Lavazza's New Coffee Café Concept, Espression, Earns Major Retail Design Award

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Lee Barrie or Cindy Kurman
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO (April 2008) -Lavazza's Espression café concept was awarded the Grand Award for Restaurant Design at the A.R.E. Design Awards, sponsored by the Association for Retail Environments (formerly the NASFM, the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers). Winners were announced
at the 2008 Global Retail Shop in Chicago.

Lavazza (www.lavazza.com), Italy's leading coffee company, created with Espression (www.espression.com) a new and innovative approach to coffee consumption, environment, service and quality. Espression's design and fixtures are based on a modular approach that works well within hotel, airport, mall or campus settings.

The American launch of Espression is planned for fall 2008 with the first café opening in Chicago. The company also signed a Master Licensing Agreement for Espression with Hilton Hotels Corporation. Additional licensing arrangements with other select multi-unit operators are available.

The name "Espression" refers to espresso, the signature Lavazza product and also Lavazza's popular tagline, "Espress Yourself." The distinctive Espression concept is a true 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. Espression features a youthful, eclectic and contemporary design that glows with creativity, vitality and a touch of glamour.

The ambience juxtaposes a number of seemingly contrasting elements in such a way that they actually live side by side in harmony. The traditional materials used evoke Italian design history, but they are designed with a strikingly modern look and feel. The mood is vibrant throughout and the space interacts with people, gaining their attention while stirring their emotions.

The scribble graphic style chosen for the backgrounds represents Espression's recurring visual theme. The "eclectic Italian nature" was taken as the central element for the aesthetic definition. Old traditional stereotypes were put aside in order to bring to the surface a truer and more modern way of being Italian.
The concept of eclectic balance, sweet and bitter, strong and light, thick and smooth, allows the use of a diverse range of materials and furnishings depending on the local needs.

About the menu
Lavazza teamed with world-renowned consulting chefs Ferran Adrià and Moreno Cedroni to develop the menu ideas. The menu is highly creative and its exclusive offerings, including food and original espresso and gelato beverage creations, are designed with a nod toward the best in contemporary cuisine. A majority of the breads, croissants, muffins and cookies are baked fresh on site daily. Sandwiches and salads are made to order.

Lavazza's unique coffee creations, collectively known as "I Piaceri del Caffè" (The Pleasures of Coffee), are a blend of espresso with gourmet ingredients in unusual and delicious ways. Items such as Espesso, Cappugiro, Espresso Crema Shakerato and the new Espessones (pictured right), are served
in porcelain or glass.

Espression takes Lavazza's passion and creativity in coffee and beautifully channels them into a single physical space. "We're very pleased with the early success of Espression in Europe and very excited about the American launch of this new brand in the fall of 2008," said Joerg Oberschmied, Chief Operating Officer of Premium Espresso, the wholly owned Lavazza subsidiary that is spearheading the American launch.

For more information on the new Lavazza Espression Cafés, please contact Joerg Oberschmied, Chief Operating Officer of Premium Espresso, at (847) 545-1900 extension 243 or send an email to joberschmied@premiumespresso.com. Please visit the Espression website at www.espression.com and the Lavazza website at www.lavazza.com.

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