Varenna: the Italian kitchen par excellence

The history of Varenna goes a long way back. Established in 1950, for almost 70 years now it has been the go-to choice for countless Italians, as well as countless customers all over the world. You’ll notice how Varenna is significantly younger than Poliform, which established itself as a brand in 1970. Poliform is currently one of the most famous Italian furniture brands, and back in 1996, Varenna recognized the advantages of forming a partnership with Poliform. At the same time, Poliform was over the Moon to be collaborating with Varenna, because this meant the Poliform kitchen department would be lead by a knowledgeable brand with impeccable taste and expertise.

What made Varenna so important through the years have been a series of features that are in reality fairly common to many important brands. For instance, a value that has helped Varenna reach an international success is the attention to detail they put into everything they do. From the designs themselves, to the choice of first-quality materials, there is nothing shabby or left to chance in their kitchens. Moreover, another interesting feature is their attention to the customers’ needs and preferences. Everyone knows how particular people (and Italians more than anyone else) can be when it comes to kitchens: If Varenna hadn’t been able to adapt to what the market was asking, its success simply wouldn’t have been possible.

Other than a true passion for looking after their customers’ best interests, what else has helped establishing Varenna as one of the world’s most reliable, trustworthy and high-quality kitchen brands? Well, a feature that has characterized this brand since the very beginning is, of course, their precision in workmanship. At Varenna, the idea is that no machine can ever replace the individual skills behind craftsmanship; at the same time however, innovation is as important as tradition: only modern technology can ensure the highest precision in production. In addition to this winning tradition/innovation combination, Varenna consistently tests the products before, during and after the manufacturing process.

Considering Varenna made its way to the heart of hundreds of thousands customers from all over the globe, it is natural that you would wonder where all this success came from. Well, the answer is: from the values that helped the company maintain a high-key, respectable profile all through these long years. Quality is of course the first and foremost value that helped establish this brand. If anything, the widespread appreciation Varenna has received for decades is a clear sign that quality is a universal value, no matter what language people speak or what cultural background they come from. Secondly, other values that have always been important, but which have become especially fundamental today, are represented by the company’s efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. It is 2018 and our ecosystem is in critical conditions: there simply should be a zero-tolerance policy towards companies that do not take environmental friendliness seriously.

About this last point, yet another feature that’s particularly important nowadays is, naturally, the effort to make sure the whole production process is sustainable. Sustainability may not have been considered that important decades ago, but right now doing all we can to protect our environment is absolutely key, and no furniture company should underestimate the importance of these matters. Studies show consumers are becoming more and more scrupulous when it comes to checking the origin and the carbon footprint left by a company, and Varenna knows this. The number of certificates received by Varenna are proof that design, functionality and sustainability can go hand in hand, as long as a company cares and is managed wisely.

However, just a few months ago, in 2018, a new event revolutionized the life of Varenna: Varenna re-branded with Poliform. What does this mean, exactly? Well, starting from this year, the Varenna kitchen division will sign its products with the Poliform brand, as a demonstration of the precise desire to assert in a more decisive way as a single and coherent corporate identity. These two major brands took a fundamental step in their evolution project, towards the creation of a new concept of unit and harmony between the styles and characteristics of the two companies. Varenna and Poliform have decided to converge in a single brand, in order to be able to express their values and characteristics at best, preserving the aspects that made each brand so special, and creating a brand new design style, that sums up the strong point of the two souls. A choice that is definitely courageous and brave, which is part of a larger and more ambitious transformation, which will contribute decisively to the growth of the companies. After all, we are stronger when we are united.

Varenna has always shared many things with Poliform, even before its rebranding. It is a company that focused its production on one specific area of the house: the kitchen. This room is not only the area of the house we spend more time in, but also the space of the house that underwent the biggest transformations in the past century. Just think about it: since the middle years of the last century, kitchens transformed more than any other furniture design in the house. We have seen classic style being revisited, the country allure mix up with modernism, we watched minimalism entering our kitchen, and we witnessed the biggest transformation of all: the advent of open plan spaces. Varenna is one of the few brands which was able to accept these changes as challenges: just as Poliform did, this company saw the transformations of society and people’s needs as opportunities. That is why Varenna was able to create kitchens that made thousands of people happy all over the world. Furniture from this brand always aimed to be unique, innovative and stylish. As it happens, 2018 brought another big challenge to Varenna’s door: the opportunity of rebranding together with another big name of the Italian furniture history. Just like they did with any other change in the past, Varenna accepted this challenge with enthusiasm and eagerness to grow, this time together with Poliform.

The single strategy and the common vision Poliform and Varenna launched during this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan will certainly lead them both to a more effective communication of the brands’ personality, creating important synergies that will be the solid base for a successful future. Poliform has been identified as the brand as the conceptual link between past history of the two companies and a common future. The same way the designers of these brands were a point of reference in the past, the rebranding strategy and their collaboration will make them a symbol of style and elegance for upcoming generations. There is no doubt, therefore, that the transition to a single strong brand will guarantee many great advantages in terms of market coverage, better distribution of internal resources and campaign incisiveness to the benefit of all production lines.

In conclusion, Varenna’s identity will certainly evolve: but their customers shouldn’t worry about this process. After all, so many changes have already happened since its establishment back in 1950, and at least as many will continue happening from time to time. If anything, the rebranding of Varenna as Varenna Poliform will mean both the brands can get a much wider and more accurate coverage of the market, thus making sure the Italian expertise in designing beautiful furniture -- and beautiful kitchens -- will continue expanding its domain in the global interior design market.

We hope you enjoyed this journey through Varenna’s history, identity and creations as much as we did. We can't wait to see the innovative, amazing kitchens Varenna Poliform will design!