There will always be a special place in our hearts for Fulvio Pagani.
We’ve been working with Fulvio for 17 years. He took a punt on a couple of skinny man-boys when we’d only been in the business for a couple of years. Fulvio was already a pioneer and total legend in the coffee trade, bringing coffee over from the motherland in 1964 and founding his (now booming) business, Rio Coffee. A beautiful relationship blossomed between the legend and the man-boys, which continues today.
We’re in awe of Fulvio’s work ethic. Being a migrant in a foreign country must have been tough enough, let alone plugging a new product and culture (we were hardly a nation of coffee drinkers back then). He kicked off with a small roaster and a VW van, driving around delivery coffee to his mates, gradually mastering the art of roasting and blending.
These days Rio Coffee is huge. It supplies more than 800 customers around Australia, is stocked in major independent retail supermarkets and boutique grocers and sells a retail range direct from its roasting premises.
As for Fulvio, like any true founder, he’d rather be driving a forklift around the warehouse than playing golf in a retirement village. He still nurtures his clients and treasures his business relationships. With his trademark warmth and old school values, we suspect he’ll be continuing his legacy till his last breath.
Thanks for all the years of inspiration, Fulvio, and here’s to many more.
