Emilio Lavazza, the man who presided over a famous coffee making firm has died at the age of 78.

Mr Lavazza was president of the Italian coffee company which bore his name.

He spent close to 40 years as the head of the company which expanded its reach into almost half of Italy’s retail market.

The firm was originally founded by Emilio Lavazza’a grandfather, who died before his grandson took the business into international territory.

All over the world, the Turin-based company’s label became synonymous with Italian espresso.

Lavazza now has operations in most countries with yearly sales of around 1.5 billion euros.