Selling coffee to the Chinese from Lisburn

A Lisburn based family business is planning to sell coffee to the Chinese.

Pure Roast Coffee has opened a new coffee venture in Shanghai’s Wujiaochang district and is now planning to launch a further 10 coffee stores throughout China.

The coffee roasting business plans to establish a chain of coffee shops in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen and Macau together with its business partner China Resources, a leading state-owned investment enterprise.

Pure Roast signed a joint venture deal with China Resources last year to develop a business in China, which it said was “becoming a hugely important market” for the Irish business. China Resources has also taken an equity holding in Pure Roast Coffee, which was founded by Martin Symington by 2009.

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The business specialises in convection roasting and creates coffee blends for a range of clients including airlines, national restaurant chains and high end and independent coffee stores.

Its latest store in Shanghai marks Pure Roast Coffee’s second investment in the city. It opened its first Chinese coffee store in a shopping mall in the city last year. It is currently the only Irish coffee roaster to operate coffee shops in China.

The company is keen to expand into other new territories and Mr Symington said he expects export sales to triple in the short term.