From the Novara coffee house counter to a global brand
It all began in 1860 in Novara, Piedmont: Gaspare Campari, the son of a farming family, distilled a bittersweet aperitif from a secret blend of herbs, spices, and fruit peels – a recipe that has not changed to this day. A few years later, he moved to Milan, opened the Caffè Campari in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and made the bright red bitter the talk of the urban upper class. His son Davide, born in the café in 1867, drove the first internationalization and established the first export routes. 1904 saw the first industrial plant in Sesto San Giovanni – still the site of the corporate headquarters today. In 1932, with Camparisoda, the brand invented the world's first pre-mixed single-serve cocktail drink, once again making beverage history.
The transition from a family business to a publicly traded group took place gradually: formally registered as Davide Campari-Milano S.p.A. in 1946, the IPO in Milan followed in 2001. The Garavoglia family has held the majority ever since through the holding company Milano S.r.l., ensuring strategic continuity.
Growth through brand management and targeted acquisitions
The Campari Group does not see itself as a producer focused on volume, but as a guardian of clearly defined aperitif occasions. Each of the more than 50 brands in the portfolio remains closely tied to its origin and recipe: Campari Bitter carries the same formula as in 1860, the distillates from Appleton Estate come exclusively from Jamaica, and Aperol – founded in 1919 by the Barbieri brothers in Padua, Veneto, and acquired by Campari in 2003 – is still produced there. The acquisition of Aperol for 150 million euros was one of the group's most consequential investment decisions: what was then around 30 million euros in annual revenue became more than 750 million euros, and Aperol is now the highest-revenue single item in the group.
Since 1995, the group has acquired over 30 companies – from Crodino and Cynar to Wild Turkey and Grand Marnier, and even Courvoisier Cognac – and during this time has increased revenue from around 494 million euros to over three billion euros. The group is now present in over 190 countries and is considered the sixth-largest premium spirits provider worldwide.
Aperitivo as an attitude – an overview of the range
What connects the Campari brands is not a style, but a moment: the aperitivo, the social ritual before a meal. Aperol, with its notes of bitter orange, rhubarb, and gentian, is the most accessible entry-level variant at 8–10 °C as a classic Spritz with Prosecco and a splash of mineral water. Campari Bitter itself – deeper, more complex, with a more distinct bitter note – needs ice and an orange slice or becomes the base for Negroni and Americano. Campari Soda in the characteristic bulbous bottle is the purist solo variant, ready to drink without any further ingredients. Appleton Estate Signature Blend from Jamaica represents the other side of the portfolio: an aged rum that is convincing neat or in long drinks. All products share the fact that their recipes are designed for decades – no seasonal editions, no constantly changing formulas.
