Lavazza accelerates in China thanks to the joint venture with its partner Yum China and by the end of the opening of a thousand cafes. The joint venture will initially be allocated 200 million dollars to finance the expansion, in addition, the collaboration with the Chinese partner foresees that Yum China – the largest restaurant company in the country – will become Lavazza’s exclusive distributor in mainland China. The collaboration aims to develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept for the Chinese market.
The joint venture is held by Yum China and Lavazza with a 65% and 35% share respectively and has already created the first Lavazza Flagship store in Shanghai, inaugurated in April 2020. Since then, Lavazza has opened another 20 stores in China between Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.
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“The recent success of Lavazza coffee shops in China has been encouraging and has consolidated our belief that this collaboration has what it takes to seize the significant opportunities of the coffee sector in China, accelerating the development of the network of stores” said Joey Wat , CEO of Yum China.
For Antonio Baravalle, CEO of Lavazza, “the coffee sector in China has enormous potential, there are vast areas still unexplored”. Yum China, adds the CEO, thanks to the deep knowledge of consumers and local market dynamics, “is the ideal partner to further grow the Lavazza brand in this market”.
The next phase of the expansion of Lavazza’s network of stores in China will involve an increase in the number of coffee shops in the main cities, thanks to different types of stores to offer a wide range of products and consumer experiences. By the end of 2021, the number of coffee shops will double, from 22 to over 40, and the joint venture will market, sell and distribute Lavazza’s retail products in mainland China, starting with coffee beans, ground coffee and capsules.