MILAN – Italian leading specialty coffee roaster illycaffè has stricken a partnership with e-commerce firm Hangzhou Onechance Tech Corp to grow its business in China, daily newspaper la Repubblica reported on Sunday.
Thanks to the deal, the company will strengthen its presence in the home and online channels, illycaffe chief executive officer Cristina Scocchia told the daily.
illycaffè aims to triple its business in China by 2026. In order to adjust the product to consumers in a tea-drinking country, illycaffè is developing a special prototype of a capsule of soluble coffee to brew like tea bags.
Illycaffe is on track to meet its goal of having an initial public offering (IPO) by 2026, Scocchia said in June.
Ahead of an IPO, Illycaffe plans to increase its presence in the US as well as China. It also aims to expand its network of franchised and directly managed shops by opening 150 new franchised outlets by 2026 as well.
