Francesco Cirio

Francesco Cirio (25 December 1836 – 9 January 1900) was an Italian businessman, and is credited with being one of the first in the world with developing the appertization technique in Italy.

[2] Cirio was born in Nizza Monferrato, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, to a poor and illiterate family.

[3][4] In 1867, Cirio exhibited his products in Paris at the Exposition Universelle, where he received prestigious awards.

[5] The company was transformed in 1885 into Societa Anonima di Esportazione Agricola Francesco Cirio in Turin.

This company very soon opened subsidiaries in Milan, Naples, Belgrade, Berlin, Brussels, London, Paris, and Vienna.