Moshin Issa: '20 years ago the idea of coffee on the go was new'
‘Now it’s ubiquitous, but 20 years ago the idea of grabbing a latte while on the move was a new one’ - are the words of Issa brother Moshin on striking gold or rather caffeine.
EG Group co-founder and Asda co-owner Mohsin, CBE, from Blackburn said that deciding to place coffee on the go in their garages was one of the best decisions he and his brother Zuber made.
Insider Media reoprted what he had said while addressing a large audience at the International Trade Awards.
He told them: “Back in 2001 garages were pretty dirty, just a kiosk where you might get a Mars bar and a can of coke.
“We wanted to clean it up and found it did really well. We built it and customers came, so we went on a journey of doing the same again, one by one.
“The next ingredient was coffee. Now it’s ubiquitous, but 20 years ago the idea of grabbing a latte while on the move was a new one.”
He added that they identified the correlation between coffee and driving and four years after liaising with coffee-chain Starbucks they were granted a license.
In 2009 they acquired their first motorway services at Rivington, paving the way for acquiring many more outlets including Asda.
However, it has not all been plain sailing as, more recently, the pair have come under fire over plans for a controversial cemetery between Oswaldtwistle and Blackburn which many residents and even councillors have voiced their objections to.