Coffee, Illy raises price alarm: 'Cost tripled due to speculation'

"It is a different world than the one we were used to. A world order has been dismantled and replaced by a world disorder. But above all, it is not in the will of the parties to find a new order. The situation is therefore difficult to manage, because the instability it creates is added to the endemic ones of the moment, climate, immigration, social tensions. The systemic risk has increased so much, a phenomenon that adds to the unforeseeable emergencies'. Andrea Illy has a global outlook on the world, president of the family business, founded in 1933, which in 2024 had a turnover of €630 million, leader in the coffee sector.

There is a number to be reckoned with: 'The cost of raw material has risen three times the historical average. This is an effect of speculation. There is a financialisation of food that is taking place on the backs of farmers and consumers, a phenomenon that started in the last decades but that is growing stronger today," explains Illy, who is also co-Chair of the Regenerative Society Foundation. And it is precisely the regenerative economy that is the key word and the pillar of his strategy, to be combined with a necessary resilience: "These are two indispensable components to be affected as little as possible by the turbulence of the present and to look to the long term. Changing the development model as well: the new challenge is to regenerate the environment. It is not only an issue of sustainability, but also of competitiveness. The current model launched 150 years ago has created monetary development, but not livable conditions. We need a model that creates a virtuous cycle'.

It's not just theory: Illy has put it into practice in his company, focusing on regenerative agriculture as early as 2019, and the numbers are the litmus test of how this strategy works. Illycaffè continues to grow: 2024 closed with turnover up 6% on the previous year, with growth in all major markets, particularly Italy, the US, Spain, France and the UK. The company took out a EUR 124 million loan in June 2024, to which a further EUR 200 million was added in July 2025, to support its development plans, in particular the increase in production capacity at the Trieste facility. But it is also looking outside the borders. Already in the plans, Illy explains, was an investment in the USA to boost local production, a choice, he explains, that does not necessarily mean building a factory, but can also be realised by strengthening agreements overseas.

"It was a project we were working on even before the tariffs decided by Trump. Today the situation is even more complicated: the EU has tariffs at 15, but will they remain at this figure? And then, given the 50 per cent tariffs that the US has imposed on Brazilian imports, we have to think about what are the most appropriate and convenient choices. It is all very complex'. On 2025 Illy is not unbalanced by quoting numbers: 'We will do better than the planned budgets, but they are difficult budgets in this world scenario.

Thanks to regenerative agriculture, Illy explains, there is less water consumption, the soil resists drought and erosion better, and carbon emissions are lower if not negative. A regeneration action that does not affect productivity, he adds, with an important result: 'Coffee tastes better'. There is a great deal of focus on the quality of the product: back in 1991, Ernesto Illy, Andrea's father, created an international award for farmers who adhered to high standards of quality, in 2008 it was named the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award and the best coffee among those that make up the Illy blend is awarded. "Ninety per cent of the farmers we work with apply regenerative agriculture. The results,' says Illy, 'are evident: for example in the last two years Brazil has won with regenerative coffees, a country that until now was considered a leader in quantity but not in quality'.