A Passion for Excellence
If you’ve awoken to the pleasures of a creamy cappuccino, or can fully appreciate a perfectly prepared espresso to cap off a great meal, thank the Illy family, whose passion for excellence is translated into every cup of coffee it serves to connoisseurs and coffee lovers around the world. For more than 80 years, illy has created an authentic Italian coffee experience through quality, aesthetics and culture. Illy has been the model for global leaders in the coffee world with its uncompromising approaches and standards from bean to cup and refusal to accept anything but the highest quality Arabica beans. In its quest for an excellent coffee product, illy goes beyond the coffee beans and focuses on valuing people and ethics through sustainability and developing every coffee-growing region where it sources its beans with profound dedication to the people. Illy expresses its love for art and culture, and thirst for beauty in everything that they do. In short, illy doesn't compete with other coffee roasters around the world – it sets the standard and follows through with all things inherent to the illy brand – a passion for quality, technology, sustainability, education and overall excellence coupled with art and culture to complete the illy experience.
illy: An Innovative Family and Excellent Product
illycaffè was founded in 1933 by Francesco Illy, and for three generations, illy has led the coffee industry in innovation, technology and knowledge. An inventor and industry leader, in 1935 Francesco Illy created the first breakthrough automatic espresso machine that substituted compressed air for steam; he called it the "illetta." He went on to develop countless innovations, including illy's proprietary pressurized packing system for preserving coffee, later improved upon and still in use.
After World War II, control of illy was passed to Francesco's son, Ernesto Illy. Armed with a chemistry degree and his father's passion for pleasure, consistency and fulfillment through espresso coffee, Ernesto worked in a research laboratory that would become the breeding ground for the 17 inventions and patents that illy has held over the years. These patents trademark various aspects of coffee processing and preparation, and illy holds four of the eight major innovations in coffee in the last 100 years – the invention of the Illetta, the pressurization technique, E.S.E. easy serving espresso pods and iperEspresso.
To this day, illy continues to share its scientific mission and discoveries with other companies in order to improve the quality of coffee worldwide. In 2005, the leadership of illycaffè was passed to Chairman Andrea Illy, who took the helm as the third generation of the entrepreneurial family to lead the company and sustain its passion and vision for quality through technology, sustainability, art and more. Under Andrea Illy's leadership, the company has expanded its global penetration from 29 countries to 140 countries, has increased revenues by well over 130 percent and continues to build illy as the world’s finest coffee.
About illycaffè
Celebrating its 75th anniversary, Illycaffè is the world’s finest Italian coffee and a leader in innovation, technology and quality. A third generation Italian coffee company, illy is the number one European imported coffee brand in North America. Based in Trieste, Italy, illycaffè produces and markets a unique blend of coffee as the single brand leader in quality coffee and gives coffee connoisseurs an overall authentic Italian coffee experience. Illy is available in more than 50,000 of the finest restaurants and coffee bars and is sold in over 140 countries around the world, serving more than 6 million cups of illy coffee per day. Globally, illy employs more than 700 people.
Illy buys green coffee of the highest quality Arabica directly from the growers through partnerships based on the mutual creation of value. The Italian-based company fosters long-term collaborations with the world’s finest coffee growers – in Brazil, Central America, India and Africa – providing know-how and technology and offering above-market prices.