Lavazza Group chief executive Antonio Baravalle has outlined an accelerated expansion strategy targeting the United States and China, framing the push as essential to remaining competitive against industry giants Nestlé and Starbucks as consolidation reshapes the global coffee market.
Speaking in a Bloomberg interview on 4 May 2026, Baravalle said the Italian roaster recorded revenue of €3.9 billion in 2025 — a rise of roughly 15–16% year on year, confirmed by both Bloomberg and Il Sole 24 ORE — and that the company is now targeting €5 billion in annual revenue. The two sources differ on the timeline: Bloomberg reported the target is set for achievement “within the next few years,” while Comunicaffe reported the goal as 2026.
The geographic transformation of the business underpins the strategy. When Baravalle became chief executive in 2011, approximately 70% of Lavazza’s revenue came from Italy. “Today, over 75% of our turnover is generated outside the country,” he told Bloomberg. The company now operates in more than 140 countries, according to a PR Newswire release of its 2025 financial results.
North America is a central pillar of the expansion. A target set in 2024 to double regional revenue to $1 billion by 2029 remains on track, Bloomberg reported, with North America revenues rising 26.9% in 2025, driven mainly by retail and e-commerce, according to Il Sole 24 ORE. Baravalle said the company is expanding production capacity at a manufacturing plant in the state of Pennsylvania in the eastern United States, which currently produces 50% of Lavazza coffee sold domestically. “The dynamics of the US market and the higher costs related to import tariffs have convinced us to accelerate the process already underway,” he told Il Sole 24 ORE. Comunicaffe reported that the company aims to source 100% of its US coffee locally from that facility within three to four years.
In China, Lavazza is pursuing a retail café model through a joint venture with Yum China Holdings Inc., formed in 2020. The company currently operates 145 outlets and aims to reach 200 by the end of 2026, according to Bloomberg. The original target of 1,000 outlets by 2025 was set back by the Covid-19 pandemic. Baravalle told Bloomberg that Shanghai holds the highest number of coffee shops per capita of any major city in the world, and that localised products — including buffalo-milk drinks praised on social media for their creamy sweetness — have become top sellers, with one camellia-flavoured buffalo-milk latte priced at 36 yuan (approximately $5.27), according to the Financial Post.
Baravalle framed the competitive rationale in consolidation terms. He recalled being told when he joined the company that “sooner or later consolidation in the industry would start,” and said Lavazza’s goal is to be “looking at the menu and not be on the menu.” “We are investing like hell in the USA,” he told Bloomberg.
The expansion comes against a backdrop of significant cost pressure. Lavazza absorbed €660 million in higher raw-material costs in 2025 due to commodity price spikes, according to Comunicaffe, while the company’s own results statement cited climate change, extreme weather, geopolitical tensions, logistics disruptions, and speculative commodity markets as factors adding complexity to global operations.
