Dicaf

What Dicaf does

Dicaf SPA is an Italian family-owned coffee roasting company headquartered in Bra, in the Cuneo province of Piedmont. The business traces its heritage to 1942 when the Ghigo family opened a roastery; the formal company was established in 1987. Dicaf produces and distributes roasted coffee across multiple formats — beans, ground coffee, ESE pods, and capsules compatible with Nespresso and Lavazza Point systems — alongside adjacent products including barley, ginseng, chicory, sugar, sweetener, chocolate, and porcelain/glass coffee accessories, as well as professional coffee machines. Roberto Calvo serves as the legal representative (CEO equivalent). The company employs between 11 and 50 people and operates with no disclosed external funding or institutional ownership.

The company's core technology centers on coffee roasting and preservation. Dicaf installed one of Italy's first Reicat catalytic systems in a roasting facility, converting roasting fumes and odors into harmless water and steam while reducing energy consumption. Products are packaged using a nitrogen flush in triple-laminated film with unidirectional valves that preserve aroma by releasing internal gases and blocking external contaminants. The company has held organic certification since 1999 (CCPB), alongside USDA Organic and FDA registrations, supporting cross-border trade and premium organic positioning.

Dicaf operates a dual go-to-market model. The primary HORECA B2B channel is a network of area agents making weekly visits to bars, cafés, and restaurants across Piedmont and Italy, supplying coffee, loaning professional equipment (coffee machines, grinders, barley and ginseng machines, slush machines, purifiers), providing maintenance, and delivering barista training in cafeteria arts, latte art, and roasting. The D2C/B2C channel is the company's own e-commerce storefront (dicaf.it), complemented by direct pickup at the Bra headquarters and a Genoa warehouse for raw-material storage. The portfolio is organized across the Professional Line (Tradizione, Selection, Special Bar), the premium Majestic Line (Gold, White), the certified-organic Bio Line, and the 2021-launched PIÉ'nCAFÉ gourmet line (Matòt, Bel'om, Madamin). Pricing is unit-based: example SKUs include €6.30 for a 25-pod chicory espresso pack, €25 for a 1kg bean bag, and €139 for a Lavazza-Point-compatible coffee machine.

Name

Dicaf

Legal name

DICAF SPA

Website

https://dicaf.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dicaf SPA is a family-owned Italian coffee roaster founded in 1987 with heritage to 1942, producing beans, ground coffee, pods, and Nespresso/Lavazza-compatible capsules across multiple sub-brands. It serves HORECA clients via area agents and consumers through its dicaf.it e-commerce platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAFADAC

Coffee Blending & Flavoring

Agriculture & Food Production/Beverage Production/Coffee & Tea Processing (Roasting, Blending, RTD)

SECONDARYCRACADAC

Coffee, Espresso & Tea Appliances Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Consumer Electronics & Appliances Retail/Small Appliance & Kitchen Gadget Retail

Keywords

• Italian roasted coffee
• Espresso blends production
• Coffee capsules and pods
• Organic coffee roasting
• HORECA coffee services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bra

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Coffee Product Sales: Sale of roasted coffee products in various formats including beans, ground coffee, capsules, and pods. Products include proprietary blends (Tradizione, Selection, Special Bar) as well as organic and specialty lines.
2. Accessories and Supplies: Commercialization of branded accessories including cups, napkins, napkin holders, clocks, change trays, displays, as well as consumables like sugar, sweetener, chocolate, barley, ginseng, and coffee cream.
3. Professional Equipment Services: Loan for use of equipment (coffee machines, grinders, barley and ginseng machines, slush machines, purifiers) with associated maintenance services for bars and restaurants.
4. Training and Consulting: Training courses for baristas on cafeteria arts, latte art, roasting processes, offered both on-site and at company offices.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Dicaf is an Italian coffee roaster that produces and distributes roasted espresso coffee in multiple formats (beans, ground, capsules, and pods) across professional, premium, organic, and gourmet sub-brands. The company supplies bars, restaurants, and cafés through dedicated area agents with equipment loans, maintenance, and barista training, and serves individual consumers via its e-commerce store at dicaf.it.

