THE BEGINNING
Francesco Antonio Balocco was born in Narzole in 1903. He was the son of a bright store keeper who owned a sweets and grocery shop on the main street of the town.
At eleven years old Francesco Antonio started his internship as a pastry chef, which led him to work in some of the historical bakeries of Piedmont. These included some of the most well-known from the turn of the century: in Bra, at Convesso Bakery, in Turin, at Fréjus Bakery and the historical De Coster Confectionery.
THE FIRST PASTRY SHOP
In 1923 Francesco Antonio launched a pastry shop at Via Marconi in Fossano with his brother Alfredo, who in 1927 moved to Ventimiglia. Francesco Antonio took over a pastry shop at Piazza Castello in Fossano, where he made use of his many years of training, attracting a growing number of clients.
In January 1930 he married Lucia Cussino, who tragically died the same year while giving birth to their son Aldo. .
In 1933, Francesco Antonio established his second pastry shop: located at the end of the central Via Roma, this new shop decorated in Empire style exuded a stylish and modern charm.
THE WAR AND THE REGENERATION
During World War II as both shops were destroyed by the Black shirts, Francesco Antonio and Aldo were forced to flee to the Langhe countryside. When the war was over, both the workshop and the two shops were rebuilt and opened again shortly after.
The business was busy and they started to produce biscuits to be sold in bulk.
In 1949, they decided to expand their business by moving the production to a 5,000 sq. m factory. The new plant had 30 employees.
THE POST-WAR PERIOD
In the fifties, the first ovens for Panettone production were introduced and the first attempts were made with sourdough and icing with hazelnuts, sugar granules, and roasted almonds for the Panettone. Thus the Mandorlato Balocco was born and immediately was a success.
In the early sixties, a sales network was developed, and in 1964 a 70, 000 sq. m plot of land was purchased in the Santa Lucia area in Fossano where the new factory would be built. In 1969 the production was moved in this plot, and the headquarters can still be found there.
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ADVERTISEMENT
In the wake of Mandorlato’s success and pushed by the will of growing and establishing a reputation at a national level, Aldo Balocco decided to focus on advertisement. The first commercial in the annals of Balocco was aired on the 1st December 1975 on Carosello, the only advertising space available in Italian television at the time.
Aldo Balocco decided to entrust the ad campaign of his Mandorlato to the most famous showgirls at the time: the twins Alice and Ellen Kessler. Shortly, Mandorlato arrived into Italians’ homes.
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