Torveca Ltd. (Torrefazione Vendita Caffè) is a dynamic manufacturing firm alert to market trends and demands. Founded in 1930 in Vigevano in Lombardy it has stayed true to its artisanal nature down the years. Torveca is four generations of lovers of the beverage that more than any other encapsulates the concept of “Made in Italy” in the rest of the world.
Even today every step of production is still carried out with the same passion and dedication so as to guarantee genuine dry and slow roasted blends with an unvarying and instantly recognisable aroma.
Marcello Visconti, 37 years old, company chairman, introduces us to the Torveca world:
“For us the fragrance of coffee is in the blood. In our family we grow up sniffing and savouring the art of roasting, that fantastic process which, like a kind of magic, daily transforms the green coffee bean into the Torveca blend. The company has straddled two centuries and is now enthusiastically ready to face the new challenges of the global market, while retaining its core characteristics of craftsmanship and professionalism so as to keep its culture and history intact.”
Indeed, because while, on one hand, Torrefazione Torveca, by means of streamlined logistics, directly distributes its products to bars and restaurants in the nearby vicinity of its headquarters, on the other hand it has, in recent decades, developed a modern contract manufacturing service involving the production and distribution of pods and capsules:
“We make weekly deliveries to bars and restaurants located throughout 4 regions in the north of Italy,” continues Visconti, “ But we also have distributors in other regions, with warehouses. Beyond question coffee roasters have had to modify their approach to the job in recent times. My grandfather and my father worked exclusively with bars and restaurants but now, due to market demand, we have had to extend our focus to the mono-portion sector too. We produce and sell pods and capsules in various formats but we care deeply that all our blends are strictly roasted here in the company.”
Contract processing now accounts for a large part of our production. We began by offering our services to other sellers about ten years ago, providing one kilo bags of coffee granules only. Now our company produces coffee for dozens of different brands and the offer has expanded to comprise decaffeinated coffee for bars and pods and capsules as well as instant and freeze-dried coffee.”
This all requires a huge effort in terms of organisation.
“I feel strongly that the bottom line is respect for customers and quality. Those who contract us to produce on their behalf need to know that we guarantee the same obsessive attention to detail that we reserve for Torveca brand products. I am personally committed to customer satisfaction.”
Torveca is still a family business.
“We are artisans of taste! Our strength must be quality and service! Torveca brands are monitored closely from the initial stages of the production process: from the approval of samples of raw coffee delivered to the warehouse to packaging and delivery in compliance with health and safety laws. The warehouse is managed extremely efficiently. Our customers are unfailingly supplied with fresh, fragrant coffee ready to be pressed into the perfect espresso. The entire production chain complies with standards whose goal is to produce the quality that is typical of Torveca. The choice of selected raw materials combined with technologically avant-garde manufacturing plants make our blends polished and cherished products. I firmly believe that this is the only way to remain competitive in the market and to stand out from the crowd.”
But Torveca is not just coffee.
“Obviously we present ourselves to business owners as expert partners. By means of a modern off-truck system the customer can stock up with a huge amount of products dedicated to the ho.re.ca world: from sugar to soluble products such as barley and ginseng and from coffee beans coated in chocolate to products for the counter such as chocolate, honey and other products from the former colonies typical of our sector. Our customers receive all kinds of gadgets with the Torveca trademark so they can emphasise to their patrons that their establishment has opted for Torveca quality.”
You appear to have a fixation with quality: is the market really ready to pay more for a good espresso?
“Quality need not necessarily be synonymous with an expensive product! Quality should be seen as the care and attention invested in doing something well. This, combined with the use of selected and certified materials, automatically translates into deservedly prized products. The quest for a good espresso should be a mission for bar patrons!
The price of the cup being equal, it is customers’ consumer choices and appreciation that should influence the market towards quality.”
Torveca in Italy and in the world, how does the development process happen?
“Our policy is to seek out new markets and new opportunities. Through wholesalers/distributors we try to establish solid and lasting trading partnerships, bringing mutual satisfaction, in regions which are not directly served by us. We export to some European countries, such as France and Finland, as well as to countries in other parts of the world. We are constantly seeking new partners to develop our brand in free zones.”
Which is the furthest-away country?
“I can proudly say it is Chile… knowing that our coffee is drunk in the deep south of the American continent fills me with pride and gives me the energy to face new challenges.”
How do you see your company in the near future?
“I was handed a healthy company with a strong and glorious past. My goal and the goal of my partners is to develop our brand and expand it in Italy and overseas by means of careful investment. And then to hand it over to the fifth generation perhaps…