Cookist
By Redazione Cucina
April 7, 2025
From dusty movie sets to supermarket aisles: a rustic and
iconic dish, beans, have unexpectedly become a commercial phenomenon thanks to the
timeless charisma of Bud Spencer.
They might seem like simple beans, but they are not: they are Bud Spencer's beans. Precisely those of the unforgettable dinner that tells the story of Terence Hill's bean binge in They Call Me Trinity, one of the most famous films of the Italian western genre. Well, that recipe that later became iconic, was put on the market in 2022, achieving unexpected goals: behind a more than serious company led by the Pedersoli family. Bud Power Srl, in fact, closed the first year with modest revenues (equal to 56 thousand euros), but in 2023 it reached 624 thousand euros. The goal is to reach 10 million euros in 2025.
Bud Spencer's beans, an unexpected success (or maybe not)
Bud Spencer's bean boom story is a fascinating case of how a popular icon, coupled with a well-thought-out marketing strategy, can lead to amazing results in the food industry.
Bud Spencer, pseudonym of Carlo Pedersoli, was an iconic Italian actor, known worldwide for his spaghetti westerns – or Italian-style westerns – comedics starring in tandem with Terence Hill. Their films, characterized by good-natured fistfights, physical humor and simple but effective plots, have been a huge popular success for decades. Bud Spencer was also a former Olympic swimmer and had undertaken several entrepreneurial activities: but his imposing and good-natured figure and his contagious smile made him a much-loved figure by audiences of different generations. In the films of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, the feast of beans in a pan has become a real trademark, a symbol of conviviality, simplicity and their "peaceful" impetuosity.
According to his son Giuseppe Pedersoli, the versions of
beans prepared on film sets were often anything but appetizing. Bud Spencer, a
cooking enthusiast, one day decided to prepare his own version, based on his
personal tastes. From that moment, the breaks to taste Carlo's famous beans
multiplied endlessly: in addition to the planned scenes, the actors tell how
any excuse was good to put a spoon inside the legendary pot.
How the idea of the startup was born
The idea of marketing the "Bud Spencer Beans" came from the actor's nephews, Alessandro and Carlo Pedersoli Jr. who in 2022 founded Bud Power Srl. The recipe for the marketed beans is based on Bud Spencer's notes and memories and is naturally made with simple and genuine ingredients: Piedmontese borlotti beans, tomato pulp, onion, smoked bacon and a mix of spices. Production is entrusted to an Italian company, Dega Food of Rovereto, part of the D'Amico group. In addition to beans in the "original" version, a "Tex-Mex" variant has also been launched and other Bud Spencer brand products are on the way, such as savory snacks, a beer and even "Bud's Pizzone". This demonstrates the grounding of a diversification strategy to fully exploit the brand's potential.
In the first year of activity (2022), Bud Power Srl
recorded modest revenues of around 56,000 euros. The turning point, however,
came in 2023: in this year the turnover exploded, exceeding 624,000 euros, an
increase of about 300%. The stated goal for 2025 is to reach a turnover of 10
million euros: this forecast, based on current growth, seems far from
unrealistic.
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