1946

Immediately after the Second World war, an overwhelming desire to start afresh flooded the area surrounding the Mole Antonelliana building.
New premises opened and people started to go out and meet up in the cafés.
Our company was created from an intuition, a bright boy’s idea and the consciousness of wanting to try and make a dream come true.
In fact, in the back of his family’s grocery store, young Marcello Crosta decided to start a small roasting house.
He busied himself with tasting, discarding, trying again, selecting: with the goal of creating a coffee that would be universally loved.
He then carefully evaluated the selection of Arabica and Robusta qualities, refining the delicate art of roasting, discovering the secrets of blending.
Until he achieved ever-more harmonious and balanced flavours.
Espresso after espresso, cup after cup, in the city word started to spread and the fame of this small coffee boutique began to grow.
More and more customers came and orders started to increase.

1952

Malabar. All the flavour of a name.

At this point, however, a name was needed.
More often than not, a well-chosen name can underpin the success of a product.
Perhaps there is no specific reason why.
Perhaps, not even a precise motive.
Perhaps it was just by chance.
But among Mocha in Arabia, the Blue Mountains in Jamaica and Bourbon in Brazil, Mrs Crosta’s gaze was drawn to Malabar:
a tiny name written on the map.
The name of a place with renowned coffee plantations on the southwestern coast of India.
Malabar. The agreed, it sounded good and it also possessed character.
It seemed to come straight out of the atmosphere of a Café-chantant in which Fred Buscaglione might perform.
Liked by all, the name debuted in 1952 and the following year it was officially registered as a trademark.

60s-70s

The Italian “Bun”.

Life moved fast in the 1960s and 1970s in Italy.
It was a country undergoing development. The Italy of Fellini’s “Dolce vita”.
It also afforded an opportunity, an opportunity to grow.
The industrial and economic boom led to a significant increase in consumption and the unique flavour of the Malabar coffee, “cul bun” (in Piedmont dialect, “the good one”), was on the tip everyone’s tongue.
Marcello’s intuition had now become a reality: many had begun drinking his coffee.
By now, the entire Crosta family could no longer keep up with the orders and the premises was transferred to the historic facility on corso Francia.
The small coffee boutique became a company.
The blue, red and yellow-graded qualities, the vacuum-sealed bags and tins, the brand, the insignia and the unmistakable aroma of Malabar coffee became part of daily life in Turin.

Today

Coffee with a feminine touch.
The new generation of the Crosta family.

Today, Arianna, Carlotta and Rebecca lead Malabar towards the future.
They are helped in this task by their mum, Antonella and dad, Flavio.
The company is lead with a strong message of continuity, following the cultural heritage, values and experiences handed down by Marcello.
Tradition, consistency and innovation.
Words often heard in the modern factory in Via Sansovino.
Words that are focussed on the values of a by-gone era, but at the same time seek to transmit a clear message of modernity and dynamism.
Malabar is, and will continue to be, a tailor-made company, attentive to quality and strongly rooted within the territory.
However, it is also a market-minded and proactive company that is able to offer and guarantee continuously excellent and personalised services to an increasingly distinguished clientele.
This has been achieved by setting up a shop within its own premises dedicated to direct-sales to consumers.
It is further demonstrated by choosing to offer a home-delivered service at the click of a button, with its dedicated website.
The company is committed to pursuing new avenues of presenting itself to customers: from new café furnishings to a renewed communication policy, using more classical means of communication as well as the most innovative ones.
In short, it is a modern tailor-made company at the service of all lovers of good coffee.