Millennials may regard it as a new discovery, but Aperol 100th birthday celebrations are being held around the globe this month.
The Aperol 100th birthday celebrations kicked off in the Italian cities of Padua and Venice, with Campari unveiling a series of activities and collaborations reflecting on the brand’s rich history.
Launched in 1919 at the Padua International Fair, Aperol was created by the Barbieri brothers, Luigi and Silvio, who coined the name ‘Aperol’, having taken inspiration from the French term for apéritif, ‘Apéro‘.
And 2019 is proving to be an exciting year for Italy’s iconic bittersweet orange aperitif, with Campari also celebrating 27% global sales growth for Aperol in the first quarter.
Sales were driven by a double-digit growth in the brand’s core markets of Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with deseasonalisation activities driving growth in winter months and the very strong growth of high potential and seeding markets such as the US, Russia, the UK, Australia, Spain, GTR, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
In Australia, the brand enjoyed another period of double-digit growth.
Launching ‘Grazie Veneto’ or ‘thank you Veneto’ last week, Aperol joined forces with three artists (above, main) – Finnano Fenno (Italy), Dominic Keserton (UK) and Molly Egan (US) – to unveil three bespoke sofas, curtesy of Kartell, to the public in Central Cavour Square in Padova, the birthplace of the brand.
As part of the centenary landmark, Aperol also worked with Tito Faraci a renowned comic book author and illustrator Sergio Gerasi to produce a unique graphic novel, titled Orange Chronicles, comprised of seven stories set around the world capturing the magic of human connections over the course of a hundred years. Published by Gribaudo, part of the Feltrinelli Publishing Group, this comic-strip style book will be available for purchase from July online at Amazon and on the Gribaudo website from €16.90 in Italian and English.
The festivities culminated in the emblematic St. Mark’s Square, Venice’s most famous space, as the beautiful location hosted a live concert ‘Aperol Happy Together Live’ blending different types of music for the first time in this historical space in Venice. Artists including Francesca Michielin, Maneskin, Max Gazzè were part of the line up and united a large crowd together to toast to 100 years of Joy with Aperol.
Andrea Neri, Managing Director Italian Icons at Campari Group, said: “As a brand that is a real Italian Icon, our aim is to bring people together using our universal language – one of joy, connection and spontaneity. The year 2019 is a truly special one and it is an immense pleasure to be working on this launch at such a global scale, having people join us from across the world to celebrate. We see new Aperol fans appear every day and we don’t want this to slow down. We’re so pleased to see that the Aperol philosophy has found its place across the four corners of the globe!”
In Australia, Aperol 100th birthday celebrations will kick off at Matteo Downtown on July 17, when Sydney Rock oysters will be served with Aperol granita, followed by squid ink risotto with an orange scent, house-made carbonara and pizzas that will pay homage to the traditional Venetian aperitivo. Of course, Aperol Spritzs will be available all night.
An Aperol themed long lunch will also be held at Fratelli Fresh Darling Harbour on Saturday, July 20.
At Melbourne’s Baby Pizza, antipasto boards, gourmet pizzas, pumpkin truffle gnocchi and lots of Aperol Spritzes will be toasted on July 16.
Happy birthday Aperol!
