Chief Executive Officer, Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. (Lavazza Group)
"La vita dell'Impresa" - Intervista Antonio Baravalle (AD, Lavazza)
Antonio Baravalle, CEO of Lavazza is interviewed by Andrea Bertoncello, MD at IDEA Capital Funds SGR for the second annual ...
About Antonio Baravalle
Antonio Baravalle, CEO of Lavazza, has described the company as "the biggest of the small" among global coffee players, noting that it competes with much larger corporations such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola (which acquired Costa Coffee), and JDE. He has stated that the coffee market will face a "tsunami of consolidation" and that Lavazza must evolve its governance and management to avoid being acquired by larger competitors. Baravalle has emphasized the need for continuous change, saying that when a company performs well, it should immediately ask itself what it is doing to stay ahead, because other firms are already planning how to overtake it. Baravalle has also spoken about the importance of investing in people and education, arguing that innovation is not just about supporting startups but about creating a culture that accepts failure and encourages trying new things. He has called for greater transparency and professionalism in the relationship between companies and advertising agencies, opposing the practice of agencies being paid through media negotiation rights and arguing that clients should not try to replace agencies with in-house capabilities. He has noted that Lavazza's ownership structure, with two families holding 100% of the shares, allows the company to take a long-term view without the pressure of quarterly earnings reports.
Transcript (16 segments)
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Biancamaria Bettol0:20
Good morning everyone, I'm Biancamaria Bettol, a student of International Management at Bocconi University in Milan. It's a pleasure for Mentors for You to introduce the second session, where our guest is Lavazza CEO Antonio Baravalle, interviewed by Andrea Bertoncello. He will tell us about the evolution of the company from Italian coffee leader to global big. Antonio Baravalle has been CEO of Lavazza since 2011, market leader in Italy with over 1.3 billion euros in revenue, present in 90 countries. He started his career at Di Vino Italia in 1992, joined Fiat in 1999, became CEO of Lancia and Alfa Romeo, then led Mondadori divisions before joining Lavazza. He has a biology degree and an MBA from the University of Turin. Andrea Bertoncello is managing director of Heidi Testo Vitali, a private equity fund, with experience at LVMH and Mediobanca. He also studied at the University of Turin. I wish you all a good listen.
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Andrea Bertoncello2:07
Let's use the film metaphor to discuss the development phases of the company. Brian told the youth phase well; today I'll stimulate Antonio to tell the growth and maturity phases. Antonio has led Lavazza for five years, a prestigious Italian family company with over 120 years of history. Let's start from the beginning: how was this company born and how did it consolidate its market position?
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Antonio Baravalle2:56
Good morning. As a biologist who raised insects, the message is: if you're curious, you'll find your path. Our story started with a debt in 1895. Luigi Lavazza, a farmer from Murisengo, after three bad harvests, borrowed 1000 lire and opened a small grocery in Turin. That began a story of intuitions, bets, and curiosity. He went to Brazil in 1930 to find new coffee plantations and invented blends because he couldn't rely on a single origin. The family is now in the fourth generation, with about 80% of family businesses not surviving past the third generation due to vision conflicts. The family had the foresight to bring in professional management, opening the board to independent members from companies like Campari, Marcegaglia, and De Agostini. This allowed us to navigate consolidation in the coffee category, similar to what happened in beer. We are the biggest of the small and the smallest of the big, so we chose to grow rather than sell, acquiring Carte Noire and evaluating more operations.
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Andrea Bertoncello7:20
Leaving aside the symbolic value Brian mentioned, can you tell us the key success factors that made Lavazza the Italian leader with such a high market share?
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Antonio Baravalle7:46
A great willingness to innovate. We invented blends, vacuum-packed coffee in the 1950s, and invested heavily in communication with Emilio Lavazza and Armando Testa. The company decided early that marketing and communication were key to building brand value. Just as Michele Ferrero took his suitcase to Germany, Lavazza started international expansion in France. Now we reach 1.6 billion in revenue. The entrepreneurial seed makes the difference.
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Andrea Bertoncello10:42
Until recently Lavazza expanded organically, then switched to acquisitions like Carte Noire and Meryl. Can you talk about the family's decision to change governance and structure for the big leap?
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Antonio Baravalle11:18
Before I was hired in 2011, the family decided to step back and open the board to strong independent members from Campari, Marcegaglia, and others. This brought deep questioning, like one board member challenged the investment in new headquarters. We are now in the middle of coffee category consolidation, with private equity firms investing billions. We are the biggest of the small, so we chose to grow. We've said no to huge offers, acquiring Carte Noire to become global.
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Andrea Bertoncello21:45
You've shown the path from ideation to success. I want to raise a provocative point: has Italianness become a limit to innovation? Examples like Fiat, fast fashion, and Nespresso show we sometimes rest on laurels.
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Antonio Baravalle22:34
Let me note: I serve on boards and think about this. The human factor is key. Italians excel in many global positions. Our early education is strong, but we lose momentum. Innovation exists, but the system hasn't helped. Entrepreneurs share some blame, but a country with uncertain rules makes investment hard. Still, we have enormous capacity to create ideas.
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Andrea Bertoncello33:24
I'll leave space for questions.
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Audience Member33:35
I'm an out-of-course student. Is the stock market listing necessary now?
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Antonio Baravalle33:42
Not necessary now. We have over 1.5 billion cash, almost no debt. We are structuring to be ready if needed, but we don't need a listing today. We act as if listed in terms of governance.
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Audience Member35:05
What is the growth mix? 50% organic, 50% M&A, target to reach 2.5 billion in 5-7 years.
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Antonio Baravalle35:36
Retail coffee shops are a different business; we lost money there. We focus on experience centers. We're happy Starbucks came to Italy; it raises standards and spreads coffee culture globally, benefiting everyone.
Another point: when hiring, avoid monoculture. I've made mistakes hiring people from one culture who couldn't adapt. For example, at Fiat we hired a German from BMW for Alfa Romeo; he failed in our environment. My advice: change industries to learn transversal skills. In all fields, managing people and teams is similar.
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Andrea Bertoncello41:08
Thanks everyone, we'll leave room for other speakers.