Chpt. 0000
Introduction
Every day, dozens of historic Italian brands shape our routines. They appear in our gestures, our habits, and the everyday objects we barely notice—symbols that, in their familiarity, quietly tell the story of who we are.
And yet, behind these names lie complex worlds built on tradition, constant innovation, and a cultural heritage that deserves to be understood, not just recognized.
The Associazione Marchi Storici d’Italia was founded to protect and promote this heritage, aiming to preserve the authenticity of these companies—today and tomorrow—while defending the richness of Made in Italy in a global context.
The Association serves as a point of reference for safeguarding the country’s entrepreneurial excellence, supporting companies in institutional dialogue, international promotion, and the protection of Italian competitiveness.
HOW chose to explore this world because it shares the same mission: to enter into stories that everyone thinks they already know—and reveal their depth.
What follows is not just a journey through historic brands, but a lens through which to understand what it truly means to keep alive the identity of an entire industrial and cultural system.
This is HOW, number Four.
Chpt. 0001
A network safeguarding what time has made authentic
The Associazione Marchi Storici d’Italia was born from a shared need: to build an active network representing companies that have stood the test of time, forging a recognizable identity through work, consistency, and continuity.
It is a network rooted in the understanding that a brand can be more than a name—it can be a fragment of national memory, a living part of the cultural and entrepreneurial fabric of Italy.
Founded in 2021 by eight iconic Italian companies—Marchesi Antinori, Benetton, Conserve Italia, Gabetti Property Solutions, Ekaf Industria Nazionale del Caffè, Inghirami Company, Lucano 1894, and Terme di Saturnia—the Association took shape over time, officially launching in April 2022.
Its purpose: to represent companies whose brands are registered in the Special Registry of Historic Trademarks of National Interest.
Today, this Registry includes around 1,000 brands officially recognized by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. To qualify, a company must have over fifty years of continuous activity, a strong connection to Italian territory, and a proven cultural, economic, or social impact.
These requirements ensure that every brand within the system carries a living legacy—never a museum piece, but a heritage that speaks to the present and future.
The Association acts as a banner, giving voice to companies of different sizes, sectors, and histories. From food to mechanics, fashion to design and services, its network spans across industries. Unsurprisingly, around 50% of the brands are in the agri-food sector—food being the most immediate language through which Italian identity is expressed globally.
But it’s the diversity of industries that makes this network stronger—a mosaic of stories that together reflect the country’s richness.
The Association’s mission responds to two essential needs: representation and representativeness.
The first is strategic and institutional. Italy’s production system faces concrete threats: acquisitions that relocate production while keeping only the brand name, identity dilution, and weakening ties between companies and their home territories.
To counteract these risks, the Association maintains active dialogue with institutions, participates in ministerial panels and public consultations, and engages in policymaking as a recognized stakeholder.
A turning point was the Pernigotti case—a brand at risk of losing its original meaning—which sparked the creation of the “Pernigotti Law” and the Historic Trademark Registry itself.
Recent agreements, such as the partnership with the CNEL (National Council for Economics and Labour), further demonstrate the Association’s commitment to building an industrial policy rooted in memory.
The second dimension is ethical and cultural. Within historic Italian companies live values and know-how that represent far more than a production model.
Each name, each label, each enduring design holds stories of tradition, craftsmanship, and dedication. These narratives are embedded in local identities and offer a sense of continuity that transcends markets.
The Association works to preserve this invisible heritage, ensuring that brands are recognized for what they stand for—not just what they sell.
In a fast-moving world, remembering those who paved the way is a form of responsibility.
The Association exists to keep this collective alive—a network of companies, territories, identities, and visions that form a vital part of our future.
Chpt. 0002
Heritage as a shared responsibility
The companies in the Associazione Marchi Storici d’Italia are more than a productive network—they are a living mosaic of knowledge, vision, and stories passed down through time.
