Seven generations have marked the history of this company founded
in 1796 and recognised worldwide as the guardian of the art of chocolate.
Today, Majani has 42 employees and a turnover of 10 million euros, with a
growth of +25% that has brought it back to pre-pandemic levels. From quality to
innovative packaging, a journey into confectionery excellence. Per FARE INSIEME
Giampaolo Colletti interview Francesco Mezzadri Majani, CEO of Majani
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
“I have learnt to know the only two remedies for pain, sadness,
dumps and similar plagues of the human heart: they are chocolate and time. I
want to say that when you feel sad and grieved all you have to do is eat some
chocolate or wait a while”. This is what the writer and poet Tommaso Landolfi
wrote in the middle of the twentieth century. This indissoluble bond between
time and pleasure finds its expression in one of the most iconic companies in
the production and sale of chocolate. An excellence established as long ago as
1796 and which has left its mark on the eating habits and customs of chocolate
over more than two centuries. We are in the Bologna area, in Valsamoggia to be
precise. This is where Majani’s headquarters are located, with two factories
covering almost eight thousand square metres for total control of the
production chain. Then, there is the historic point of sale, active for over
two hundred years in the heart of Bologna, a stone’s throw from the Two Towers.
We are in Via Carbonesi, the street that, together with Farini and Barberia,
served as a Roman path at the foot of the hill. In 1830, a five thousand square
metre building was purchased here and, in the following years, the Bolognese
renamed it Palazzo Majani: the ground floor housed the workshop and shop with
the tea room, while the first floor housed the family flats. However, the most
striking thing in the history of this company - and of the seven generations
that have led it - is the idea of travelling, experimenting, innovating, while
remaining rooted in one’s own land: it was 1856 when Giuseppe Majani reached
Turin to purchase the most advanced chocolate processing plants of the time, in
a context where Italy was still divided into States and Duchies. From the
historical headquarters to the present day: today, this site is complemented by
the temporary shops in Rome’s
Stazione Termini and Milan’s Stazione Centrale, which tickle travellers’
appetite.
Quality first. However, there is a common thread linking the past to the present
of this company, which employs 42 people and achieved an aggregate revenue of
more than €10 million in 2021, with an EBITDA of €1.8 million and a growth rate
of 25%, taking the company back to pre-pandemic levels. And it’s that obsession
with the quality of raw materials. Francesco Mezzadri Majani, Managing Director of Majani,
repeats that like a mantra. «Quality is all. You have to buy the most expensive
raw materials because they are the best. Our raw materials come from the best plantations
and we process them following the entire production cycle of traditional
chocolate making. This is essential to us. However, if the processing
cycles are traditional, we have to keep up with the times to be competitive in
terms of goodness, quality and beauty», says Majani. There is also an element
that is the company’s main signature: producing chocolate from raw cocoa beans.
This process makes it unique. «We only do it ourselves. We purchase twenty
qualities of cocoa, roast the beans and start the processing cycle through
which the chocolate paste is produced, which is poured into the moulds and used
to make the various products. We produce the chocolate, buy the raw hazelnuts
and almonds and roast them, as well as we buy the crystalline sugar which we
turn into powder. That’s why our chocolate is unique», says Majani. Good to eat
and beautiful to look at: a chocolate that exudes that history, making quality
its trademark. This uniqueness can also be seen in the packaging, in the idea
that the box becomes a talking box,
telling a story that contains many others. Because appearance is important too
and trying to care about products also on an aesthetic level is an added value
for a refined clientele.
History, quality, genius. “Chocolate of
excellence since 1796”, reads the slogan. This reflects the work of seven
generations of chocolate masters, who have received major awards: World Fairs
in Paris (1867 and 1878), Vienna (1873) and Milan (1881). Tradition made it
possible to be counted among the greats. This is also recalled by the trademark
with three coats of arms: that of the Royal House of Savoy - the company became
the official supplier in 1878 at the behest of Umberto I in the young Kingdom
of Italy - that of the Royal House of the Sermo Sõr Infante Duque de
Montpensier and the coat of arms of the Royal House of the Sermo Sõr Infante
Don Antonio de Orléans. One of the products that has made history more than any other
is Cremino Fiat: four layers of creamed hazelnut and almond delight, the jewel
in the crown of the Majani House, created in 1911 to celebrate the launch of
the new Fiat Tipo 4 luxury car. It all started with an advertising initiative
commissioned by the founder Giovanni Agnelli. At the time, the first reviews of
the product - as they would be called today - came from illustrious customers such
as Gabriele D’Annunzio, Guglielmo Marconi and Giosuè Carducci. Another
brilliant invention from the Majani company is the Scorza: this is the first
made-in-Italy solid chocolate, dating back to 1832. Then, there is the visceral
bond with the territory: that’s how chocolate tortellini were conceived in 2000
by the then master chocolatier and production manager Mario Contavalli. «The chocolate is
the same as always and is made according to tradition, but consumers are
actively listened to. The goal is to satisfy them: if I promise
something, I have to keep it because credibility is all that matters», says Majani.
The most satisfying moment for him came in 1985, when he became managing
director, and when in 1989 he bought back the entire company, which had been
sold by the family for 75% of the capital in 1976. It was unthinkable that it
would have gone any other way, because certain stories of business and,
ultimately, of love, are forever.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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