Kimbo Coffee debuts in Specialty Coffee and targets the Polish market
The Neapolitan company closed 2024 with a turnover of EUR 208 million, up 7.7%, and initiated a policy of margin recovery, focusing on new products and under-preserved areas
3' min read
3' min read
Foreign and specialty to cope with coffee's scariest crisis. Mario Rubino, president of Kimbo, explains to Il Sole 24 Ore the anti-crisis strategy of the family business, of which he took the helm in 2023, abandoning his career as a urologist.
And so the company that for Naples represents 'coffee' puts a five-year plan for the Polish market at the top of the agenda, and espresso, which for a Neapolitan is synonymous with 'cup', gives way to a market considered extremely niche in Italy (0.2%). But Rubino - who is also a snake breeder in life - has a mantra: 'Launch projects on which others will have to chase us'.
But let's start at the beginning. "If we go on like this, coffee in a cup at the bar will reach 2 euros - he says - . In three years it has tripled due to heavy speculation; there has been a subversion of the rules'. Under the new guidance, Kimbo closed 2024 sales at 208 million, up 7.7 per cent, and embarked on a policy of margin recovery, focusing on new products and under-preserved areas.
The knot of raw material, however, is making itself felt. "Such sudden grain increases have dried up our Pfn (net financial position, ed.) , so awe have had to ask for credit lines from banks and have been able to make supplies with third parties.
The problem is not so much the increases, but the constant fluctuations. "The market is so volatile that it does not allow us to give a price: every time we have to start over and re-budget, with inevitable repercussions on the consumer's pocket.
Mario Rubino is the son of Elio Rubino, founder - together with his brothers Francesco and Gerardo - of the company. That was in 1963. In common with his uncle Gerardo, he has 'visionary spirit'. It was Gerardo who chose the name 'Kimbo', because it recalls by assonance Jumbo, a term evocative of challenges and long journeys.
