In 1895, a man named Luigi Lavazza purchased a little grocery store in northern Italy for about US$20. Today, over one hundred years later, Luigi Lavazza S.p.A is the irrefutable leader of the espresso market in Italy, boasting nearly 45 percent of the total coffee market share. The company owes its success to its dynamic approach to business and careful attention to its customers' needs.

In Lavazza's store, coffee was sold raw and then roasted according to each customer's personal preference. Luigi Lavazza was considerably skilled at carefully selecting the amount of each ingredient required for one particular blend as well as expertly determining the degree of roasting. Over the next sixty years, the company experienced rapid commercial growth with its foray into the wholesale market and its decision to narrow down its range of products. By the mid forties, the company, now Luigi Lavazza S.p.A, began specializing in the production of coffee.

The firm continued expanding by leaps and bounds, and introduced the first vacuum-packed coffee with a long shelf life in the sixties. Distribution soon covered all of Italy, and the next two decades saw the conquering of both European and world markets. With its devotion to developing clever new techniques and products, Luigi Lavazza S.p.A shows no signs of slowing down, and will likely be giving other coffee companies a run for their money for a while yet.

1895年，一位名叫路吉·拉法札的男子花二十美元買下意大利北部一家小雜貨店。一百年后的今天，路吉·拉法札連鎖事業無疑已是意大利濃縮咖啡市場的領導品牌，占有約45%的市場。公司將其成就歸功于機動靈活的行銷策略及對顧客需求的關照。

拉法札店里銷售的是生咖啡，而依顧客的個人喜好再事烘培。拉法札在此方面技巧十分嫻熟，對任一種特殊配制，原料的質與量均是精挑細選，烘培的程度亦經審慎的專業判斷。隨后的六十年中，該公司以突襲批發市場決定縮減產品經營范圍的辦法，取得了商業的迅速發展。在四十年代中期，現名拉法札連鎖事業的公司開始專門生產咖啡。

該公司持續飛速的發展并在六十年代首創真空包裝，延長了咖啡保質期。銷售隨即遍及全意大利，之后二十年陸續征服了歐洲及全球市場。拉法札連鎖事業不斷致力發展巧妙先進的技術及商品，從未表示要放慢速度，足以和任何其它咖啡公司作一番短暫的較量。