Many jute bags of different types, as are the different origins of the coffee beans they contain. The smallest ones are the most precious: «In Italy there is little habit of recognizing the various nuances of the taste of coffee, more education would be needed in this sense” says the CEO of Costadoro, Giulio Trombetta, showing the various bags in the warehouse which have the flags of several continents: from Africa to Asia, obviously passing through South America. We are in the Lungo Dora Colletta factory, in Turin. Production plant and headquarters just renovated, which preserves the treasures of this Piedmontese brand. A roasting company that has managed to combine one 134 year long tradition with technological innovation and environmental sensitivity. Starting from the story of three families who produced coffee and who in the seventies decided to join together to grow together: Abbo, Beccuti and Trombetta. «They are our fathers and from them we inherited a company with solid foundations which was then able to develop. Today we have a turnover of over 22 million euros and we are in the fourth generation”, says Trombetta.
Inside the factory you can see the entire path that the company has taken, starting from a manual roasting machine from 1900, two coffee milks – the Costadoro one from the Beccuti family which dates back to 1890 and the Trombetta one from 1922 – and a bag of Abbo from the sixties. «When foreign customers come here they are truly surprised by our longevity. Seriousness, reliability and honesty are our strengths. It is a mistake to think that they are unable to do so abroad distinguish a good coffee from a bad one: quality is the only way to retain customers», underlines the CEO. Tradition, an entirely Italian characteristic, it is a beautiful showcase where you can show the products that make the difference. The decision to have was born from the need to have a factory that transmits these characteristics invest a significant amount for the construction and renovation of Lungo Dora Colletta. A choice that strengthens the bond with Turin even more.
«My father, when the work on the old headquarters was completed in 1989, entered the empty warehouse, looked at the partners and wondered what they would do with all that space. Today we doubled it.” The warehouse alone has a surface area of approximately 3 thousand square metres. «We reinvest between 5 and 7 percent of the turnover in the industrial site. We must always always move forward, we cannot stand still. My dad and his partners – Trombetta insists – had an incredible propensity for investment. I am convinced that we need to return to this mentality: reinvesting is the only way to try to be at the forefront.” It is also a question of attractiveness. «It is essential to invest in people as well, especially in young people between 25 and 35 years old. For them the salary is not the main characteristic, there is also the sharing of values: today young people choose to work for a brand if it reflects their ideals. And we have chosen to be B-Corp certified for this too. We offer from trivial things like the fresh fruit in the office every day, to the personal trainer, to great attention to timetables to encourage reconciliation between work and family life. I am convinced that the quality of life is reflected in the quality of work.”
Costadoro now has a total of 130 people, of which sixty in Turin. «And we continue to hire: we had to look for collaborators especially abroad and in the quality office». The turnover objective in 2024 is to achieve growth of 10-15 percent. «Our industrial plan is ambitious, we want to double our turnover in five years».
But there is an unknown that Trombetta talks about. «Coffee is replicating the path taken by cocoa: the raw material no longer passes through Suez and prices have tripled. Unfortunately, the increase cannot be passed on to customers because increasing the cup by even just ten cents risks being a tragedy. Coffee is considered one of the “untouchable” goods. The right price for an espresso should be at least 1.50 euros and instead there are contexts in which you still pay as little as 0.70 euros. Under the euro, however, quality must necessarily decrease. We hope that logistics costs will soon return to those before the crisis.”
That of long Dora Colletta is one cutting-edge plant especially from an ecological point of view. «We realized that, with roasting, we create heat which is then dispersed. So, with the support of a Turin consultancy firm, we are creating a heat recovery system that will be used to heat the water. Thus we will save 25 thousand cubic meters of methane gas, which is what we consume today for the heating system. The project, already under construction, will be completed by the end of the year, it is a device that is installed upstream of the chimneys to capture the hot air.”
Great attention also to the reorganization of the production processes: from the storage of raw materials to the finished product through processing, in a renovated and larger space which allows for better conservation, constant control of temperature and exposure to light and heat . «At an industrial level we have just invested in a new packaging plant for the format intended for large-scale retail trade and private labels. We want to promote quality private labels and we have customers both in Italy and abroad such as Eataly. And then we redid the data center for a security issue, which is crucial in data conservation.”
Furthermore, the working environment has been made more pleasant and functional for employees, with spaces intended for recreational moments and sport. «The eye also wants its part. From the work environment you can already see whether a company is doing well or not.”
