Espresso House is the largest coffeehouse chain in the Nordic countries.[1][2] The company was founded in Lund, Sweden in 1996 by Elisabet and Charles Asker. In March 2018 it reached over 460 locations throughout Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Germany.
History
Espresso House was founded by the couple Elisabet and Charles Asker with the coffee bar Café Java in Gothenburg. The first café bearing the name Espresso House opened on street Kyrkogatan in Lund 1996.[3] In 2005 the chain consisted of sixteen different cafes, which in March 2018 had expanded to 430 coffee shops.[4] All bread and pastry served is baked by the central bakery Espresso House Bakery in Malmö.[5]
Organisation
JAB Holding Company, who in connection with the purchase of Espresso House also bought Baresso Coffee in Denmark, decided during the fall of 2016 that all 45 cafés in the Danish chain would convert to Espresso House.[6]
One thing that's relatively unique for Espresso House is that all coffee houses are corporate-owned, unlike similar chains, like Starbucks, that sometimes use franchising.[4][7]
Until September 2012, Espresso House was owned by the British private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners, that also acquired the coffee shop chain Coffee Cup that started in Stockholm 1997. The two brands were united under Espresso House. In September 2012, the chain was acquired by the Norwegian private equity firm Herkules Capital that later sold it again in 2015 to the German family business JAB Holding Company.[8]
Locations
As of April 2023, there were 510 stores in the following countries:[9]
Espresso House has been compared to Starbucks in North America in regards to its ubiquity and spread. In Norway, the chain has become a symbol of gentrification and "commercial monoculture".[10][11][12][13]
In January 2022 the Finnish investigative journalism show M.O.T reported multiple occasions of mismanagement, hygiene related issues and employees having monthly working hours exceeding lawful limits.[14]
^"Largest Nordic Coffee Chain Espresso House Bought by JAB". 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2017. JAB Holding Company has reached a deal to buy the Nordic region's largest branded coffee chain, Espresso House, including 193 shops in Sweden and Norway.
^"Nye tyske ejere lukker Baresso" (in Danish). Fyens Stiftstidende. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017. Espresso House er den største kaffekæde i Norden med flere end 220 kaffebarer i Sverige, Norge, Finland og Danmark.
^"Så började det" [How it began]. Espresso House (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
^ ab"Om oss" [About us]. Espresso House (in Swedish). March 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
^"På menyn". Espresso House (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2019-12-17. Allt bröd och alla bakverk som vi serverar är bakat med kärlek och omsorg på Espresso House Bakery, vårt alldeles egna bageri som är beläget i Malmö. För att alltid kunna leverera färska produkter till våra coffee shops så fryser vi ned dem så fort de tagits ur ugnen, givetvis nygräddat.
^Fremstad, Hanne Sofie (29 March 2016). "- Løkka er blitt en catwalk". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
.jpg)
,_StVO_1992.svg){kind=small}