Lavazza

Since 1895, Lavazza has been telling the story of a family and of a company that produces coffee.

 A story of experience and quality, two values that underpin Lavazza’s leadership of local and global markets. From beans to blends, from home to away-from-home consumption, from Italy to the rest of the world, over 120 years later the story goes on.

 More than 20 billion cups of Lavazza coffee are enjoyed each year worldwide, bringing the best Italian coffee around the world. The company is led by family members Alberto Lavazza (president), Giuseppe and Marco (vice presidents), Francesca, Antonella and Manuela (board members), who were joined in June 2011 by CEO Antonio Baravalle.

History

Over 120 years ago, in his shop in Turin, Luigi Lavazza invented the concept of blending, or the art of combining coffee of different qualities and sources, which remains today a distinctive feature of all Lavazza products.

Early in the 20th century, Lavazza was the first company to distribute coffee locally in bags bearing the brand’s trademark. In 1946, the company launched the first vacuum-packed can and, in 1972, the first vacuum-packed soft brick. In 1989, Lavazza also introduced the first multi-packs. 

In 1989, the company also entered the portioned coffee market and was the first Italian brand to produce and sell espresso capsule systems. Drawing on an international network of universities and scientific research centers, today Lavazza offers a range of single-serving coffee platforms.

Driven by its ongoing passion for quality, in 1979 the company set up the “Luigi Lavazza center for coffee research”, evolved into what today is known as the Lavazza Training Center, an international network of over 50 coffee schools worldwide, where 30 thousand people are trained every year. 

To reach a dimensional level that allows us to play an ever more central role on the market, Lavazza bought in 2015 Danish roaster Merrild and completed the purchase of France's Carte Noire brand in February 2016.

Ethics and Sustainability

As a family run company, Lavazza has always had a special concern for ethics and sustainability. In 1996, it began working with Slow Food, in a partnership that continues today, on ways to protect the quality of its products and biodiversity. In 2004, the non-profit Giuseppe e Pericle Lavazza Foundation was established to promote social, environmental and healthcare solidarity both in Italy and internationally, on a joint basis with organizations including ICP (International Coffee Partners) and Save the Children.

It was in this period that Lavazza began working with the Rainforest Alliance, in a partnership that went on to develop around the ¡Tierra! project, which focuses on three fundamental issues: the quality of the end product, a concern for the living conditions of people in coffee producing countries and, finally, environmental impact. The Foundation also works with Oxfam, one of the world’s leading promoters of rural development projects.

The company also strengthened its international visibility thanks to the high-profile participation in Expo 2015 as the Official Coffee of the Italian Pavillon, focusing on its products and the elements of its excellence: innovation, research and sustainable growth. These were highlighted through various initiatives: the presentation of the Sustainability Report; the launch of the 100% compostable capsule with the partnership of Novamont;

the first coffee served in the outer space through the revolutionary ISSpresso capsule machine that operates without gravity, in collaboration with Argotec; culture, thanks to the partnership with the Guggenheim Museum of New York and Musei Civici Veneziani; sports, Lavazza is now partner to all the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments; communications, with an international advertising campaign in all the main Countries and the Lavazza Calendar dedicated to the Earth Defenders.

In addition, in 2017 is expected to be open the new Lavazza headquarter designed by architect Cino Zucchi, certified by LEED, and meeting the most advanced standards of environmental sustainability.

Lavazza is the icon of Italian coffee in the world. A story of engagement, passion and creativity, drawing on an unswerving commitment to the planet and the world of coffee.