Caffè Borbone

Overview

Caffè Borbone was founded in 1997 in Caivano, just outside Naples, by Massimo Renda — who launched it as L'Aromatika srl on the bet that automatic espresso vending machines would create a new mass-market for branded single-serve coffee. The name references the Bourbon dynasty under whom coffee culture took hold in 18th-century Naples. By 2017 the company was Italy's third-largest single-serve player after Lavazza and Nespresso with €94M revenue and 40% YoY growth; in May 2018 Italmobiliare (the Pesenti family holding) invested €140M for a 60% controlling stake, with Renda retaining 40% and the executive presidency. Revenue tripled in the six years after the deal, reaching €243M for the first nine months of 2024 alone.

Known for

• Italy's third-largest single-serve coffee producer after Lavazza and Nespresso, leading the compatible-pod and capsule segment
• First Italian company to put compostable pods on the market (Amici della Natura)
• Italmobiliare acquired 60% in May 2018 for €140M; founder Massimo Renda retained 40% and the executive presidency
• 50,000 m² Caivano industrial site processing 50 tonnes of coffee per day at peak; ~950 million single-serve units annually at the 2017 baseline
• Tripled production and turnover in the six years following the 2018 investment, hitting €243M for nine months of 2024

Why it matters

The most successful Italian coffee story of the past 25 years — Borbone scaled from a small Caivano family roastery to a billion-pod producer and Italian top-three player almost entirely on the bet that single-serve compatibles, not espresso bars, would shape the home coffee market.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

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color sorting

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roaster machine

IMF roasters with custom-integrated software; IMA packaging machinery

filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Caivano (NA), 50,000 m² industrial site

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

3200

Recognitions

• Italmobiliare strategic acquisition (May 2018, €140M for 60%)
• First Italian producer of compostable pods (Amici della Natura line)

Sources

• https://caffeborboneamerica.com/our-history/
• https://www.italmobiliare.it/en/investments/portfolio-companies/caffe-borbone
• https://ima.it/en/ima-and-caffe-borbone-partners-who-always-combined-quality-sustainability-and-efficiency/
• https://www.imf-srl.com/en/imf-and-caffe-borbone/
• https://www.comunicaffe.com/italmobiliare-to-invest-eur140-million-for-a-60-share-of-caffe-borbone/
• https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/caffe-borbone-triples-production-and-turnover-and-prepares-new-investments-AGey06rB