.
A brief history
In 1855, 26-year old Luigi Lavazza moved to
Turin to seek an easier lifestyle than that offered on his father's farm in Murisengo with the grand total of 50 Italian Lire. In 1895 the name Lavazza was given to his 'drogheria' or
drugstore, and by 1915 Lavazza was recognised as the leading
importer and
blender of
coffee in the
country. In 1933 Mr Luigi passed the
business on to his three sons, Mario, Beppe and Pericle who were to face
Mussolini's infamous 1939 measures that included prohibiting the importation of
coffee. This lasted until 1945 and nearly resulted in the end of the Lavazza brand, which struggled to survive by re-focussing their business to other drugstore items.
1946 marked the first time the Lavazza
brand was used on pre-packed coffee to be
distributed directly to consumers. The 50's saw the entry of the
third generation Lavazza family and the expansion into new offices still in use today. The
enterprising new generation sought expansion
overseas resulting in the following moves : 1982 Lavazza France, 1987 Lavazza Deutschland, 1988 Lavazza New York and Switzerland and in 1990 Lavazza Coffees UK Ltd.
The
product history is even more
tortuous than the Lavazza
family history, so I shall mention a few
landmarks. Lavazza coffee was packed in
metal tins between 1959 and 1971. 1971 saw the introduction of the
aluminium-foil
vacuum-packs that are still in use today. A
historical landmark of
personal and
commercial note is 1986 and the introduction of the
Crema e Gusto brand, an instant commercial success and still amongst my personal favourtites. In 1989 Lavazza succeeded in competitively penetrating the "foodservice" market as the Italians refer to the commercial catering industry with blends and packaging destined at the high-end catering industry. The 'Top Class' Blend launched this era for Lavazza.
Another
commercial breakthrough was the 1998 launch of the '
EspressoPoint', an
espresso machine that uses pre-packed unit-doses of Lavazza
coffee, supplied in small foil-wrapped two-packs. The
pininfarina-designed silver and black machine was marketed aggressively for office use, with Lavazza supplying the machine free of charge if the office buys a certain amount of coffee every month.
Some Lavazza coffee-varieties
Consumer brands:
- Club
- Qualità Oro
- Qualità Rossa
- Crema e Gusto
- Crema e Gusto Espresso and several other flavours.
- Paulista - A dedication to the 1959 Paulista metal-tins and
the associated advertising campaign. Vintage packaging used indicates Lavazza's fondness for this variety.
- Lavazza Espresso
- Lavazza Decaffeinato
Coffee varieties for catering use
- Lavazza Dek
- Lavazza Pienaroma
- Gold Selection
- Super Gusto
- Super Crema
- Grand'Espresso
- Grande Ristorazione
EspressoPoint varieties:
- Aroma Club
- caffè espresso Aroma Club
- gran espresso Aroma Point
- caffè espresso Aroma Point
- gran caffè Aroma Point
- gran espresso Crema & Aroma
- Crema & Aroma gran caffè
- Crema & Aroma gran espresso
- Espresso decaffeinato
- Top Selection
I didn't mention the EspressoPoint range of chamomile, tea and novelty flavours since they are nowhere near as popular as the good old coffee blends.