Giovanni Rana
Giovanni Rana is an Italian pasta brand specializing in frozen ready-to-eat pasta such as Italian Sausage and Peppers Fettuccine, Gnocchi Skillet Meal Kit, Meat Lasagna, and especially various types of filled pasta like Tortelloni and Ravioli in multiple flavors. Additionally, they also sell dry ready-made pasta and pasta sauces.
The Beginning: Determination on a Delivery Motorcycle
The brand's origin traces back to the life of Giovanni Rana, a man from San Giovanni Lupatoto, Veneto, Italy, born in 1937. He learned various cooking and baking skills from a young age and started participating in his family's bakery business at 13, becoming a skilled baker.
Around 1960, it was an era when women began working outside the home, including members of the Rana family, leading to fewer hands to help with the bakery. Giovanni then tried to boost the family business by starting home delivery services for baked goods. Through his experiences, he came up with new ideas: he began making Tortelloni (a type of filled pasta similar to dumplings) as a new menu item for the shop and invested in a motorcycle to ensure faster and wider deliveries. Initially, he focused on using premium local ingredients and flavors that evoked homemade family meals.
From Small Shop to Pasta Factory and Production Innovation
After Giovanni had been making Tortelloni within his family business for some time, he decided to open his own shop in 1962, officially named Pastificio Rana, and commonly known today by its founder's name, Giovanni Rana. He started by making everything by hand alone before employees, friends, and family members joined as assistants. Giovanni continuously developed new recipes for Tortelloni and other pastas, including unique flavors no one had attempted before, such as pear pasta or chocolate-filled Tortelloni. His mastery of combinations ensured the success of these novel creations.
Eventually, as the business grew, the small pasta machines they used became insufficient. Giovanni then collaborated with local engineers to invent a new type of equipment that could produce 6 times more, up to 100 kilograms per hour. He continued to focus on delivery services, expanding delivery areas to other cities including Verona, Vicenza, Padua, and Rovigo.
In 1971, Giovanni transitioned from home-based production to a new factory next to his old family home, which remains the main factory location today. He began marketing by advertising the brand to build recognition and expanded food transportation over wider distances using trucks, successfully establishing a reputation across Italy.
Expanding the Pasta Empire Globally Under Gian Luca Rana's Leadership
Giovanni's only son, the current CEO of Giovanni Rana, Gian Luca Rana, joined the brand's management in 1986. He played a significant role in developing industrial production and distribution. He founded the Research and Development Centre in Verona to test new products for launch, which also serves as a pasta museum. Additionally, he initiated the expansion into European markets, successfully achieving his goal by becoming a leader in the Italian food business in Europe by 2012.
Having succeeded in his home continent, Giovanni Rana then entered the world's largest market, America. He established the first factory in Chicago and opened a restaurant in Chelsea Market, a major tourist attraction in the heart of New York City. Through Gian Luca's efforts to study food culture and market characteristics across America, he designed a new marketing strategy different from that in Europe, such as striking new packaging and new flavors appealing to American tastes.
After successfully selling traditional dishes, in 2016, the brand introduced a new product that became famous and remains a core product today: frozen ready-to-eat pasta. Currently, Giovanni Rana has become a global brand, exporting products to 38 countries. Giovanni Rana himself consistently appears in advertisements and public relations, guaranteeing the quality and deliciousness of the empire he has crafted for 64 years.
