Lavazza, Italy’s leading coffee company, has created Espression, a new and innovative approach to coffee consumption, environment, service and quality. Ten Lavazza Espression cafés have already been opened worldwide and with the concept has been awarded the 2008 Grand Award for Restaurant Design at the A.R.E. Design Awards, sponsored by the Association for Retail Environments. Lavazza is looking forward to further opening across Europe in 2010.
The UK launch of Espression took place on Sunday 29th November with the first café opening in Belfast City Airport, in Northern Ireland. The enterprise is a partnership between Lavazza and Autogrill UK, an expert in catering and retail within the travel dining sector. As a licensed partner, Autogrill UK will be responsible for the day to day management of the café.
The Lavazza Espression will be located in the departure lounge of Belfast City Airport offering the two million passengers passing through it every year, the opportunity of enjoying a unique Italian experience. Espression’s design and fixtures are based on a modular approach that works well within hotel, airport, shopping centre and campus settings.
The name “Espression” refers to espresso, the signature Lavazza product and also to Lavazza’s popular tagline, “Espress Yourself.” The distinctive Espression concept is designed to be a place of Italian pleasure that strives to become the place for breaks, meetings, and new ideas. The philosophy behind Espression is a place to bring the consumer in contact with the brand.
Lavazza has teamed up with world-renowned consulting chefs Ferran Adrià to develop the menu ideas. The menu is highly creative and its exclusive offerings, including food and original espresso and beverage creations, are designed with a nod toward the best in contemporary cuisine.
Espression takes Lavazza’s passion and creativity in coffee and channels them into a single physical space. “We’re very pleased with the great success of Espression in America and the rest of Europe and we are very excited about the UK debut of this new concept,” said Luca Piccini, Country General Manager Lavazza Coffee (UK) Ltd.