Product overview

Dicaf is an Italian coffee roaster founded in 1987 by the Ghigo family, offering a comprehensive portfolio of coffee products and services. The core product portfolio spans multiple formats (beans, ground, capsules, pods) organized across distinct sub-brands: the Professional Line (Tradizione, Selection, Special Bar blends), Majestic Line (Gold and White premium Arabica blends), Organic/Bio Line (certified organic products), and PIÉ'nCAFÉ Gourmet Line (Matòt, Bel'om, Madamin). Beyond coffee, Dicaf provides bar consulting services, barista training, and supplies accessories including coffee machines, cups, and branded items. The company operates B2B and B2C channels through an e-commerce platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Majestic Line: Premium coffee line for professionals, available in Gold (volcanic soil Arabica) and White variants, targeting true coffee connoisseurs.
• Bio Line
• PIÉ'nCAFÉ
• Tradizione Blend
• Selection Blend
• Special Bar Blend

Products and services

• Professional Coffee Blends (Tradizione, Selection, Special Bar) Core espresso blends sold to bars, cafés, and restaurants. Tradizione blends Arabica with washed Robusta for a smooth body; Selection adds 10% more Robusta for a full-bodied cup with thick cream; Special Bar offers a higher Robusta profile for a strong, structured flavor without bitter notes.
• Majestic Premium Coffee Line (Gold and White)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fondazione Federico GhigominorOthers · 1 January 2020The Federico Ghigo Foundation was created by Renato Ghigo and his wife Maria to honor their son's memory. The foundation pursues social utility aims including supporting weaker social categories and developing the Piedmont region socially. Dicaf maintains a connection through the founding family.
• Reicat TechnologycoreTechnology or IntegrationReicat is an innovative catalytic technology provider. Their technology allows Dicaf to transform fumes and odors from the coffee roasting process into harmless elements such as water and steam, while also saving energy. This partnership positions Dicaf as an environmental leader in the Italian coffee industry.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Passalacqua: Naples-based family-owned Italian coffee roaster serving bars and households with traditional espresso blends and pod formats — comparable Italian mid-market peer with strong HORECA focus.
• Pellini Caffè: Verona-based Italian coffee roaster offering multiple blends, pods and capsules for HORECA and retail with multi-brand positioning — a comparable mid-sized Italian peer in espresso blends and HORECA supply.
• Caffè Vergnano: Italian family-owned roaster founded in 1882 selling espresso beans, pods and capsules through HORECA and retail, with a similar heritage-led brand strategy and multi-format product portfolio as Dicaf.
• Kimbo: Naples-based mid-sized Italian coffee roaster serving HORECA and consumer channels with multi-format beans, ground, pods and capsules — closely comparable in scale, product mix and Italian heritage positioning to Dicaf.
• Hausbrandt Trieste 1892: Trieste-based Italian roaster with a long heritage serving HORECA and consumer markets via traditional beans/ground plus pod/capsule formats — comparable mid-market roaster profile to Dicaf.
• Bristot (Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group): Italian heritage espresso brand now part of Massimo Zanetti, selling beans, ground and capsules into HORECA and retail — comparable to Dicaf in Italian professional espresso positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Lavazza: Italy's largest coffee roaster with global distribution, broad HORECA coverage and the proprietary Lavazza Point capsule system — a much larger incumbent that competes with Dicaf across HORECA and capsule formats.
• illy caffè: Trieste-based premium Italian coffee group with global HORECA presence, illy Issimo pods and branded cafe concepts — broader incumbent that overlaps with Dicaf in premium Italian espresso for foodservice.
• Nespresso (Nestlé): Global capsule-coffee leader whose proprietary Nespresso system constrains the entire third-party capsule market in which Dicaf sells Nespresso-compatible capsules and pods.
• Segafredo Zanetti: Massimo Zanetti-owned Italian coffee brand with extensive HORECA penetration, capsule systems and a global cafe chain — a broad incumbent competing with Dicaf in HORECA and traditional blends.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dicaf