In the spotlight: illy

illy has become an indispensable part of the coffee world. Who hasn't seen an iconic illy can in cafés or at home? illy's coffee is recognizable and uses nine types of pure Arabica coffee beans of the best quality. The brand is characterized by velvety, sweet, aromatic coffee that balances fruity and floral, caramel and chocolate notes. But did you also know that illy is a true innovator? illy combines coffee with innovation and art. How do they do that? Take a look at the development of this Italian coffee brand here.

Born from passion, great through technology

In 1933, Francesco Illy founded the coffee brand illy. He moved to Trieste, Italy, especially for this purpose, because this city is known for its excellent coffee. Here he started to build his company with passion. And he did it well. A year after the foundation, he invented a new way of packaging coffee: 'pressurization'. This technique - which is still used today (!) - puts coffee beans under pressure, which keeps them fresh for longer. This allowed Francesco Illy to expand his market and illy coffee ended up in Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands. However, Francesco Illy did not stop there. A year later he invented the illetta, according to illy the first modern espresso machine in the world. With the illetta, the era of espresso machines began and we still benefit from it today.

Progress through innovation

When Ernesto, Francesco's son, joined the company in the 1940s, he did not do so empty-handed. He had obtained a doctorate in chemistry for this. With this background, he took illy to new heights. He set up a laboratory and dedicated it entirely to coffee research. After this, in 1950, he made it possible for the public to make espresso at home. He did this by selling small tins of ground coffee. Just like his father, Ernesto did not stop at one invention. In 1974, he launched ESE, the first measured coffee pod. With this, he brought espresso within reach of millions of people. Then, in 1988, he came up with something else revolutionary: identifying the best coffee beans using a digital, photochromatic technique. This technology made it easier for illy to select the best coffee beans and process them into their coffee.

Coffee and art

illy not only strives for perfection and beauty in their coffee, but also in other areas of the company. Because of this pursuit, art has become an important cornerstone of the company. For example, the iconic red logo was designed by James Rosenquist, a famous pop-art artist. In addition, more than 70 versions of the recognizable illy cup have been made. Each cup is designed by different, modern artists and each is a true work of art to drink from. There are also multiple versions of the illy cans, designed by artists, available and many are seen as collector's items.