Coppola Foods
Coppola Foods is a privately owned Italian food company with roots in tomato processing and an international portfolio of Italian pantry products.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Coppola Foods is a family-owned Italian food company focused on the production, sourcing, distribution, and international development of Italian pantry products. Although the modern company was established in London in 2012 by Ernesto Coppola and Maria Suleymanova, its operating heritage reaches back to 1903, when Gerardo Coppola established a food-trading and serving business in Fontana Formiello, in Mercato San Severino, Campania. The company therefore presents itself as a business combining long-standing family experience with a more recent international brand-building structure. The family’s activities expanded under Ernesto Coppola, who took over the trading business in 1936 and broadened its range to include pasta, grains, and legumes. A major turning point came in 1952, when Ernesto established a cannery in Mercato San Severino and began processing locally grown San Marzano tomatoes on an industrial scale. This tomato-processing background became central to the company’s identity and later product portfolio. In 1969, Eugenio Coppola joined his father and brothers in the canning business and helped oversee its growth. The London-based Coppola Foods organization was created in 2012 with an explicit emphasis on innovation and the international development of the Coppola brand. Its range includes preserved tomatoes, tomato sauces, pesto, soups, condiments, preserved vegetables, grains, and spreads. Products are marketed through a group of brand names including Coppola Salerno, La Fonte, D’ARCO, Fontana FORMIELLO, Hillfield, and Fabalous. The portfolio spans traditional Italian ingredients such as tomatoes, beans, olives, antipasti, rice, farro, barley, millet, and polenta, as well as convenience-oriented and better-for-you products such as sauces, spreads, and organic offerings. Coppola Foods has developed an international distribution footprint alongside its product portfolio. In 2015 it established Coppola Foods do Brasil as a distribution platform for Latin America, headed by Andrea Carpentieri. In 2018 it opened a commercial office in Melbourne to support the Asia-Pacific region. These steps indicate a strategy of serving overseas markets through regional commercial and distribution infrastructure rather than relying solely on domestic Italian operations. The company’s recognition has included inclusion in the Financial Times FT 1000 lists of Europe’s fastest-growing companies for 2018 and 2019, according to the referenced company material. It is also registered in the Registry of Historic Italian Companies maintained by Unioncamere, a designation associated with businesses that have operated for more than a century. In 2019, Fabalous Organic Cocoa & Hazelnut Chickpea Spread received the Innovative Better-For-You Product of the Year award at Food Matters Live. Coppola Foods is best understood as a private, family-rooted Italian packaged-food company whose historical foundation is tomato canning and whose modern ambition is the international distribution of a broad Italian food portfolio.
History
Coppola Foods traces its family-business heritage to 1903, when Gerardo Coppola established a food-trading and serving business in Fontana Formiello, within Mercato San Severino in southern Italy. The initial activity was based on food commerce rather than the fully developed branded packaged-food operation associated with the company today. In 1936, Gerardo’s son Ernesto Coppola took over the trading business. Under his direction, the company expanded its commercial activities to include pasta, grains, and legumes. This broadened the business from a local food-trading operation into a more diversified supplier of staple foods. A decisive development occurred in 1952, when Ernesto established a cannery in Mercato San Severino. The facility began processing San Marzano tomatoes grown in the surrounding area on an industrial scale. Tomato preservation became the central industrial foundation of the family enterprise and later shaped Coppola Foods’ international product identity. Eugenio Coppola joined his father and brothers in the tomato-canning business in 1969. He was involved in the subsequent growth and expansion of the operation, reinforcing the family character of the enterprise and extending its experience in preserved foods. The present Coppola Foods structure was created in London in 2012 by Ernesto Coppola and Maria Suleymanova. The new organization was established with innovation and international brand development as core objectives. Rather than remaining limited to tomato canning, the business developed a wider ambient-food portfolio covering sauces, pesto, soups, condiments, preserved vegetables, grains, and spreads. The portfolio was organized across several brands, including Coppola Salerno, La Fonte, D’ARCO, Fontana FORMIELLO, Hillfield, and Fabalous. International expansion followed through regional commercial and distribution operations. In 2015, Coppola Foods established Coppola Foods do Brasil as a platform for Latin America, with Andrea Carpentieri heading the operation. In 2018, the company opened a commercial office in Melbourne to serve the Asia-Pacific region. These moves marked a progression from a historically Italian production base toward a multinational sales and distribution model. The company’s later profile combined heritage credentials with innovation and growth recognition. It was included in the Financial Times FT 1000 lists of Europe’s fastest-growing companies for 2018 and 2019, according to the referenced company information. It was also entered in the Registry of Historic Italian Companies maintained by Unioncamere, reflecting the longevity of the underlying family business. In 2019, the Fabalous Organic Cocoa & Hazelnut Chickpea Spread won the Innovative Better-For-You Product of the Year award at Food Matters Live. The available reference material does not provide detailed information about current ownership arrangements, production facilities, revenue, or present executive leadership beyond the historical roles described above.
