Vicenzi Group
The numbers
The history of Vicenzi Group began in 1905, when Matilde Vicenzi's artisan workshop was established in San Giovanni Lupatoto. The small business grew under her leadership, that of her sons and of her nephew Giuseppe Vicenzi, who took over the reins until it became the current Matilde Vicenzi brand, now specializing in the production of fine traditional Italian pastries. It is only in 2005, however, that the actual Group is realized, thanks to the acquisition of Parmalat's bakery products branch, which includes Grisbì and Mr.Day.
Organizational structure
To date, Vicenzi Group consists of 3 brands – Matilde Vicenzi, Grisbì, and Mr.Day – and operates 3 production facilities, all located in Italy. Our 376 employees work across 15 different production lines, and our products are exported to 97 countries worldwide.
Group's growth
The Group’s growth is facilitated by the Research and Development department: here, indeed, new ideas come to life, following industry trends and meeting the needs of end consumers.
A WorldWide Company
Bringing Italian sweets into everyone’s homes: the dream of Giuseppe Vicenzi has become a great reality. Vicenzi Group also has a sales office in the United States and six Regional Managers responsible for major export areas.
Mission
We want to surprise consumers with innovative, differentiated and high-quality products, created with passion and the desire to give moments of sweetness to every family. Vicenzi Group desires to grow with fairness and transparency, respecting stakeholders and end consumers, providing fragrant and tasty products that meet the expectations of everyone who connects with the Group. Vicenzi Group is committed to ensuring ever broader food inclusiveness, observing everyone’s needs and reference values, but bringing a secret ingredient to each new recipe: ideas.
Vision
Vicenzi Group is committed to growing to become the leading brand company for the best Italian pastries, in Italy and around the world. Vicenzi Group’s products, certified nationally and internationally, meet the highest quality standards of hygiene and food safety. Vicenzi Group’s traditional Italian pastries come from a careful selection of raw materials, processed with care and commitment at every stage of production. The standardization of our production processes makes it possible to keep the quality level of our products high and at the same time respond to different market demands.
The story of a man
After inheriting grandmother Matilde's recipe book, still jealously guarded because it is a source of inspiration and new ideas, Giuseppe Vicenzi took over the reins of the business. Firmly believing in making pastry products accessible to all, Giuseppe Vicenzi realized his dream by starting his own confectionery industry.
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Giuseppe Vicenzi's idea, to implement large-scale production processes within the Vicenzi family's artisan workshop, allowed the business to grow. Then, in 2005, Giuseppe Vicenzi made an important choice: to acquire Parmalat's entire bakery business, which included the Grisbì and Mr.Day brands. In 2005, in fact, the Group was born, as we know it today.
Timeline
120 years of history and tradition, from 1905 to today: discover Vicenzi Group and the key milestones that have marked its evolution.
Matilde Vicenzi begins her entrepreneurial adventure by choosing to run a small bakery with an attached pastry shop in San Giovanni Lupatoto, in the province of Verona. Her love for classic Italian desserts leads her to create new recipes, making her, to this day, a symbol of female entrepreneurship.
Giuseppe Vicenzi, Matilde's grandson, became passionate about the art of Italian pastry making at an early age, observing his grandmother's dedication. Driven by his natural resourcefulness and guided by his extraordinary intuition, Giuseppe Vicenzi began to participate in the family business, taking over the reins in 1963 and transforming the small artisan workshop into a large industry, still family-run today.
When he was only 14 years old, Giuseppe Vicenzi received the most awaited gift from his family: the Melzi, an automated biscuit-making machine that was the first step toward standardizing the production of the family's artisan workshop. The young man's entrepreneurial spirit and his spirit of initiative in 1955 pushed him as far as England, where he captured new ideas and insights at the International Sweets Fair.
Giuseppe Vicenzi invests its resources to transform production from artisanal to industrialized, allowing it to reach more end consumers. The purchase of an additional factory in San Giovanni Lupatoto allows Giuseppe Vicenzi to specialize in the realization of the Amaretto, introducing only later the Savoiardo Vicenzovo, a distinctive product of the Matilde Vicenzi brand.
