Grounds for fear in Italy
For decades, millions of Italians at home and abroad have started their morning ritual waiting for the telltale bubbling sound that signalled the moka pot was brimming with a strong brew of coffee.
But the original moka — a fixture in Italian homes and an icon of Italian design since it was introduced by Alfonso Bialetti in 1933 — is at risk of extinction as its maker struggles against bankruptcy amid a difficult Italian economy and fierce competition from hightech coffee pod machines.
On Oct. 26, the Bialetti group announced measures to address a $150-million debt and “doubts over its continuity.”
When Alfonso Bialetti patented his design for the eight-sided aluminum stovetop coffee pot that forces pressurized boiling water up through a layer of ground coffee, the Italian economy was in a terrible state. It was 1933 and banks were failing, unemployment was high and Italians were cutting luxuries like trips to cafes — hence the demand for an at-home coffee maker.
More than 105 million moka pots have been produced since then, the original 1933 Bialetti design remaining a favourite.
It is considered an iconic “made in Italy” object, displayed at the London Science Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
However, with 150,000 coffee bars in Italy alone, including a Starbucks that controversially opened in Milan in September, and despite the fact more people than ever appear to be enjoying coffee, moka makers have seen their market share decline.
Experts believe this is not so much due to the explosion in coffee outlets but more to competition from coffee capsule machines, which have gained in popularity since George Clooney’s Nespresso advertisements sparked a coffee pod craze a decade ago.
In 2017, the ground coffee market lost six per cent in volume in Italy, while capsule sales saw double-digit sales growth (up 23 per cent from 2016), according to analysts Nielsen.
“When it comes to largescale distribution, sales of the capsules are growing rapidly, while sales of ground coffee for the moka are declining, even here in Italy where 70 per cent of families have a moka in their home,” said Francesca Arcuri of Filicori Zecchini, one of Italy’s oldest coffee companies.
Despite Bialetti owing thousands in unpaid salaries and taxes, the company said it was in the final phase of negotiating a 35-millioneuro loan from a U.S. hedge fund. The company has applied for protection under Italy’s bankruptcy laws and is hoping that will be enough for moka production to survive.