Petrus Boonekamp, the bitterest amaro in the world once known for advertising that presented it as the "Amarissimo that does very well" and launched on the market since 1777, becomes Italian again.
The Calabrian Caffo family, owner of Vecchio Amaro del Capo, bought it from the Dutch multinational Diageo. For the company from Vibo Valentia, which is the leader of bitters in Italy with a turnover of 80 million and a market share of 32%, it is the second acquisition of a major brand, after that of Borsci.
In truth, that of Petrus Boonekamp is a return to Italy because at the time he had been launched by a Bolognese company in the spirits sector such as Gio. Buton., then he had moved on to Cinzano and finally acquired by the English Guinness, then merged in Dutch Diageo.
“This acquisition – Sebastiano Caffo, vice president and CEO of the group of the same name told Il Sole 24 Ore – is part of a broader project of external growth, diversification and internationalization of our group. Being the leaders in Italy in amaros, we immediately sensed the potential of Petrus Boonekamp, appreciated by consumers who choose the so-called amaros and is therefore not in direct competition with Vecchio Amaro del Capo, our main brand. With this new acquisition we aim to reach 100 million in turnover between organic and external growth and a 35% share of the Italian bitters market"
The relaunch of Petrus will start from foreign markets and in particular from those of Northern Europe such as Holland, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