Giuseppe Vicenzi's curiosity and desire for innovation led him to take a trip to Japan, where he purchased a special machine dedicated to the confectionery sector. The machine is adapted to Matilde Vicenzi's Italian pastry: thus was born the Matilde’s millefeuille, which becomes part of the brand's "top" products, already geared to the international market.
In 1980, with the sponsorship of the Arena di Verona Opera Festival, began the partnership between Matilde Vicenzi and Fondazione Arena, promoter of the opera festival famous worldwide. In 2013, the Group's support for the city expanded with its contribution to the setting up of the Star of Verona, the quintessential symbol of the city's Christmas festivities. Since 2024, Matilde Vicenzi has also supported the Estate Teatrale Veronese as a project to promote the city's theater culture.
Giuseppe Vicenzi seizes the important opportunity to acquire the bakery products branch of Italian food company Parmalat. Thus, the Grisbì and Mr.Day brands, dedicated respectively to the production of shortbread cookies filled with creamy fillings and to the creation of mouth-watering snacks, become part of the Vicenzi Group. This allows the Group to consolidate its presence in other markets of confectionery production as well.
Vicenzi Group's export reaches 110 countries: the Group supplies large-scale retail trade, the HoReCa sector, distributors and corners all over the world with its products. Thus arose the need to have a sales office in the United States and to appoint two Regional Managers for the Asias and Pacific and Latin America areas, fostering proximity to international stakeholders and end consumers.
Elite Network is a program that allows companies to increase visibility and strengthen their presence in the global market. The stock exchange is an option that Vicenzi Group intends to evaluate in order to access the capital needed to further boost its growth path.
Vicenzi Group's growth involves meeting with an increasingly broad and diverse audience. Thus begins the creation of products that meet greater demands for food inclusivity: the R&D department introduces lactose-free and gluten-free lines, expanding the number of recipes and the product portfolio with alternatives suitable for all needs. The entire Mr.Day snack range becomes lactose-free, while a gluten-free variant is also offered for Grisbì with chocolate filling, lemon cream filling and for Matilde Vicenzi's Savoiardi Vicenzovo.
Vicenzi Group begins to adopt an entrepreneurial approach dedicated to greater environmental awareness and sustainable development of production activity. The Group is therefore among the first realities of the sector to draw up a Sustainability Report, which has allowed the setting of social, economic and food sustainability objectives. Vicenzi Group’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility continues to this day, with the publication in 2024 of the fifth Sustainability Report.
May 2021 represents a unique milestone in Giuseppe Vicenzi's professional and personal growth: the President of Vicenzi Group is in fact awarded the position of "Cavaliere del Lavoro" by Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic. The prestigious honor is given to those who have distinguished themselves in the panorama of Italian entrepreneurship, promoting its values also at the international level.
The Research and Development department responds to food inclusion goals and panders to market demands with the introduction of vegan and protein products. Respecting everyone's food choices and ethical values, Vicenzi Group offers Grisbì Vegan, a light-colored shortbread with a filling of Gianduia cream that is certified VeganOK and VegPack, recognitions that identify it as a 100% vegan product. Mr.Day's Protein Muffin, on the other hand, has a tasty salted caramel filling, and its protein intake makes it a “protein-packed” snack. The vibrant innovation of Vicenzi Group's R&D department allows for continuous expansion of the product portfolio, thus being able to meet the diverse demands of end consumers.
Special dates
1905 - THE BIRTH OF THE LABORATORY
With her passion for classic pastry desserts, Matilde Vicenzi runs a small bakery and artisan workshop that won over everyone in Verona, from the oldest to the youngest. Her love for confectionery is inherited first by her sons and then by her nephew Giuseppe, who will lead the Matilde Vicenzi brand towards the birth of the Group.
2005 - THE CENTENARY IS CELEBRATED
On the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the Matilde Vicenzi brand, the company carries out unique and stimulating projects, aimed at enhancing its relationship with the territory and the city of Verona. This deep connection is enhanced by the care of a photographic exhibition on the city of Verona and the publication of the book "Verona in the heart of Vicenzi. Unseen glances among the people and places of Verona".
2025 - ON THE ROAD TO 120 YEARS
2025 will be a new and exciting milestone for Vicenzi Group! With Matilde Vicenzi celebrating 120 years and the Group marking 20 years, there are plans for new developments, activities, and events. What are you looking forward to?