Bauli lilac is undoubtedly an unmistakable corporate colour. Ruggero Bauli, the ‘king’ of the Pandoro di Verona, a Made in Italy cake, liked blue, but the greaseproof paper retailer had already proposed it to Domenico Melegatti, so he could only choose between green and dark purple. The Bauli wrapper was, therefore, at first green, then dark purple, then lighter purple (but not too much so as not to be confused with Alemagna blue), and finally lilac!
From survivor from a wreck to successful entrepreneur
Bauli’s history is a hundred years long, starting back in 1922 when Ruggero Bauli, an expert confectioner born in 1895, opened a pastry shop in the city of Romeo and Juliet, next to the house of Don Calabria. At 32, Ruggero emigrated to Argentina on the transatlantic liner Principessa Mafalda, which tragically sank, an affair remembered as that of the ‘Italian Titanic’. Fortunately, he survived because he got caught in a net but lost all his confectionery equipment, and for months, he supported himself by working as a taxi driver.
The birth of the modern Pandoro
Ten years later, he went back to Verona, opened a pastry shop and studied and codified the weight and leavening hours of the recipe for the modern Pandoro (from ‘Pan de Oro’), an eight-pointed cake whose origin is probably lost in the peasant tradition of Veronese women. If its name seems to derive from the cry of amazement of a shop assistant at the sight of a cake with a colour resembling the precious metal, its shape as we know it today was designed by the Veronese painter Angelo dell’Oca Bianca and patented by Melegatti, on the occasion of the 1884 Christmas Fair, as a wish for good earnings.
Pandoro Bauli’s industrial production began in 1950. Over time, Ruggero’s entrepreneurial passion was picked up by his sons, who expanded the product range and made the company grow through acquisitions.
Steady growth
In the 1990s, under Alberto Bauli’s leadership, the company acquired Doria and Bistefani (with the well-known Bucaneve and Krumiri products); in 2009, he bought back the Motta and Alemagna brands from Nestlé. In 2005, Alberto had the famous jingle ‘A Natale puoi’ (At Christmas you can) made, and it soon became a real Christmas catchphrase. Today, the Bauli Group is headed by President Michele Bauli and CEO Stefano Zancan. It is based in Castel d’Azzano (VR) and has a turnover of 500 million euros and 1400 employees.
Congratulations to those who put their hearts into it and bring the Made in Italy Christmas to the world!
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