Lavazza and Fnatic launch “Icons of Italy” Campaign

Lavazza enters the world of esports with purpose-driven, interactive in-game experience that celebrates coffee and the Italian spirit.

November 10, 2020- Lavazza and Fnatic, the leading global esports organisation, today announced a partnership to launch the “Icons of Italy”Campaign that brings a custom, co-branded map to the Fortnite game. This first-of-its-kind collaboration marks Lavazza’s innovative entrance into the esports industry in an engaging, unique and disruptive way.

The campaign features professional Fortnite player and streamer, POW3R, telling the lifestyle journey of Lavazza and Fnatic through an interactive in-game experience. Players engage through a custom map called “Icons of Italy” that begins at POW3R’s mansion and where they’ll compete to complete the course as fast as possible.

The timed map is presented to the player as a true experiential journey through Italian culture, symbolically represented by coffee-themed customisation and references to the Lavazza A Modo Mio brand. What makes it truly representative are the Lavazza headquarters in Turin, the Nuvola signed by architect Cino Zucchi, and symbols of Italian cultural heritage such as the Colosseum. The map will have two additional levels added over time. Players will then submit their best runs by posting videos using the hashtag #IconsofItaly and tagging Lavazza, POW3R and Fnatic on Instagram or Twitter.

"We are delighted to announce this collaboration with Fnatic because it represents an important debut for Lavazza in a sector that is experiencing considerable growth, and we could not have hoped for a better partner", said Carlo Colpo, Group Marketing Communication Director and Brand Home Director. "Esports and gaming is an interesting, challenging world, perfectly in line with the brand's desire to relate to young people through tools and languages that are more appropriate to them".

“Fnatic and Lavazza share the same values including a strong sense of heritage, a passion for work ethic

and an unrelenting drive to be the best,” said Craig Santicchia, Partner Development Director, Fnatic. “This partnership is a taste of what’s to come from our two brands as we continue pushing boundaries and activating inside the most relevant platforms for Gen Z. Helping Lavazza enter the industry in a fun, disruptive way via these digital experiences shows that the only limitation is our imagination.”

The first prize winner with the fastest time will win a digital meet and greet with POW3R held via Zoom, along with a bunch of co-branded products. The second and third prize winners will receive the co-branded products and Fnatic Gear.

Looking ahead, this partnership will culminate in a two-part documentary that chronicles POW3R’s rise to professional esports stardom, merging the cinematic world with gaming. The documentary will uncover how he, with the support of Fnatic and Lavazza, transformed the Italian market to make gaming a part of mainstream culture. The documentary will be available on December 16 on Fnatic’s Youtube channel.

POW3R will officially kick off the “Icons of Italy” campaign tomorrow, November 11th, livestreaming his first run on the custom co-branded Fortnite map via Twitch.

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About Lavazza Group

Lavazza, founded in Turin in 1895, has been owned by the Lavazza family for four generations. As one of the world's most important coffee roasters, the Group now operates in more than 140 countries through its subsidiaries and distributors, with 70%of turnover generated on international markets. Lavazza employs a total of over 4,000 people and in 2019 generated sales of € 2.2 billion. Companies that form part of the Lavazza Group include France’s Carte Noire and ESP (acquired in 2016 and 2017 respectively), Denmark’s Merrild (2015), North America’s Kicking Horse Coffee (2017), Italy’s Nims (2017), and the business of Australia’s Blue Pod Coffee Co (2018). At the end of 2018, following an acquisition, the Lavazza Professional Business Unit was created, which includes the Office Coffee Service (OCS) and Vending systems Flavia and Klix.