Lavazza, one of the world’s most recognized Italian coffee brands, has been steadily building its Canadian footprint through cultural partnerships (Toronto International Film Festival), strategic acquisitions (Kicking Horse Coffee), and educational investments (at George Brown College).
At this year’s TIFF, Lavazza expanded its immersive activation with a classic Italian cinema theme and cold brew coffee sampling – an example of how the brand is going beyond visibility to foster genuine cultural connections.
Lavazza is ramping up investment in Canada as part of a broader push across North America, driven by evolving coffee culture and growing consumer demand.
Daniele Foti, VP of Marketing for Lavazza North America, said the company has seen “important growth” in Canada over the past two years, thanks to strategic investment in people, products, marketing and operations.
“We started from 2023 with the opportunity to actually improve our share,” said Foti in an interview. “We have been growing a lot.”
Lavazza’s international expansion began in earnest around 2017, shifting from a business heavily weighted toward Italy to one focused on global markets. At that time, Italy accounted for about 70 per cent of the company’s net revenue. Today, that number has flipped, with international markets representing roughly 70 per cent of sales.
The U.S. and Canada have become key priorities.
“Canada is actually a really brilliant, massive one too,” said Foti, referring to the market size and opportunity. “We really defined a multi-year plan of growth with the objective to more than double our business here.”
Foti said Lavazza’s strategy includes portfolio expansion and localized marketing to meet the changing tastes of consumers, particularly in premium and experiential coffee categories.
“What has been happening recently is a kind of improved way of drinking coffee,” he said. “It’s not just a functional beverage anymore—it’s an experience for consumers.”
He noted the shift in consumption habits across North America, where consumers are increasingly choosing espresso-based drinks, cold brews and other premium offerings.
“This gave the space to all our premium coffees to actually grow, both on the retail—so home consumption—but also away from home,” he said.
While coffee prices have increased due to inflation, Foti said real demand is also up.
“There has been also some value effect due to inflation, but that contributed to higher demand with higher prices,” he said. “That’s something important.”
Lavazza’s global headquarters remains in Torino, Italy, where the founding family continues to operate the business.
“The choice of staying in Torino is not a random one,” said Foti. “It was important for us to keep our origin.”
The company’s North American head office is in Pennsylvania, with additional support operations in New York. In Canada, Lavazza maintains a local office and distribution system.
“We are happy about the results in these two geographies,” said Foti. “But of course, there is still a lot to do.”
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Thanks to this article, I can now strike Lavazza off my shopping list. No only am I eliminating, whenever possible, the American brands I buy, but I’m also doing so for any foreign brand headquartered in the U.S. Any time I see the words “North American market” I realise the brand has no respect for Canada.
This is the best coffee . My friend introduced me to this coffee about a month ago. Every cup is great, stopped buying Tim Hortons. Lots of garbage coffee on the market now.