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Menchetti since 1948

3 generations bakers in the heart of Tuscany

A family history

In a fast society
slow emotions are extinct,
but not for everyone...

Since the early years of the century, the Menchetti family has been dedicated to trade. In the first post-war period, the first major turning point of the activity took place. 1948, it is September when Angiolo and Santi succeed in opening their own bakery and dedicate themselves to production.

The "Montagnano bread" gets its way into the market, becoming more and more known and appreciated. We are currently located in Cesa in Valdichiana, in a plant where we produce quality and efficiency.

THE BOOK TELLS THE STORY OF A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS MADE HIS PASSION FOR BREAD A LIFE MISSION.

Our numbers

1948
the year it all began

+70
years of our story

+5,000
sqm of manufacturing plant

+400
employees

+ di 25
between premises, points of sale
and franchising

5
certifications

+ 30
types of bread

39 years
average age

+10
nationalities in our Staff

45%
female

+200,000
pizza bases produced per month

+150,000
people a year spend their
lunch break at our premises

Our history

  1. In a small town in the province of Arezzo, grandfather Pietro and grandmother Pierina founded the Menchetti family-run bakery, a shop that in addition to bread, sold everything. It was a real workshop.

  2. Their sons Santino and Angelo Menchetti, take care of the bread delivery in the neighboring areas of Valdichiana, in the province of Arezzo, initially using a bicycle and then loading an axle on the back of their bikes for carrying 50 kg of bread at a time.

  3. The two brothers, Santino and Angelo, continue their deliveries, managing to cover more areas in Valdichiana, thanks to their “Ape” (a Vespa Car) with a loading platform, which allows them to transport more products, also to the wheat threshing events held in the area.

  4. The workshop offers wine-tasting, and a cafeteria; a dance floor with live orchestra and the first television in the town are added later.

  5. Menchetti inaugurates two new bakeries expanding towards Arezzo’s city center.

  6. Santino Menchetti meets and falls in love with Santina Basagni, eldest daughter of the only other family of bakers in the town.

  7. 160 shops are supplied by the Menchetti vans, which become the first in the industry to be covered with a special material for food. In the same year, the Santaprisca supermarket opens in the Arezzo city center, which requires a daily supply of six quintals of bread per day from the Menchetti bakery.

  8. After years of romantic encounters in secrecy, Santino and Santina finally get married. Like Romeo and Juliet... but with a happy ending!

  9. The sale of bread in supermarkets expands: more and more families are putting Menchetti bread on their tables. In these years, the first orders for ceremonies are also taken, which include the creation of cakes and the organization of refreshments. From 8 employees, the bakery grows to 14 employees, in addition to the family members.

  10. The bakery of Montagnano, a small village in Valdichiana in the province of Arezzo, moves to a real 3000-sqm factory in Cesa, also in Valdichiana, expanding and therefore requiring more human resources. This is how the company rediscovers the long leavening process and the use of the mother yeast, making the most of the seasonal products and the specialties of the Tuscan territory.

  11. After a meeting between Uncle Luca and Pietro Pagliuca, Director of the Agricultural Consortium of Siena, Menchetti decides to reuse the Verna wheat, a variety of wheat much appreciated in the past for its great rustic flavor, but then forgotten for many years because of its less productive yield compared to modern varieties. This is how the production of Verna wheat begins.

  12. The two branches of the family business, the restaurant and the bakery, are separated between the brothers Santino and Angelo: Santino is responsible for the cherished oven and land.

  13. Menchetti opens the restaurant in Cesa in Val di Chiana: from breakfasts to cocktails, in addition to the wide range of products offered, Menchetti brings to the province of Arezzo and neighboring areas, what existed only in some pizzerias in the big cities, the on-peel pizza, an absolute novelty of the moment.

  14. Menchetti opens a new shop in the city center of Arezzo and begins to implement the idea of expanding a format of multifunctional venues ranging from breakfast, lunch to cocktails, with the addition of a bakery service.

  15. Menchetti opens another multifunctional venue in Perugia, and it is an immediate success: it soon becomes the point of reference for the city.

  16. The 80-hectare Menchetti farm was born. It is a large 0 km supply chain project that meets the criteria of sustainability in agricultural and agro-food production, favoring natural processes that allow preserving the environment. Here is where the Verna wheat is grown, and wine and oil, coming from the family’s land, are produced.

  17. Menchetti inaugurates the same venue format in San Giovanni Valdarno (AR). In the same year, in several provinces and cities in central Italy, the first franchise stores, called the Menchetti points, begin to come to life.

  18. Menchetti inaugurates the same venue format in San Giovanni Valdarno (AR). In the same year, in several provinces and cities in central Italy, the first franchise stores, called Menchetti points, begin to come to life.

  19. Two more Menchetti shops are born, in Calenzano in the province of Florence and in Sansepolcro in the province of Arezzo. In this year, after a lengthy process, the Menchetti farm becomes ORGANIC.

  20. In response to the many requests from the market, a new CO2 plant is built for frozen pizza bases, the surface area increases from 400 to 2000 square meters, and is equipped with advanced and eco-friendly technologies.

  21. After more than 70 years of history, the third generation of the Menchetti family, led by Marco and Corrado, continues to manage the family business, which has more than 400 employees and 25 venues, shops and franchises. Today Menchetti produces more than 30 types of bread and more than 200 thousand pizza bases per month, with a continuous expansion and a look to the future.

For 3 generations

Today, the third Menchetti generation continues to run the family’s business: the brothers Marco and Corrado, sons of Santino Menchetti, have been rolling up their sleeves since childhood to help their parents and grandparents in the bakery.

"We started working in the family business when we were still at school. After classes, we used to go home, put down our backpacks and go to the bakery to help with the packaging of the products. During summer holidays, our father would send us to make deliveries in the surrounding area. After finishing our studies, my brother and I already had... a permanent full-time job!"

Corrado immediately took care of the commercial side, developing strategies for shops and retailers. After dealing with the bakery’s customers for years, creating a real system for receiving orders and deliveries, he had the vision of developing a multifunctional store format, replicable in several cities and provinces.

Always present at interviews and meetings with stakeholders, he has gained the loyalty of large-scale retail customers and taken care of all the product positioning, developing and expanding the distribution:
he is the commercial soul of the company.

Marco has always focused on raw materials and ingredients: in his role as Production Manager, in fact, every day he constantly strives for excellence. He carefully selects all the raw materials that Menchetti uses to make its products. He is the mind that organizes the work and processes and thanks to his expertise and strong business sense, the company can make use of the most reliable suppliers, the most innovative machinery and the most qualified staff, which he selects personally. In times of great production or special days such as Christmas Eve, where production is continuous, he works alongside his employees, encouraging and supporting them in their work.

They started together and together they lead with pride and dedication what Menchetti has become today: the combination of their working synergies, skills and know-how in the two different business branches, makes their management a perfect fit, complementary to each other, accomplices, united.

Due to their experience and the endless passion they have for this work, Menchetti is in continuous development, ready to project itself towards increasingly sustainable and tasty horizons!