Protecting this system means preserving its authenticity—but also recognizing that heritage must be transmitted, communicated, and shared to stay alive. That is the true meaning of heritage.
Heritage is a collective asset born from tangible business experiences, from trusted products and repeated gestures—but it cannot remain enclosed within the companies that built it.
To own a historic trademark is to accept the responsibility of making it legible to future generations—both within the company, through generational transition, and outside, through open dialogue with the world.
This awareness is central to the Association’s mission: to help historic brands open themselves up and enhance the value of their legacy.
Value, history, and knowledge are not endpoints—they are foundations.
Here, open innovation plays a key role. Sharing identity also means engaging with new perspectives, diverse cultures, and generations fluent in unfamiliar languages and tools.
Innovation today is as much about technology as it is about fostering real intergenerational dialogue.
Generation Z—raised in a radically different world—brings a fresh gaze. If heard, involved, and empowered, this new generation can offer vital contributions.
Tradition and innovation are not in conflict. Often, deep roots are what make innovation meaningful.
The companies in the Association exist today because they have evolved, adapted, and embraced change over time.
Yet in a country where over 90% of businesses are family-run—including most SMEs and many large enterprises—this openness is not always intuitive.
Many companies remain bound to closed models, often out of caution or lack of resources. The risk is stagnation: becoming trapped in past success just as the market demands transformation.
This is where the Association’s support becomes crucial. Through a network of qualified partners and targeted programs, it helps companies navigate critical transitions—especially generational succession and innovation.
Innovation does not happen by osmosis—it requires understanding, context, and actionable tools.
For this reason, the Association offers training, workshops, and resources to help companies look beyond their own boundaries. An open mind is often the first spark of innovation.
A concrete example is the Association’s collaboration with ICE Agency to introduce historic trademarks into the TrackIT Blockchain program—enabling digital certification and traceability of brand identity on a global scale.
But not all companies are ready to access or manage such tools independently.
That’s why education is the first step toward the future.
And passing on one’s heritage—that’s how a company evolves while remaining true to itself.
Opening up to change doesn’t mean losing identity—it means reinforcing it. A brand is alive only when it continues to generate value.
The true challenge of innovation lies in this balance between roots and the road ahead.
Chpt. 0003
Transmission as a value — from heritage to a culture of making
For Italy’s historic companies, heritage is not a relic of the past—it is a generative force. It shapes the future through the continuous transmission of knowledge, values, and identity.
This belief is central to the Associazione Marchi Storici d’Italia, where preserving the past becomes a strategic lever for building tomorrow.
Transmission takes on two complementary meanings.
First, it is an act of continuity: enabling generational handover while safeguarding the expertise and quality that have made these companies recognizable over time.
This process is delicate—it requires awareness and tools that ensure continuity does not mean losing identity, but evolving it.
Second, it means expansion: reaching beyond geographic borders to enter new markets, carrying with it not just products, but an entire business culture.
It’s not simply about exporting goods—it’s about exporting a way of thinking, a way of creating value.
Throughout this journey, the bond with the territory remains essential. Maintaining a company’s headquarters and production roots in Italy is what guarantees the authenticity of the brand and the coherence of its story. This connection to origin is what distinguishes a true historic brand from a hollow one.
At the core of both visions lies the Italian “culture of making” – an idea that goes far beyond craftsmanship or manual skills.
It’s an integrated vision, capable of blending raw materials, aesthetics, design, and industrial strategy into a harmonious whole.
Across all sectors—from food to mechanics—what defines a historic Italian brand is its meticulous attention to detail, an approach that merges beauty and functionality, tradition and innovation.
Even behind seemingly simple products lies a sophisticated narrative: a story of intentional choices, of subtle balances between form and substance.
This culture of making—where design meets discipline, and intuition meets technique—is what elevated Made in Italy to a global benchmark.
Every production phase, from material selection to visual identity, follows a logic of coherence that would likely be lost elsewhere.
