If the brand is the tool through which customer loyalty occurs, Ekaf Industria nazionale del Caffè, among the founding members of the Associazione Marchi Storici d'Italia, has behind it a history of excellence that has made the brand a synonym for all-Italian quality.

Indeed, the “Columbia” roasting company, opened in Livorno (Tuscany) in 1946, immediately aimed to offer quality coffee. The business took off quickly and reached the opening of a new plant in Livorno in 1973, marking the transition from a classic artisanal roasting plant, made in a laboratory-warehouse, to an industrial and modern factory that combines the best aspects of traditional roasting with a certified and technological production process.

But it was in 1990 that the turning point came with the acquisition of the largest roasting company in Liguria, Ekaf of Genoa, with the Eureka brand created by the “coffee wizard” Ugo Meraldi and the Bologna-born Filicori in 1883. These steps lead to an enrichment of know-how to operate under the banner of a culture of excellence.

In 1996 the three historical brands Columbia, Filicori and Ekaf, united to give birth to the new brand “Cellini Caffè,” which quickly spread the values that inspired the business and entrepreneurial philosophy, to take the experience of true Italian espresso beyond national borders.

The establishment in 2005 of a new and advanced plant has enabled the company to continue to bring added value to its brands.

The current management of the group, whose CEO Giorgio Boggero also wanted the company among the founding members of our Association, is demonstrating how the historical brand is an indispensable value in the context of a distribution, technical and financial reorganization that is among the largest in the Italian coffee industry.

In fact, building on Ekaf's long history of quality in the world of coffee, radical changes have been made in the past two years. In particular, the Cellini Caffè brand, the flagship of the company, has been the protagonist of a complete relaunch, with a new positioning, a new visual identity and a completely renewed portfolio, with a strong focus on innovation, with products that are marked by great research, including technological research.

Cellini Caffè has thus become the “Contemporary Italian Roastery” capable of responding to the evolving desires of consumers and baristas with a different and innovative proposal.