Thursday 2 April 2026 – De’Longhi has launched a new global platform designed to accelerate growth in the premium at-home coffee category, combining commercial insight with design-led storytelling to shift consumer perception.
At the heart of the platform is ‘The World’s Smallest Coffee Shop’, a proprietary De’Longhi concept developed in partnership with creative agency LOLA Madrid and brought to life in collaboration with master craftsman Simon Weisse, the visionary model-maker known for his miniature work for filmmakers including Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Asteroid City), Luca Guadagnino and Wim Wenders. The platform will roll out globally across retail, digital, social and experiential channels as part of De’Longhi’s wider brand and commercial strategy.
The initiative responds to a key barrier within the category: despite more than 80% of coffee now being consumed at home and the global home coffee machine market exceeding £12 billion, 72% of consumers still believe the best coffee can only be achieved in a café. To address this, De’Longhi has created a series of intricate miniature coffee shop façades inspired by iconic coffee cultures including Milan, Tokyo, Paris, Copenhagen and Berlin. Handcrafted by Weisse’s Berlin-based studio using traditional model-making techniques, each façade is mounted directly onto De’Longhi’s bean-to-cup machines, demonstrating that the authentic, immersive coffee experience people associate with cafés is no longer confined to physical locations, but can be recreated at home with precision and ease.
Each piece has been hand-built over hundreds of hours by a team of specialist model makers, using traditional model-making techniques to create highly detailed, tactile environments that mirror the atmosphere and identity of real-world cafés. From architectural textures to aged finishes and intricate detailing, the craftsmanship is intended to evoke the same sense of care and precision that defines both coffee culture and De’Longhi’s product engineering. The initiative aims to shift consumers’ perception of the perfect coffee experience from out-of-home consumption to the idea that coffee shop–quality coffee can be even better at home.
The activation showcases De’Longhi’s core portfolio of bean-to-cup machines, including Rivelia, Magnifica Evo Next, Eletta Ultra, Eletta Explore and Primadonna Aromatic, each positioned as a complete coffee system capable of delivering a full barista-quality experience at home.
“The perfect cup of coffee is no longer one that is exclusive to cafes; with De’Longhi, a perfetto experience can be owned at home with finesse and flair,” said De’Longhi CMO, Aparna Sundaresh. “That is why we have partnered with Simon Weisse to create an imaginative and immersive experience that places the world’s smallest coffee shop, a De’Longhi, on the kitchen counter. Each design showcases how one machine can unlock an entire café menu, customised at ‘one touch’ of a button. By shrinking these iconic institutions and housing them on our products, the project shows that the coffee once sought in the street is now a reality for the home, offering a variety of drinks. The café hasn’t just been miniaturised; it has been brought home.”
Tomás Ostiglia, Executive Creative Director at LOLA Madrid, added: “We noticed that the design language of iconic coffee shops and De’Longhi’s machines shared the same precision and personality. So instead of telling people they can have coffee shop quality at home, we decided to show it, by literally turning our machines into tiny coffee shops from around the world. Collaborating with Simon allowed us to elevate that idea through true craftsmanship, bringing a level of detail and artistry that mirrors the care people expect from their favourite cafés.”
Founded in Treviso, Italy, De’Longhi is a global leader in the home coffee machine category, renowned for combining Italian design, craftsmanship and technological innovation to deliver barista-quality coffee experiences at home. Coffee machines sit at the heart of the brand’s portfolio, with a focus on fully automatic bean-to-cup systems that bring quality, variety and ease into everyday rituals. As part of the global rollout of ‘The World’s Smallest Coffee Shop’, the installation will be showcased at Milan Design Week 2026, reinforcing De’Longhi’s position at the intersection of design, culture and innovation, and highlighting how its products transform from functional appliances into aspirational lifestyle objects.
