From small ice-cream parlour to international group: the entrepreneurial journey of Sammontana Italia

Renzo and Sergio, together with their younger brother Loriano, soon found themselves facing their first big challenges, first and foremost the management of logistics, made complex by the company's expansion and the need to distribute the product on an increasingly larger scale. Between the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, Sammontana ice creams were distributed nationwide, at the same time entering the large-scale retail trade.

The company made a further strategic leap when it began to realise the potential of marketing to strengthen its identity and make itself known around the world. As early as 1957, the slogan 'Gelati all'italiana' was born, designed to distinguish Sammontana products from the Anglo-Saxon Ice Cream that had spread to the peninsula with the arrival of American soldiers during the Second World War. The only thing American about Sammontana is the iconic logo, designed by the famous graphic designer Milton Glaser in collaboration with Renzo's son, Marco Bagnoli: the smiling ice cream cone with the red tab on display.

Realising that a seasonal product like ice cream was not enough to sustain an expanding industry, the company began a process of diversifying its offer. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Sammontana entered the baked goods market, launching the Il Pasticcere brand and the distribution of frozen croissants for the Ho.Re.Ca sector. This is a high-margin product, sellable all year round, and able to consolidate the relationship with bars, to which the company also continues to supply ice cream.

Here are the main ingredients for transforming an industry into a solid brand: improving the product, optimising logistics, creating a recognisable brand, developing new business strategies.

At the helm of Sammontana today are the new generations of the Bagnoli family, represented by Leonardo and Lorenzo (respectively President of Sammontana Holding and Vice-President of Sammontana SpA Società Benefit), together with Managing Director Alessandro Angelon. The company focuses strongly on sustainability, launching environmental and social projects to create value not only for shareholders but also for employees and the context in which it operates. The new challenge, to double turnover in five years, is ambitious. But the goal is also possible thanks to the creation of a new group, born from the union with Forno d'Asolo that took place with the support of Investindustrial. This operation brought prestigious brands such as Bindi and Forno d'Asolo into the group's portfolio, thereby strengthening the internationalisation strategy.

Italian companies that want to compete globally need strategic partners with a long-term and not purely speculative industrial vision, and an alliance with an investment fund is not an easy choice for many entrepreneurs. As Lorenzo Bagnoli says, an ego factor often comes into play: 'Today's entrepreneurs have to measure themselves against their ego and decide which challenge to face. They can choose to stand firm on what they have inherited or they can question themselves, accepting new challenges and playing in a bigger league'. The entry of external partners brings significant stimuli and results, but also requires more structured and rigorous governance.

The history of Sammontana conveys a fundamental lesson: the generational transition must not be reduced to a simple succession of power. Each new generation must know how to preserve traditional values while innovating to meet the challenges of its time. A principle, this, well expressed by Alberto Falck, who wrote to his sons: 'Each generation rebuilds the company, starting from what it has inherited, but renewing it to adapt it to its own time, or even changing it completely'. While remaining firmly in the hands of the Bagnoli family, Sammontana today has a significant impact on the Italian and global market: the tradition, culture and values handed down by the founders coexist with the ability to deal with the complexities of the modern market.

Compared to the past, the challenges facing entrepreneurs today are more complex. And to overcome them, three key elements are needed: a hard education, obtained through academic study and practical experience in the company; a soft education, which I also deal with by supporting entrepreneurs and managers in the development of relational and leadership skills; and the ability to enhance talent.

The Sammontana story can be summed up in four basic steps: the toll taker who chooses to become an entrepreneur, the entrepreneur who turns his business into an industry, the industry that evolves into a solid and recognised brand, the brand that becomes a group with an increasingly strong global and sustainable presence.

*Director Strategic Communication Academy.