Many businesses were born by the force of the personality of someone who dreamed. Or that he got upset, and wanted to change paradigms or customs. This is the case of SICAL®, one of the most successful coffee brands in Portugal, which was founded by a man who did not like to drink black coffee. Vicente Peres, to be more exact. In 1947, to get an idea of ​​the relevance of this brand.

Since then, many good coffee stories have passed and, this year, SICAL® celebrates 75 years of success. On the occasion of the date, he launches a web miniseries with stories from the past, present and future. Which you can see on the Observer website, preferably with a SICAL® coffee.

All for the best flavor

Little is known of Vicente Peres. Born in Porto, he was a man of good conversations and long associations. He gathered ten employees and, even without his own production facilities, he trusted his ambition and will to open Sociedade Importadora de Café Lda., SICAL.

Based in Porto, the company began by putting the taste of the best roasted coffee beans in the cups of the Portuguese. After all, what the founder of the company wanted from his own coffee was to enjoy everything that this drink offers: aroma, flavor, pleasure… growth of the company. The next step was the construction of his own roasting plant and the dreamy entrepreneur did not hesitate to go ahead.

Innovation has always been a keyword

Vicente Peres was undoubtedly a man of vision. The company he founded is now celebrating 75 years of a journey that, in addition to being long, is marked by many challenges and daring. It was the first coffee company to advertise and there are still those who link SICAL® coffee with “El del sabor especial”, a brand signature that was imprinted in the memory of consumers. Peres put his coffee on television, in the movies and in the cups of artists like António Silva, Vasco Santana and Olavo d’Eça Leal. He showed successful specialists in the most diverse areas in his advertising, comparing his skill with SICAL®’s ability to offer the best coffee. Consumers tested and approved. Vicente Peres was a master not only in producing the best coffee but in creating a communication style so effective that it revolutionized advertising at the time in Portugal, even winning an award at the New York International Festival.

Expansion to Lisbon and beyond

In 1956, SICAL® opened its first factory in Matosinhos and already employed more than ten employees. Four years later, Vicente Peres opens the first branch in Lisbon. With the business flourishing, in 1967 it advanced to commercial relations with Angola, then a colony of Portugal, which became one of the largest coffee producers in the world, being the leader in the production of the Robusta variety. Both our country and SICAL® gain a privileged position on the international scene.

The solidity with which Vicente Peres wanted to mark the growth of his company made it continue to innovate, for example, in 1984 when he launched containers with aroma control valves. This further ensured product quality and consumer loyalty.

an extraordinary man

Even today, SICAL® is one of the most important brands in the Portuguese coffee market, recognized for its quality and appreciated by coffee lovers. The credit undoubtedly belongs to all those who work to achieve the ambition of a man who, wanting to drink coffee in company, sought to create the best flavor in each cup. And he did. Vicente Peres is a man we must not forget. And SICAL® is the brand that offers you the best coffee and the best company, yesterday, today and always.