Illycaffe SpA, one of Italy’s largest coffee roasters, is changing its strategy to focus on boosting retail sales as it expands in the U.S. The company, best known for premium coffee sold mainly in hotels, restaurants and cafes, will target consumers at home as the pandemic locked down cities from New York to Los Angeles, according to Chairman Andrea Illy. The Trieste-based firm has already changed its strategy, boosting at-home sales to 50% of the total, up from 40% before the coronavirus hit.

Illy is looking to expand in the U.S. after selling a minority stake to private equity group Rhone Capital LLC, opening up capital for the family-owned roaster for the first time since 1933. The company is going through a generational change, with shares and voting rights being passed on to the fourth generation of the Illy family, he said.