Rumor has it that Blue Bottle is considering opening its first shop in Mainland China, probably in Shanghai, the ‘capital’ of coffee shops.
Earlier this year, Blue Bottle posted recruitment information for senior product managers. The position will be located in Shanghai, China, and will report to the General Manager of the Greater China region.
Nowadays, Blue Bottle Coffee is known as the “apple of coffee”. In 2015, Blue Bottle entered the Asian market and selected its first shop in Tokyo, Japan. In September 2017, Nestle acquired 68% of the shares of Blue Bottle with US$500 million. After this acquisition, Blue Bottle began its global expansion. We have also mentioned that Blue Bottle officially opened its first Hong Kong store in April last year.
In fact, Blue Bottle should have already entered the mainland China market; from 2013 to 2017, the brand applied for various trademarks at different periods, including roasted coffee beans and small restaurant services/coffee shops, online retail stores, vending machine rentals, and more. The success of trademark registration will determine the business scope of Blue Bottle in the Chinese market, or what specific categories of peripheral products the brand sells.
The design and experience are considered to be the key to the success of Blue Bottle. In general, the brand has attracted widespread international followers for its minimalist design by using the element of blue, gray, and wood. The brand prefers locations of old factories, old warehouses, opera houses, museums, and other similar venues. The coffee is brewed by hand in the store.
But currently, when Blue Bottle Coffee enters the mainland Chinese market, it will face a battlefield with unprecedented fierce competition. About 35% of the total coffee shops in Shanghai belong to major coffee chains, such as Starbucks and Costa, while more than 50% of shops are boutique or artisanal. For example, the boutique coffee brand Manner, which raised a new round of financing and accelerated its pace of expansion across the country, should be a worthy competitor. Seesaw Coffee plans to open more Mini stores suitable for takeaway business and digital ordering in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen.
How Blue Coffee will make its own way in this competitive coffee market? We will keep updating our readers.
