When a Swiss coffee machine manufacturer unveils its latest roaster at one of the world’s leading trade fairs, it is more than a product launch. It is a statement. That is exactly what Thermoplan AG and Vetica Group AG experienced together at Host Milano 2025, where the mikafi Roaster made its international debut.
Context: Why Host Milano Is a Barometer for the Industry
Host Milano is regarded as one of the world’s leading trade fairs for the food, beverage and hospitality industries. Every two years, manufacturers, designers, hospitality professionals and buyers from more than 170 countries gather in Milan to discover where the industry is heading. The figures speak for themselves: with more than 200,000 trade visitors and over 2,000 exhibitors, Host Milano serves as a barometer for global trends in the hospitality industry.
Exhibiting here sends a clear signal that a product is about more than technology. It must tell a story, embody a distinct point of view and create a unique customer experience. For Swiss brands, where precision and craftsmanship are deeply rooted in tradition, this stage represents both a unique opportunity and a particular responsibility.
What Sets the mikafi Roaster Apart
The mikafi Roaster is the result of a collaboration that goes far beyond traditional product design. Thermoplan AG has represented Swiss engineering excellence in professional coffee machines for decades. With the mikafi Roaster, the company wanted to go one step further: to create a product that not only performs, but also engages, connects and inspires.
Some of the key design principles that guided the process were:
- Form Follows Experience: The roaster’s housing is designed to make the roasting process visible and tangible without concealing its technical complexity.
- Material Language as Brand Language: High-quality finishes and clean lines communicate Swiss standards of quality without saying a word.
- Usability as a Design Objective: The UX/UI logic was integrated into the physical product design from the outset, rather than added as an afterthought.
- Emotional Resonance: A product that inspires coffee professionals must also connect on an emotional level. This is no coincidence, but the result of strategically driven design.
Design Leadership: When Products Rewrite the Rules
What does it mean to design a product that redefines the rules of its category? For Vetica Group, this is not a rhetorical question, but the starting point of every project. Design Leadership means that design decisions are not made at the end of the development process, but shape it from the very beginning.
With the mikafi Roaster, this became tangible: the close integration of product design, brand strategy and customer experience was not a methodology imposed on the project. It was the foundation on which Thermoplan and Vetica worked together.
Design Leadership in Practice Means:
- Making strategic design decisions early in the process, rather than using design as a corrective measure at the end.
- Treating the product as a brand ambassador that communicates without words.
- Treating UX/UI and physical design as an integrated process rather than as separate disciplines.
- Consistently placing the user and their customer experience at the centre of the design process.
Swiss Design on the Global Stage: What It Means for International Markets
Swiss Design has an international reputation that extends far beyond national borders. Precision, simplicity, durability and craftsmanship are values that inspire trust in global markets. Host Milano 2025 demonstrated that this reputation cannot be taken for granted. It must be actively shaped and communicated.
For Thermoplan, exhibiting in Milan was also about positioning. The mikafi Roaster is not simply one product among many. It is an expression of how Swiss companies bring quality, aesthetics and functionality together. It also demonstrates that industrial design and product design are at their most powerful when underpinned by a clear brand positioning.
The Vetica Perspective: How We Worked with Thermoplan
For Vetica Group, the collaboration with Thermoplan was not a conventional client project. It was a shared commitment to a clear design philosophy. As with our work for ABB in mobility or Laufen in bathroom design, projects like these are never simply about creating a beautiful product.
It is about creating a product that embodies a brand, tells a story and drives growth. Our approach is always holistic: we bring together brand strategy, product design and digital customer experience to create one coherent system. The mikafi Roaster is a strong example of what this principle looks like in practice.
What is particularly rewarding for us is that a product like this is not developed behind closed doors, but presented on a global stage such as Host Milano. This is the moment when design becomes visible, when its impact comes to life and when it demonstrates why strategically driven product design is about far more than aesthetics.
Discover more about our projects and the way we work on the Vetica Group Projects page.
Conclusion: Design That Inspires, Connects and Supports
Host Milano 2025 was a shared milestone for Thermoplan and Vetica Group, demonstrating what is possible when Swiss engineering excellence and strategically driven design work hand in hand. The mikafi Roaster is more than a coffee machine: it is proof that Design Leadership can drive businesses forward and transform markets.
If you would like to discover how Vetica Group can support your company in making its next strategic design decision, we invite you to explore our Consulting services.