This is why relocating production doesn’t just move operations—it severs the subtle thread connecting place, culture, and product. It sacrifices the very link that has made Italian brands so enduring.
In this context, transmission is not just a process—it is a responsibility. A call to share, to interpret, to express the value of Italian know-how to the world. And this process does not end with production.
It is completed by communication—because the same care devoted to making the product must also be present in telling its story.
Design, branding, and storytelling are not accessories—they are part of the identity.
Chpt. 0004
Communicating value — the challenge of telling Made in Italy today
Italian know-how is born from gestures, materials, and processes—but it gains real value when it can tell its own story.
Communication is the bridge between a brand’s heritage and its ability to become shared culture—something that resonates in the present and creates space for the future.
The Associazione Marchi Storici d’Italia gives voice to business stories that are not only a part of the nation’s economic history but an active presence in everyday life.
From the objects we use each morning to those that embody our aspirations, historic brands are part of our lives—often silently, always consistently.
A powerful example of this vision is the immersive exhibition “Identitalia, The Iconic Italian Brands”, promoted and organized in 2024 by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy following the Association’s proposal.
This experiential journey allowed visitors to rediscover some of the country’s most iconic brands through the lens of daily routines—from breakfast rituals to objects that evoke ambition, memories, and family bonds.
It was an emotional narrative that revealed the depth of Made in Italy by highlighting the personal connections behind each product.
This ability to make the invisible visible is the real challenge for historic brands.
Because what is familiar often goes unnoticed.
That’s why communication today plays a pivotal role—not only in preserving memory, but in reaching new generations.
The cultural gap with Generation Z is one of the most pressing challenges ahead. It marks the first true generational divide in which shared values can no longer be assumed.
The Association is fully aware of this shift and has already taken action to address it.
In February 2025, the Young Leaders Group of Historic Brands was launched—a dedicated space for the next generation of entrepreneurs and managers destined to lead member companies.
This initiative debuted with the First National Meeting of Young Historic Brand Leaders and the presentation of the “Manifesto for 2030”, aimed at building a proactive network for best practice sharing, internal scouting, and joint training programs.
This project supports generational transition while also promoting the core values of Made in Italy through a language capable of engaging today’s world.
Looking ahead, one of the Association’s key priorities is expanding its network of recognized historic brands.
While nearly 1,000 companies are currently listed in the Special Registry, data from Italy’s Chambers of Commerce show that over 52,000 businesses have been operating for more than fifty years—a widespread and often undervalued heritage that risks going unseen.
The goal is to consolidate this system: to build a network that tells the real story of a Made in Italy rooted in tradition, driven by innovation, and united by shared identity.
In a world where value is increasingly tied to storytelling, communication is not just a tool—it is a strategy. A way to defend and renew the significance of Italy’s historic brands.
And this narrative doesn’t end with the product. It thrives in the relationships brands build, in their ability to speak to new generations, and in the strength of an identity that evolves without losing its soul.
Chpt. 0005
Conclusion
To tell the story of Italy’s historic brands, we must first truly know them.
Behind each name and familiar logo lies a world shaped by vision, intuition, failures overcome, and time-tested success.
Working alongside the Associazione Marchi Storici d’Italia means diving into these worlds every day, exploring them with care, and understanding their nuance.
It’s a journey into companies that, while different in many ways, all share the same desire: to preserve a living legacy and transform it into a value for the future.
That’s why HOW chose to tell these stories. Because HOW exists to go beyond appearances—to enter the business worlds people think they already understand, and reveal the substance behind what’s merely visible.
It’s about understanding what made Made in Italy great—and returning it, authentically, to those who listen.
The partnership between the Association and HOW is a journey of mutual discovery.
It brings together the ability to protect and promote heritage with the will to interpret and narrate these brands—bringing their essence to light.
In a time when storytelling too often stops at the surface, this alliance invites us to pause, observe, and understand.
Because only when we truly know what lies behind a brand, a product, or a company, can we appreciate its real value.
