History

In July 1963 Luigi Cremonini starts activities in the beef sector and founds Inalca, the meat industry company which becomes the development engine for all the Group’s activities over the following decade.

While the activity of the meat sector expands with new plant openings and a productive structure increasingly industrial in nature, the entry into the cured meats business in 1976 represents the first opportunity of diversification into an adjacent market.

The expansion strategy into synergic and integrated sectors is perfectly actualised in 1979 with the ingress into the distribution of food products to the foodservice sector through the acquisition of MARR S.p.A.

With the purchase of Agape, a company operating at the time in collective catering, Cremonini begins its journey in the strategic sector of catering.

In 1985, Cremonini proposes itself as the protagonist of the affirmation of the fast-food sector in Italy, with the purchase from SME of a network with 6 points of sale which, within a few years, increases to 96 fast-food catering premises. Subsequently, in 1996, the chain was sold to McDonald’s according to an agreement foreseeing a five-year supply of hamburgers by Inalca to the American fast-food giant, thus guaranteeing a large margin of future growth to the Modenese company.

Cremonini is awarded the tender for onboard catering on Italian State trains and further diversifies its activities in station buffets, laying the foundation in a few years to become a lead player in the railway market with the brand Chef Express.

In 1991, Cremonini acquires the company Ascal Montana, leader in the production sector of tinned meat, famous for the historic brand Montana (with Gringo as a testimonial) and the traditional product Jambonet.

In 1998, Luigi Cremonini takes control of 100% of the Group, thanks to the acquisition of 33.3% of the shares owned by the Brandoli heirs, the co-founder; previously, in 1996 he had taken over 33.3% of his brother Giuseppe’s shares. Later in December, Cremonini S.p.A. is quoted on the Milan Stock Exchange, with the aim of accessing new financial resources from the market to reinvest in future growth.

Cremonini wins the tender for the catering services onboard the English Eurostar trains, thus establishing the basis for a rapid international development of onboard activities on high-speed trains in Europe.

In November 2001, with the opening of the first Roadhouse Grill in Legnano, Cremonini creates the first steakhouse chain in Italy. The project, long dreamed of by the family, highlights at best the expertise of the Group in the production and catering sectors: on the one hand, the excellent competence in the beef sector and the vast choice of raw material and on the other, the experience and the knowhow achieved by the Group in the commercial catering sector.

At the same time as the liberalisation of the market regarding concessions in Italian motorways, Cremonini enters into the segment of motorway catering through a 50% partnership with the English Compass Group with the constitution of the company Moto S.p.A.

In June 2005, Cremonini S.p.A. quotes its subsidiary MARR S.p.A. in the Star segment of the Italian Stock Exchange, maintaining control with 57.4% of the shares.

In July 2006, Cremonini acquires from the English partner SSP Group (ex Compass Group) 50% of the shares of Moto S.p.A., becoming the sole shareholder in the company. With the control of the entire quota, Cremonini concentrates all the motorway service areas under the Chef Express banner.

On 3rd March 2008, Cremonini S.p.A. and the Brazilian group JBS S.A., the biggest producer of beef in the world, form a strategic alliance in the meat sector. The agreement foresees a 50% participation by JBS S.A. of the entire production sector of the Cremonini Group (Inalca S.p.A. and Montana Alimentari S.p.A.).

In July 2008, Cremonini S.p.A. exits the Telematic Market of the Italian Stock Exchange. The delisting operation occurs as a result of the transformation undergone by the holding company over the years, after the quotation of MARR S.p.A. and the joint venture with JBS S.A., which had bought 50% of the production sector. From an industrial group leader, the company has thus been transformed into a holding company, making it unnecessary to quote itself on the stock market. The company is now wholly owned by the Cremonini family.

From 1st March 2009, Cremonini, through its French subsidiary, Cremonini Réstauration, gains the contract for catering services onboard 80% of the high-speed French TGV and idTGV trains. Thanks to this contract, Cremonini becomes the 1st operator in Europe.

On 4th March 2011, Cremonini repurchases from its Brazilian partner JBS S.A. 50% of the INALCA S.p.A. capital, returning to being the only shareholder of the whole production sector.

