Young alchemist Stanislao Cobianchi launches his company, “Cobianchi Stanislao Distilleria a Vapore” in Bologna.

The distillery produces many different products: aperitifs like bitter and vermouth and liqueurs with names that are all but forgotten nowadays, like ratafià, alchermes, arquebuse, persico, latte di vecchia and rosolio.

One of the most successful products, however, is Elisir Lungavita, which is later renamed Amaro Montenegro after Princess Elena of Montenegro, the future Queen of Italy, to whom Stanislao decides to dedicate his invention.

Montenegro acquires a 50% stake in the company Stucker Zesiger, producer of Infré Decaf Tea, a tea created by German pharmacist Theodor Grethe, who invented the decaffeination process.

The brand is then acquired in full by Gruppo Montenegro in 2011.

The Bonomelli brand joins the Group.

Founded in 1908 by Luigi Amedeo Bonomelli, the company sets the benchmark for the cultivation and transformation of chamomile, thanks also to the first Italian centre for experimental trials, cultivation and drying of chamomile, established in Foggia in 1939.

Gruppo Montenegro has acquired the Pilla Company, a corporate branch of Villa Zarri which is a historic distillery based in Castel Maggiore, a small town near Bologna. In this way Select Aperitivo, Oro Pilla Brandy and Grappa del Lupo brands have become part of the portfolio.

The Group acquires Cannamela, a company founded in 1956 in Bologna thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of the Cannamela family.

The growth strategy implemented following the acquisition leads to the brand quadrupling its turnover.

Acquisition of Polenta Valsugana

The Polenta Valsugana brand has been a household name in Italy since the ’50s, offering all the goodness of traditional polenta but with the added advantage of an express formula that means the polenta cooks in just a few minutes.

Thanks to the boom in sales and major investments in communications, Polenta Valsugana becomes a household name, synonymous with polenta.

Vecchia Romagna, invented by Jean Bouton, a Frenchman born into a family of pioneers in the art of liqueur production, and founder of the Giovanni Buton Distillery (1820), boosts the Group’s Spirits range.

Acquisition of the Catarì Instant Pizza brand.

From the 1950s, Catarì Instant Pizza helps spread the popularity of homemade pizza thanks to its special formula: pre-dosed ingredients and a few simple instructions.

Cuore (literally “heart” in Italian), the corn oil made from the “heart of corn” that was launched in the ’60s and immortalised by its much-loved advertising campaign featuring a healthy consumer hopping over a fence and by its unmistakable product packaging, joins the Group.

Bonomelli enters the market of herbal teas, launching a range of functional, delicious-tasting products that are an ideal choice for natural, healthy living. Over the years Bonomelli continues to invest considerable resources in order to perfect the various formulae, so that today some products in the range offer the innovative option of infusion in either hot or cold water.

In line with the growing focus on wellbeing, Polenta Valsugana launches its Wholegrain version.

Made from 100% wholegrain cornmeal, the wholegrain polenta provides a valuable amount of dietary fibre and gives Polenta Valsugana a rustic, substantial texture.

This is an important addition to the range which already includes the Classic, the White and the Ready-to.eat Polenta Valsugana.

The development plan for the U.S. market is rolled out with substantial investments in distribution, marketing and human resources, anticipating the positive trend in Italian Amari in the world’s biggest Premium Spirits market.

Bonomelli launches its new range of fruit infusions: delicious 100% natural blends, with fruit and natural flavours that characterise the colour, taste and aroma of the beverages.

Polenta Valsugana 5 Grains offers consumers a unique blend: yellow cornmeal together with wholegrain corn, rice, buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth.

A new mixture that combines the health benefits of cereal grains with the natural goodness of corn.

The Group embraces the strong growth of the coffee capsules market with the launch of Bonomelli Chamomile Tea and Infrè Decaf Tea compostable capsules compatible with Nespresso machines: the same relaxing, healthy drinks as always, but now ready in a matter of seconds. The range is expanded in the years that followed with functional herbal teas.

Major investments in the revamping of the San Lazzaro plant, aimed at seismic upgrading, improving the plant’s energy footprint and upgrading the production lines.

The first Cuore brand product innovation since the launch of the brand. Launch of Low-Sodium Iodised Salt, a fine table salt with reduced sodium to be used in place of standard table salt. Ideal for low-sodium diets, for example as recommended in the case of high blood pressure.

Gruppo Montenegro becomes the sole distributor in Italy of the Jose Cuervo International portfolio (Tequila Jose Cuervo, Tequila 1800, Kraken Rum, Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Boodles Gin) and of Matusalem Premium Rum.

Launch of a Lean Manufacturing project, for a production approach aimed at eliminating waste and improving productivity.

Bonomelli launches its Herbal Infusions: a range of 100% natural products that exclusively combine the taste and benefits of two botanicals, with no other added ingredients, for a herbal experience that offers unsurpassed pureness.

Launch of Cuore Egg-Free Mayonnaise, gluten-free, containing plant proteins and made with Cuore Corn Oil, for a product rich in linoleic acid which, coupled with a varied and well-balanced diet and a healthy, active lifestyle, can help maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels.

Gruppo Montenegro becomes the sole distributor in Italy of the Beluga Group products portfolio (Beluga Vodka Super Premium and Belenkaya Vodka) and of Chazalettes Vermouth.