"Hot dog" from Financial Times

"I have often described the Hong Kong art fair, which goes into its fourth edition in May, as the potential "Art Basel of Asia". I might have been prescient: Art Basel is in talks with the Hong Kong fair. One of its owners, Tim Etchells, managing director of Single Market Events, confirmed that discussion "have been going on for some time." Buying the Hong Kong fair would certainly be in the interests of Art Basel, as it would give the Swiss organisation access to the Asian market. But Etchells says, "We have had approaches from other people as well and it's definitely not a done deal." Art Basel declined to comment."

"Coffee revolution hits the home of China's finest tea" from South China Morning Post

"But times are changing and Kui Wenshu is among a pioneering group of farmers who have chopped down the orange trees in their orchards to plant coffee."


"Earlier this month, she and about a dozen other coffee farmers in the village were introduced to Howard Schultz, founding president and chief executive of the US-based coffee chain Starbucks, during his trip to the province. The company plans to build a farm in Pu'er and will hire and train local farmers to grow coffee.

"To be honest, we never heard of Starbucks before, but everyone feels this is a big opportunity," said 30-years-old Kui."


"Last year, Chinese peope drank nearly 50,000 tons of coffee, compared with 200,000 tons of tea.

Coffee was introduced into modern China by Swiss-based coffee maker Nestle in the 1980s. For many years, it was seen by most Chinese as a high-class gift for friends rather than a daily beverage of personal choice."

"Some companies take a hands-on approach to ensuring supply." from Bloomberg Businessweek

"On Aug. 27, Nestlé launched a program to invest 500 million Swiss francs ($508.6 million) in coffee projects by 2020. Nestlé agronomists will provide advice to farmers and give them 220 million high-yield, disease-resistant coffee plants. Last October the company said it would spend 110 million Swiss francs to improve the quality of cocoa platns by 2020. Japan's Bridgestone Group just announced a similar, smaller project for growers of rubber trees.

Companies can hike prices, which could alienate customers or cause them to opt for lower-margin private label goods. At Starbucks, recent increases in the cost of buying beans and other necessities such as dairy, sugar, and cocoa led to a change in pricing strategy. On Aug. 17, Starbucks stated on its website that it intended to absorb rising bean prices on "labor-intensive and larger-sized beverages" in some markets. In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said rising costs for key ingredients have "completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry." "