New Zealand based coffee business Cooks Global Foods has signed a joint venture agreement to build 30 Esquire Coffee cafes in shopping centres across China’s Hunan province.

There are already 21 cafes in the network in China, and 150 further outlets planned for the chain.

The latest venture gives Shenzhen-stock exchange listed property and retail business BuBuGao sees a 45 percent stake in the initiative.

However the cafes will be operated by Beijing Esquires Management, the Chinese master franchisee.

Cooks executive chairman Keith Jackson said “The venture is a continuation of our strategy to drive growth in China by partnering with significant domestic businesses that can provide the resources, retail expertise and local knowledge that are pre-requisites for success in the region.”

According to Stuff.co.nz, BBG chairman Tian Wang said Chinese consumers have a high demand for branded coffee, and Cooks is developing coffee packs to retail through supermarkets within the next nine months.

Earlier in May a 10 year master franchise agreement was signed for Egypt – Esquires Coffee has 20 cafes already in the Middle East.

Cooks has 71 cafes across seven countries and plans to establish a global portfolio of 800 outlets by 2020. The NZ company owns the intellectual property and master franchising rights to Esquires Coffee Houses globally, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand.