A flash of genius: that’s what was behind the Parmacotto idea in the mind of its founder, Marco Rosi. In 1977, he saw in this brand that much searched for synthesis between territorial identity and product characteristics: cooked ham, up till then relegated to the bottom of sales and taste classifications.
That was the great challenge: make cooked ham a quality product representing the typical cold meat taste of the Parma area; a challenge where eliminating polyphosphates was the first, decisive step taken.
At the start of the 80s, this care over nutritional values and taste led to a real growth in Parmacotto sales and growing consumer interest towards this “new” cooked ham.
At the end of the 80s,  a real intuition for company growth: the special freshness-saving tray meaning no more paper wrappings;  thus getting  the Parmacotto make onto consumer tables and increased  knowledge and recognition from the public.
The 90s were when Parmacotto became really famous due to communication: Sofia Loren and Christian De Sica, two Italian cinema symbols, become Parmacotto “testimonials” and guaranteed the company an important spot in the commercial communication world and greater brand awareness in the cold meats sector.
In the mid 90s, Alessandro Rosi, the founder’s son, joined the company after doing a degree in Economics and Commerce and a US experience to set up Parmacotto America in Connecticut. This American experience was the start of a new company strategy: widen the market to take in European countries (first France, Great Britain and Switzerland). Then on to a new challenge: spread Parmacotto abroad.
Towards the end of the 90s, the company felt the need to widen its product range: this led to the cooked meats of the Antica Salumeria Rosi, mortadella "Parmella" and pre-sliced meats.
In 2001, Parmacotto bought Parmamec from the Barilla group; this company was specialised in sliced cold meats  and, that same year, the company really started to grow.
In 2005, the founder’s daughter, Stefania, joined the company after a US experience, two years with  Publitalia ‘80 and a master in Marketing and Communication from Publitalia ’80; she is now in charge of Marketing.
In recent years, the company has concentrated all efforts on product, technology and organisation; this has meant enriching and diversifying the product line. The company now has 160 references, including a rich selection of Tuscan products.
In Spring 2007,  Parmacotto bought Salumificio Piacenti Srl, the leading producer of mature Tuscan D.O.P. ham; this gave the group some real Tuscan cold meat production jewels, combining tradition and high quality.
The Parmacotto turnover has grown considerably in recent years, and in 2006 was about120 million euro; this proves company ability to offer itself as a real protagonist of the new food market, but not forgetting tradition.