The early years of Italy’s economic boom were marked by the entrance into the company the third generation of the family, represented by cousins Emilio and Alberto Lavazza. They would revolutionise its commercial approach and brand identity. Lavazza was one of the earliest companies in Italy to understand the importance of communication to generate brand value: it began a collaboration with Armando Testa, creating rise to campaigns that made Italian advertising history, with characters like Caballero and Carmencita in the years when television started to appear in Italian homes.

The company continued seizing new opportunities and trends. In 1970, it set a new standard with the introduction of a vacuum-sealed aluminium foil package for the launch of Qualità Rossa, a blend that has been synonymous with Italian coffee ever since.

1977 marked another turning point in communications: for the first time, the company made use of an product endorsement. The endorsement came from popular actor Nino Manfredi, who would continue to star in unforgettable advertising campaigns on television until 1993: his catchphrases — “Coffee is a pleasure; if it’s not good, what sort of pleasure is it?” and “The more you drink it down, the more it pulls you up” — would be used in everyday conversation by Italians.

The 1980s marked a crucial step: the company began a process of internationalisation, opening offices in major European countries and investing in innovation to expand its sales and consumption channels even further.

With a real entrepreneurial intuition in 1989, Lavazza became the first Italian company to invest in coffee capsule systems by acquiring the company Uno Per, manufacturer of the single-dose coffee machines bearing the same name. The careful process of Research and Development carried out on this model resulted in the first proprietary system for Espresso Point coffee capsules: a solution for offices that will pave the way for a completely new and long-lasting business area.