The head of Thailand's biggest gas station network has $1.5 billion that says motorists will soon be stocking up on a different kind of fuel - coffee. That's the bet that Jiraporn Kaosawad, Chief Executive of PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR), is placing on rolling out thousands of coffee shops at home and abroad, along with other non-oil businesses, as global auto and fuel players gear up for a near future dominated by electric car growth. A month on from Thailand's biggest initial public offering of the year, Jiraporn's plans for the Cafe Amazon business - already the no.1 Thai coffee shop chain - present PTTOR's take on the task facing oil majors from BP to Total: how to maximise profit from fuel networks as drivers of the near future wait for their electrics cars to be charged up.
Adding music to the preparation and tasting of coffee can "undoubtedly affect our mood," a scientist explains.
Italian coffee maker Lavazza said on Wednesday it had paid its workers the highest bonus in its history to reward them for ensuring production and meeting targets last year despite the coronavirus pandemic. As a manufacturer of food goods, Lavazza was allowed to continue producing during the government-imposed lockdown last spring, when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and most industries were shut down. Lavazza said it would grant an extra gross 3,500 euros ($4,219) to its workers in the two plants in the northern region of Piedmont and a gross 2,500 euros to those in the main offices and in the Pozzilli plant, specialising in the production of decaffeinated coffee.