Asahi Beverages, the Australian and New Zealand arm of Japanese alcoholic and soft beverages giant, Asahi Group Holding, has announced it will acquire specialty coffee roaster Allpress Espresso
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Asahi Beverages CEO, Robert Iervasi, said the acquisition will consolidate Asahi's position as a 'multi-beverage provider of choice for customers and consumers'
In a press release, Asahi Beverages said the acquisition, made for an undisclosed sum, would enable it to enter Australia’s AU$1bn ($780m) coffee market and grow Allpress’ presence across cafés, restaurants, bars and grocery stores.
“We’re thrilled to extend our portfolio of brands into the large and complementary coffee category, which will also help us meet more of our customers’ needs whether they be cafés, restaurants, pubs or retailers. This acquisition consolidates our position as the multi-beverage provider of choice for customers and consumers,” said Asahi Beverages Group CEO Robert Iervasi.
Founded in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1989, by Michael Allpress, Allpress Espresso employs more than 240 people and has operations in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan and Singapore. The specialty coffee roaster sells more than 1,500 tonnes of coffee beans annually worldwide, equating to around 120 million cups.
“It’s been an amazing journey but after 30 years the time is right for the business to go to the next level,” said Michael Allpress, who will remain a brand ambassador for Allpress.
Commenting on the acquisition, Allpress CEO Vaughan Magnusson, said day-to-day operations at the coffee roaster would be unaffected. “It’s business as usual at our roasteries, with the same great local coffee and service. The big difference is we can now draw on Asahi’s extensive customer relationships and consumer goods expertise to help ensure Allpress’ long-term success,” he said.
Australia and New Zealand’s hospitality segments have recovered more quickly than many markets around the world due to effective government action to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Both countries have also experienced a boom in at-home coffee consumption during the pandemic as consumers adapted to coffee shop trading restrictions and increased home working over the last 12 months.