85°C Bakery Café, 85 Cafe, 85C Daily Cafe, or 85 Degrees C (Chinese: 85?C; pinyin: 85 Dù C) are brand names of an international chain of retailers selling coffee, tea, cakes, as well as desserts, smoothies, fruit juices, souvenirs and bakery products. It has 1000 retail shops worldwide. The chain's parent company (Gourmet Master Co. Ltd) is located in the Cayman Islands.
Video 85C Bakery Cafe
History
Wu Cheng-Hsueh incorporated the company in January 2003 and opened the first shop in Bao-Ping, Taipei County (now New Taipei) in July 2004. The name "85C" refers to Wu's belief that 85 °C (185 °F) is the optimal temperature to serve coffee.
In September 2006, the company opened its first Australian store in Sydney. A year later, the first store in China was opened in Shanghai. The first store in Hong Kong was opened in 2012, the first store in the United States in 2009, in Irvine. The US central kitchen began operations in September 2013. In March 2017, the chain's United States central kitchen in Brea, California became its first solar-powered facility worldwide. The facility is expected to generate 527,702 kWh of power annually.
Revenue
In 2016, 67% of the chain's revenue came from China, while 18% came from Taiwan. In 2013, the average US store generated more than US$700,000 in monthly sales, seven times more than an average store in China.
Maps 85C Bakery Cafe
Hygiene malpractices
On 24 July 2015, the newspaper China Times reported that a green tea of a retail store in Taoyuan, Taiwan, analyzed by the Department of Public Health of that city during a sampling event, contained 4.7 times as much bacteria as what would be allowed according the standard set by that Department. This could be due to poor sanitation or quality of ingredients or inappropriate handling during the production process.
On 8 June 2018, the newspaper Apple Daily (Taiwan) and the TV network Chung T'ien Television reported of an ex-employee stating that a retail shop in Hualien City did not throw away beverage ingredients before their expiry dates as set by the 85C Bakery Cafe's policy, but instead substituted the date labels on the expired ingredients with newer ones, in an attempt to cover up the prolonged sales from inspection instances.
Gourmet Master Co. Ltd
In China, 85C Bakery Cafe stores are being advertised as from Taiwan, but in reality, the chain's main company (Gourmet Master Co. Ltd) is registered in the Cayman Islands. Because this mother company is registered in the Cayman Islands, Taiwanese law regarding companies does not apply. After being established in 2004 Taiwan, undergoing equity restructuring in September 2009, the mother company became listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in November 2010, under the statute of a foreign company of first listing (thus designated as "F shares," with the "F" denoting "Foreign").
Because listed as "F shares", Wu Cheng-Hsueh and other major shareholders pay a mere 20 percent marginal tax rate on the dividends they receive instead of the top marginal tax rate of 40 percent they would have had to pay as shareholders in a Taiwanese company. During fiscal year 2011, for example, such dividends received by Wu Cheng-Hsueh amounted to more than NT$10 million in tax revenues lost to the Taiwanese government.
Further more, because "Gourmet Master Co. Ltd" is registered in and retains profits in the low-tax haven Cayman Islands, during 2010, for example, Taiwan lost NT$167 million in corporate taxes which tax agencies otherwise would have been able to collect if the pre-tax profit would have been fully reported by a company in Taiwan.
When the company became publicly listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in November 2010, it had 3.85 million shares in its IPO.
Underpayment
In 2008, there were 50 stores of 85C Bakery Cafe analyzed as part of a research by the "95 Youth Labor Union" of which 32 were found to be involved in unlawful practices. Among them, 22 stores were in violation of wage regulations and 29 were employing uninsured workers.
From 2009 to October 2014, in Sydney, Australia, 85°C Bakery Cafe underpaid four workers (three Taiwanese nationals on Working Holiday Visas and one Chinese exchange student) only 56% of the lawful minimum wage. The Australian Fair Work Ombudsman ordered 85C Bakery Cafe to reimburse the workers for a total of 42,775 [AUD] it should have paid them had they been employed working for thee minimum wage they would be legally entitled to.
Specialities
The chain is known for their sea salt coffee, made by sweetening their iced Americano and adding a sea salt whipped cream on the top. This coffee has been featured on TIME Magazine, CNN, and NPR. The concept of this drink supposedly came from the Taiwanese habit of sprinkling salt on fruit to bring out the sweetness.
See also
- List of coffeehouse chains
- List of companies of Taiwan
References
External links
- 85C Bakery Cafe on Facebook
Source of article : Wikipedia
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