For nearly a century, the Moka Express coffee pot has been a staple in Italian households, emblematic of Italy’s industrial design heritage. Invented in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti, the octagonal aluminum coffee maker became a global icon of Italian craftsmanship. However, as capsule coffee systems gained popularity, the Moka’s dominance declined, prompting Bialetti to diversify—an effort that ultimately strained the company financially without yielding the desired growth.

In 2025, Bialetti was acquired by NUO, a Milan-based investment firm supported by private investors including Hong Kong’s Pao shipping dynasty and descendants of France’s Hermès family. Under NUO’s ownership, the company is refocusing on its core product and expanding its coffee-related offerings internationally. Giuseppe Morici, a consumer-goods industry veteran appointed as Bialetti’s chair, stresses a disciplined, organized approach to growth. “We are a coffee company and want to be recognized as such, from China to the US,” he said.

Despite its iconic status, Bialetti remains a modest-sized company by global standards, with revenues rising 11% to €166 million last year, largely driven by Moka pot sales that accounted for over 60%. The company sold close to 4.5 million pots worldwide, with more than half exported internationally. Under the leadership of Morici and CEO Egidio Cozzi, the brand has introduced new colors and designs—including football club editions and collaborations with Dolce & Gabbana and Netflix series—to attract a younger generation. It has also shifted focus from lower-margin cookware toward coffee roasting and retail sales.

Bialetti’s trajectory reflects broader challenges facing Italian industry, which is characterized by a high concentration of small and family-owned firms. Nearly 95% of Italian companies have fewer than 10 employees, and medium to large businesses are rare, accounting for only 0.1% of firms. While these smaller enterprises have traditionally driven Italy’s postwar economic success through specialization, technical expertise, and local supply chains, experts argue that global competition rewards scale, access to capital, and professional management.

Italy’s productivity has stagnated for 25 years, hindered by demographic decline, brain drain, and public debt exceeding 135% of GDP—the highest in the eurozone. Andrea Colli, professor of economic history at Bocconi University, notes that many family-run companies struggle to transition leadership to a younger generation willing to professionalize management and internationalize operations. He says success now requires either growing within niches that are difficult for competitors to enter or expanding scale.

Alfredo De Massis, professor of entrepreneurship at IMD Business School, highlights the cultural barrier of family firms making decisions in informal settings, which can impede scaling. He and others emphasize the importance of opening boardrooms to outside expertise and adopting formal governance structures.

Political debate in Italy reflects this tension. Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has called for more consolidation and mergers to help companies invest and compete globally, a position met with resistance from small business associations that cite high taxes, bureaucracy, and infrastructure deficits as greater constraints than size alone.

Ownership and governance also pose challenges. While some Italian family businesses like Ferrero and Barilla have successfully expanded internationally while retaining family control, others such as Alessi and Tod’s have turned to external capital. Family-controlled companies represent about two-thirds of Italian firms with revenues over €20 million, but most senior family leaders are aging, with an average succession age around 75.

Morici stresses that family capitalism is not inherently problematic, but professional management is critical to success. “To expect the same people to be both great inventors and great managers may be asking too much,” he says.

Bialetti’s history—founded in 1919, sold to coffee maker Faema in 1986, then integrated with Rondine cookware before public listing—illustrates the complexity of maintaining growth amid changing market dynamics. Past diversification efforts expanded into appliances and capsules but failed to match the Moka’s iconic status or profitability. After restructuring and shedding lower-margin businesses, Bialetti is now betting on marketing and international expansion to revitalize a product long associated with Italian identity.

The case of Bialetti underscores the broader challenge of Italian capitalism: balancing the legacy of specialist, family-run companies with the demands of scale, innovation, and professional management needed to compete in the global economy.