MARR celebrates 40 years of history and makes two important purchases that strengthen its leadership position. In September it bought Lelli Lino e Figli S.r.l. in Anzola (Bologna), equipped with modern distribution and “cash&carry” facilities. At the end of the year the acquisition of Scapa Italia S.p.A. was attained, its principal competitor on the national market, obtaining the management of two large distribution centres in Marzano (Pavia) and Pomezia (Rome).

The Cremonini Group celebrates the 50th anniversary of Inalca’s foundation. Luigi Cremonini receives from the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, the Leonardo Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in Italy.

The company destined to develop the international distribution of Made in Italy products and food excellences is born, Inalca Food & Beverage.

In March 2014, Inalca Eurasia Holding is founded in partnership with the Knightsbridge Group, to support Inalca’s development in Russia and 11 other Eurasian countries. Lastly, in November, the Italian Strategic Fund and Qatar Investment Authority enters into Inalca’s capital, bringing important resources for organic growth and procurements.

In Russia, in the Orenburg region, an integrated slaughter and deboning plant is inaugurated to enhance the production of native bovine and complete the Group’s local supply chain.

Expo Milan 2015, the great world exhibition dedicated to food, where Cremonini is present with an important stand in the Cibus E’ Italia pavilion. The staging is dedicated to the narration of the company’s values and mission through which the integrated and sustainable supply chain was created that remains at the base of its success, together with the single model of internationalisation.

This year represents a significant moment for the Group and especially Inalca, which buys Unipeg, the second Italian group in meat processing. The procedure has great strategic value and leads to the creation of an entirely new Italian livestock/industrial centre. Inalca’s turnover, through this attainment, reaches approximately 2 billion Euro. In the same year the historical brand of Manzotin canned meats is bought. Inalca F&B grows through acquisitions in Australia and in the Canary Islands.

Roadhouse Restaurant opens its 100th premise in Fidenza and the company is on the way to becoming a holding of casual dining brands, launching the new format of Calavera Fresh Mex. Chef Express inaugurates the new service area in the form of a bridge on the Milan-Turin motorway: a great investment and a symbolic initiative, being the first service area ever constructed on a motorway. The company also acquires the Juice Bar brand chain, entering the segment of healthy points of sale.

The Group continues its activities in the scope of sustainability: Inalca, through its Montana brand, presents the first Italian hamburger with an environmental declaration on the label (EPD) and MARR obtains the certification of its fish supply chain control system and MSC and ASC certification on fishing and sustainable aquaculture.

Inalca F&B enters the Polish market, gaining control of the distribution company Mille Sapori.

Cremonini inaugurates in Moscow a new and modern platform for the distribution of food products intended for out-of-home catering (hotels, restaurants and catering chains) in the Russian Federation. The new platform rises next to the hamburger and bacon production plant that opened in 2010.

In February, Cremonini obtains the Castelfrigo LV company of Castelnuovo Rangone (Mo), specialised in the processing of fresh bacon, traditional Modenese cracklings and lard. The acquisition constitutes an important upstream integration for the Group’s cured meats sector and positions the company amongst the leading Italian producers of fresh and cooked bacon.

In March 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company is forced to close all activities related to tourism, catering and “out-of-home” eating sectors. At the same time, the activities of the production sector were reorganised on a daily basis and always remained operational.

The Roadhouse Restaurant chain has cut the ribbon of its 200^th premise, exactly twenty years after the first restaurant opened in Legnano in 2001. Since then, the expansion has been constant and widespread, bringing the brand to 15 Italian regions out of 20. Roadhouse S.p.A has evolved into a holding company that develops proprietary brands in the casual dining segment: in addition to Roadhouse Restaurant, Calavera Restaurant, Billy Tacos and Smokery.

The Polish meat production activity has started in Inalca’s brand new and highly modernised slaughterhouse in Sochocin. The plant plays a strategic role for business development throughout Europe.

Inalca and the Hera Group have inaugurated an innovative biomethane production plant in Spilamberto. A cutting-edge plant for energy transition and circular economy that transforms organic waste and agro-food waste into 100% renewable methane and compost.
Inalca also donates 600,000 meals to the Banco Alimentare to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

Chef Express signs an exclusive agreement with Pret A Manger, a British chain famous for its healthy menus with fresh food and organic coffee, to develop the brand in Italy.

Cremonini, with 21,500 employees, today is one of the most important industrial operators in the food sector in Italy and in Europe, characterised by a managerial approach to the market with strong growth prospects. It also vaunts a consolidated leadership in all sectors in which it operates.