ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced that it has formed a capital and business alliance with the Chinese coffee giant Shanghai Weiming Food Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Songjiang District, Shanghai, China; Leo Xu, Representative; hereinafter "Weiming Food"). By allying with Weiming Food, ITOCHU will support the safe and secure supply of quality coffee and the development of coffee culture in the Chinese market.

Chinese coffee consumption in recent years has been expanding primarily in major cities amongst an increasing number of cafes, growing online orders, and more. Within that expansion, demand for roast & ground coffee has risen significantly, especially among consumers insistent on high quality, flavorful coffee. That insistence has not come only from cafes, but also from households and workplaces, with tremendous growth in the drip bag coffee and capsule coffee sectors. Millennials in particular are paying more attention to sustainability and ethical sourcing in food products - including coffee - and customer needs are diversifying rapidly.

Weiming Food offers a wide variety of services, including a range of coffee products and coffee related equipment, as well as a vast network of Chinese customers, including online customers and commercial and food service clients such as cafes and restaurants. This coffee company pioneered handling specialty coffee in China, a product that requires sophisticated quality control measures throughout the entire process, including bean cultivation, transportation, and roasting and are working on their mid- to long-term development as well as improving the Chinese coffee culture.

Through this capital and business alliance with Weiming Food, ITOCHU will provide a stable supply of coffee beans via the ITOCHU Group global network and use the Weiming Food customer network to sell Weiming Food products on the Chinese market. The Group will continue to contribute to the development of coffee culture by providing the Asian market including Japan and China – with a safe and secure supply of quality coffee in cooperation with Farmer Connect*, a sustainability and traceability platform.