- 2019
Fabalous spread receives product award
[1]Fabalous Organic Cocoa & Hazelnut Chickpea Spread is recognized as Innovative Better-For-You Product of the Year at Food Matters Live.
- 2018
Melbourne commercial office opens
[1]Coppola Foods opens a commercial office in Melbourne to serve the Asia-Pacific region.
- 2015
Latin American distribution platform opens
[1]Coppola Foods do Brasil is established to support distribution and commercial activity in Latin America.
- 2012
Coppola Foods is established in London
[1]Ernesto Coppola and Maria Suleymanova establish Coppola Foods as an international brand-development company with innovation as a stated focus.
- 1969
Eugenio Coppola joins the canning business
[1]Eugenio Coppola joins his father and brothers and contributes to the growth of the tomato-processing operation.
- 1952
Industrial tomato canning begins
[1]Ernesto Coppola establishes a cannery in Mercato San Severino and begins industrial-scale preservation of locally grown San Marzano tomatoes.
- 1936
Expansion into staple-food trading
[1]Ernesto Coppola takes over the business and expands its activities to pasta, grains, and legumes.
- 1903
Gerardo Coppola establishes the family food business
[1]Gerardo Coppola starts a food-trading and serving business in Fontana Formiello, Mercato San Severino.
Products and positioning
Family-owned Italian pantry-food producer and international brand developer combining heritage tomato processing with a broad, innovation-oriented range of ambient foods.
Tomato products
Preserved tomatoes
A core category rooted in the family’s 1952 cannery. The range is associated with Italian preserved tomatoes, including San Marzano tomatoes, and represents the historical foundation of Coppola Foods’ packaged-food business.
Ambient prepared foods
Sauces, pesto and soups
Shelf-stable prepared foods that extend the company’s tomato and Italian-cooking heritage into ready-to-use sauces, pesto products, and soups for household and food-service use.
Condiments and cooking ingredients
Condiments
The condiment portfolio includes ketchup, mayonnaise, oils, and vinegars, broadening the company’s pantry offering beyond Italian preserved vegetables and tomato products.
Preserved vegetables
Preserved vegetables
This category includes beans, antipasti, and olives. It reflects the company’s emphasis on ambient Italian ingredients and accompaniment foods suitable for everyday cooking and entertaining.
Grains and cereals
Grains
Coppola Foods lists rice, farro, barley, millet, and polenta among its grain products. The range connects the company’s early trading history in staple foods with its modern international pantry portfolio.
Spread · 2019
Fabalous Organic Cocoa & Hazelnut Chickpea Spread
An organic cocoa and hazelnut spread made with chickpeas and positioned as a better-for-you product. It received the Innovative Better-For-You Product of the Year award at Food Matters Live in 2019.
Brand decisions
2018
Expand commercial coverage in Asia-PacificStrategyBackground
The company continued building regional infrastructure to support international sales.
Action taken
Coppola Foods opened a commercial office in Melbourne.
Aftermath
The office was intended to serve the Asia-Pacific region.
2015
Establish a Latin American distribution platformStrategyBackground
Coppola Foods pursued international distribution beyond its Italian base.
Action taken
The company set up Coppola Foods do Brasil to support Latin American activity.
Aftermath
The business gained a dedicated regional platform, headed by Andrea Carpentieri.
2012
Create an international brand-development companyStrategyBackground
The family business had a long history in Italian food trading and tomato canning, but the modern company sought to develop the Coppola brand internationally and place innovation at the center of its activities.
Action taken
Ernesto Coppola and Maria Suleymanova established Coppola Foods in London.
Aftermath
The company developed a broader multi-category portfolio and subsequently created or opened regional commercial platforms in Brazil and Australia.
Recent events
- 2019
Coppola Foods appears in the FT 1000 for a second year[1]
Other
The company was again identified among Europe's fastest-growing companies in the Financial Times FT 1000 material cited in its company history.
- 2019
Fabalous spread wins a Food Matters Live product award[1]
Product launch · Other
Fabalous Organic Cocoa & Hazelnut Chickpea Spread received the Innovative Better-For-You Product of the Year award at Food Matters Live.
- 2018
Coppola Foods named among Europe's fastest-growing companies[1]
Other
Coppola Foods was included in the Financial Times FT 1000 ranking of Europe's fastest-growing companies, according to the company's referenced history.
Sources1 sources
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