Guglielmo Papaleo starts as an apprentice boy in a grocery shop in the old town centre of Catanzaro.
In those years, he decides to open a little shop on the main street of the city, putting inside a small coffee machine.

He starts his activity of production and sale of coffee, and soon decides to enlarge his shop to allow also the tasting of the product, collecting a big success among his citizens. In 1950 he opens the first Guglielmo bar.
The activity is transferred in another district of Catanzaro, from where Guglielmo starts to sell his coffee throughout the region, and to get publicity through the purchase of some curious shaped advertising vehicles.

The demand of the product is so big that Guglielmo Papaleo decides to open his first roasting factory, plant composed by warehouses, production department and administrative offices.
In the following years the market becomes ever more demanding, so that in 1968 begins the construction of a new industrial complex in Copanello.
In 1970 Guglielmo Papaleo is nominated Commander of the Order of the Republic.

In 1972 the new plant is inaugurated: this will mark a turning point in the production, through the introduction of modern machinery. The company becomes an Ldt.
These are very important years for the company: the first computer that automates the production cycles, new hiring, the renewal of the corporate image with the current logo and the slogan "the Coffee that hits the Spot". In 1986 Gugliemo Spa joins the Roasters for Bar Consortium and in 1987 the SAO Caffè Consortium.

In 1997 Guglielmo Papaleo is nominated member of the Order of Merit for Labour and the company celebrates its first 50 years of activity.
In these years the company sees some structural and technological changes and updates: installation of new roasters, installation of a 18 meter high external silos for raw coffee and a new machine for cleaning green coffee.

The company decides to expand its market, starting to partecipate at the most important international exhibitions for the coffee sector in Portugal and Germany; these choices bring an exponential growth in the foreign market. At the same time are created also two new warehouses for the storage of raw materials and purchased a new machine that allows to pack 80 bags of 250 grams per minute.

Guglielmo Spa creates its e-commerce website, a real Virtual Store where the customer can buy online all the Guglielmo products simply with a click, from all over Italy and all over the world. On the Guglielmo Virtual Store you find all the capsules, the pods, the compatibles, coffee for mocha and for espresso machine, and much more. The simplest and most comfortable way to enjoy a good Guglielmo coffee, designed for those who are far from Calabria but not only, for those who want to feel closer to his origins, for those who want to make themselves and give a gift full of taste.

InJuly 2010 Guglielmo Spa inaugurates its new offices in Bologna: the new offices will be the basis for the relations with the foreign market and with the Northern Italy market.
In the same year the company opens in Catanzaro its first Guglielmo Store, a project that will bring the Guglielmo Caffè even more close to its customers, with the creation of many of these flagship stores.In the following years, other Stores will be open in Calabria and outside the region: this is another important step to make the brand known all around Italy and bring consumers closer to Guglielmo products in a welcoming and modern space.
Despite the economic crisis, the company increases its work in foreign markets, with new dealers and retailers, and a bigger and diffused demand of the product.
In 2013 the company celebrates its 70 years of activity; the brand is increasingly present in the distribution channels and in the collective imagination, also through the social network world. Guglielmo has a new testimonial, the actress and fashion model Denny Mendez, and it's more and more famous as a symbol of quality and taste.

The company looks towards the East: several coffee shops open in Seoul, South Korea, and Guglielmo coffee is appreciated in the whole Asian market, including China.
The search for high quality products to meet the needs of customers led the company to expand its range with new products, especially in the capsules and pods market: the latest innovations are the Espresso70 capsules,the first Guglielmo capsules compatible with the Nespresso system, the LespressoMio capsules, compatible with the Lavazza A Modo Mio system, and Gusto Capsules, compatible with Nescafè Dolce Gusto system.