The Lavoratti story begins in 1938, when confectionery and drink sellers would walk the beaches of Liguria offering their wares to beach-goers. A few years later came the first shop in the centre of Varazze. Chocolate went from being “a” product to “the” product.
The pandemic and the economic crisis have made the past few years particularly difficult, and business is struggling.

When you ask Fabio Fazio what made him decide to invest in chocolate, his answer leaves you in no doubt: it was a choice from the heart.

All this has led to a passionate project of socioeconomic redevelopment, based on a product that few can resist. The production system was completely refurbished, and the entrepreneurs embarked on a thorough research of the very best ingredients, like the award-winning cocoa beans grown at the Hacienda San José in Ecuador. Great attention was also paid to social responsibility and sustainability, issues which are very important to the new owners.

The business has now been completely refurbished.
The whole team worked tirelessly on every aspect of the supply chain and production chain, establishing a new model for growth and a more efficient business strategy, based on minimal waste and organic ingredients processed by hand, as part of the overhaul of the company’s governance. It had to be the kind of chocolate that would create a new life, not only for the Lavoratti brand but also for Fabio and Davide, who brought in outstanding talents such as Corrado Assenza, an internationally-acclaimed confectioner from Sicily. Corrado, who chooses his authentic and original ingredients with meticulous care, is considered an artisan of the raw material and a staunch defender of quality, harmonising flavours and tantalising the tastebuds with his highly original and characteristic creations.

Of course, enthusiasm and product offer were also revitalised, with the aim of winning an even greater slice of the market. Still, the product range is closely tied to the brand’s artisanal principles, because Lavoratti 1938 is preserving its identity as a chocolate workshop, while drawing on the power of modern technology to raise production efficiency without impairing the quality.
It’s a brand-new journey with new vistas in sight.

Corrado, our master chocolatier, describes the precious chocolate of San José as a “vessel” on a voyage to discover the exquisite treasures of the Mediterranean, those carefully-selected premium ingredients blended into sumptuous combinations of tastes and flavours. 

For this trip, Fabio Fazio has set sail with passion, instinct and a touch of “crazy”. Like any adventure worthy of the name, this one needs a travel journal, and so of course there is also an editorial project.

From the start, Fabio’s idea was to create a story, with the flavours as protagonists. The brand’s eco-sustainable packaging and graphic identity are also closely linked to the “book” concept, while the product range looks like a series in which each story is a journey.

As “chocolate publishers”, the company will also be producing limited-edition “pages” and “mini-books” to form a library giving the consumer new insight into the history of chocolate, the Mediterranean, and of course, the story of Lavoratti 1938.

Corrado Assenza is obviously the poet: the intellectual of flavour, using ingredients in the same way as a writer uses words. Corrado wants to know every member of his team in person, just as he knows all the plantations, producers and salt mines that supply Lavoratti 1938, as he carefully selects each pistachio, citrus fruit and grain of salt. On the company’s website you’ll find a map, where you can identify each ingredient, its origin and characteristics.

Making chocolate - especially premium chocolate - isn’t as easy as it looks. But if chocolate brings good cheer, then the rebranding of Lavoratti 1938 is certainly restocking our reserves of good cheer.