Press review - Segafredo Zanetti coffee lands in the US

Interview to President Matteo Zanetti on Italia Oggi of 15th March 2011

Segafredo coffee lands in the US

The Treviso-based company is going to launch new products in the filter blend segment

Partnerships and events to go overseas by the end of the year.

Events and partnerships to meet the future of the coffee business: the capsule, because «tradition is useless if you don’t ensure it a future». Following this saying of his family, Matteo Zanetti, president of Segafredo Zanetti Coffee System, the latest company to be set up within the Italian group (Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group) and specialized in the international coffee market, is willing to enter into the filter coffee segment which accounts for 80% of consumption in countries such as United Stated, Northern Europe and Asia.

The “battering ram” will be «a large-sized capsule for filter coffee and a new coffee machine. These brand-new products will allow us to land in the US by the end of 2011». In particular, as regards marketing planning, Zanetti decided to concentrate resources on partnership development and on a targeted business-to-business communication strategy based on the organization o events addressed to specific targets: «This is an essential decision as we do not have any product catering for the mass market and broadscale distribution».

The company, based on Casale sul Sile (Treviso) and established 8 years ago, has specialized in the production of coffee capsules. Last year its turnover grew by 25% , with customers located both in Italy and abroad. Offices, showrooms, professional firms, large hotels, holiday cruisers, and enterprises: these are the main customers of the company which has recently received an order for 600 machines by Disneyland Paris and installed its espresso machines Msc Crociere ships, as well as in Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, and Gardaland offices. «My idea is providing capsules with the quality coffee made at the bar», adds Zanetti, «focusing on top-level coffee blends and on the cutting-edge technology of our machines. Our aim is placing new products on a market which was considered a low-quality one until recently. In fact, we offer high-quality products and services to all our customers, from large to small-sized enterprises or communities, both in Italy and in the rest of the world. 65% of our turnover is currently made abroad, mainly in Europe, US and Australia. In the future, we are going to step into the Middle and Far East».

Thanks to the good positioning of the Segafredo Zanetti brand in the Horeca (hotels-restaurants-catering) sector, the company can offer machines and products in the high-end of a market undergoing a strong expansion. In 2009, according to SimphonyIRIGroup data, this segment grew by 90% in Italy, thus accounting for 5% of the whole coffee industry turnover. «Currently all our competitors are focusing more on the issue of environmental sustainability», points out the manager, «i.e. the recyclability of capsules: although made of plastic material, they cannot be included in separated waste collection as they contain used coffee and therefore end up in the urban waste fraction intended for incineration or disposal in a landfill. Confindustria (the Italian Manufacturers’ Association) is considering setting up a consortium to collect consumed capsules. However, we do not share this approach. We prefer relying on research and we are developing our own solution by creating an innovative, fully recyclable capsule».