In the 1920s, Gennaro Fabbri opened the company’s fi rst Bologna plant, and production expanded into delicious alcoholic and non-alcoholic syrups. That was the beginning of Fabbri’s most famous product: the “Marena con frutto,” inspired by a recipe from Gennaro’s wife Rachele. Mint and grenadine syrups joined the lineup as well.

The 1930s saw the addition of Cherries in Liquor and a range of Jams to the product range. During the difficult war years, these jams were the only thing the company was allowed to produce. Gennaro’s sons Romeo and Aldo became increasingly involved in helping run the business, and in 1933 the company’s name was changed to “Ditta G. Fabbri di Aldo e Romeo Fabbri”.

Around this time, Fabbri’s fi rst semi-finished products for artisanal gelato came onto the scene. Gennaro bought the Bar Centrale in Bologna, located in the heart of the city, across from the Stock Exchange in a busy business district. His sons turned it into an elegant salon, where Fabbri products were always on the menu.
The bar was open 24 hours a day, a rarity at the time, and became a favourite meeting point for businessmen, young city-dwellers, and the socialites of high society. The menu featured liquors, syrups and gelato all made with Fabbri 1905 semi-finished products.

During the economic reconstruction of the postwar period, Fabbri became a joint-stock company under the name of “G. Fabbri S.p.A.” In 1947, the next generation - Fabio and Giorgio, Gennaro Fabbri’s grandsons - took the helm. They expanded production of liquors and, naturally, of traditional products like Amarena Fabbri and the famous fruit syrups.

Once again, the Fabbri family had a great idea that was ahead of its time. They set up a fl eet of traveling “gelato workshops”: vans set up to show gelato makers and pastry chefs how to make good, artisanal gelato using Fabbri’s own semi-fi nished products. It was a highly innovative marketing strategy: the vans travelled all around Italy, spreading the company’s image far and wide.

Always ahead of the game, Fabbri was among the earliest key fi gures on Carosello, a legendary Italian television show featuring skits and advertisements, that entertained generations of adults and children starting in 1957. Millions of Italians still look back fondly on the humorous adventures of “Salomone, the chubby pirate”, an animated cartoon created by Fabbri. Even after Carosello went off the air, Fabbri continued to invest in television advertising, and entrusted their company’s image to famous directors.

The fourth generation of the Fabbri family took over the company. The founder’s great-grandsons Andrea, Nicola, Paolo and Umberto take control of a company with 250 employees, 17 production lines and 23 packaging lines. The family business now distributes 1,200 products in over 100 countries.

As the brand’s reputation grew thanks to advertising, Fabbri continued to diversify its product line. This is how the products designed for bartenders were created Mixybar and, a year later, Mixyfruit: fruit concentrates for mixed drinks. Soon thereafter, a line of products for fl avouring coffee, hot chocolate, cappuccino and tea also appeared on the scene.

Building on the strength of a brand defined by high quality, Fabbri conquered the foreign market with traditional Italian products, proving itself to always be ready to take on new challenges. The brand strategy became twofold: on the one hand, the search for distribution partners for Fabbri products, on the other, direct investment in creating foreign companies controlled by the Fabbri family. Tradition and passion are still the key ingredients in every Fabbri recipe today.

The fifth generation of the Fabbri took their place at the head of the company, working on large-scale projects aimed at continuous research and innovation, without ever losing their strong connection to tradition. Today, the company operates in four main markets. Along with the many products aimed at home consumers, Fabbri also offers solutions and high-value products to professionals in the fi eld of artisanal gelato, Italian and international bartenders and baristas, and Italian and international pastry chefs.

Amarena Fabbri cherries and their iconic jar, now one hundred years old, together represent the true Italian style beloved all over the world. Numerous events were held to celebrate the centennial: a special all-women edition of the Fabbri Art Prize, and the social initiative “Amarena Stories,” a crowdsourced collection of stories of people’s thoughts and memories about Amarena Fabbri. These distinctive events demonstrate just how much of an impression these cherries have left in the Italian collective imagination - and how much they can be seen as a metaphor for the world of art. The distinctive Amarena Fabbri jar has become a true icon of style and taste.