The service of printing portraits onto coffee cups is attracting customers.

Despite its price tag of nearly 40 million VND, the machine that prints customers' photos onto foam is still highly sought after by many cafes and bubble tea shops.

"The number of orders for coffee and milk tea printing machines has surged in the past week. Due to the relatively complex installation process, the company prioritizes delivery to customers within Ho Chi Minh City. Orders from further away or those placed this week will have to wait about half a month," said Ms. Le, a sales representative at a beverage equipment distribution company in District 7.

According to Ms. Le, this machine has become popular and is favored by many restaurants and cafes in some countries in the region such as Japan and Hong Kong. However, it is still quite unfamiliar to the Vietnamese market, but it is predicted to quickly become a new business trend.

The time it takes to print an image onto each mug is only about 10 seconds.

The first machine arrived before Tet (Lunar New Year), but the company spent nearly half a year surveying customer preferences before launching it on the market in early June. The machine is assembled and imported as a complete unit from China, operating on the mechanism of an inkjet printer. Customers connect via Wi-Fi, scan a QR code for quick response, and select personal images or images from the system's collection to print.

“The printer uses imported food-grade ink that is licensed by the Food Safety and Hygiene Department. The ink set can print on approximately 2,200-2,400 cups, and after it runs out, it needs to be refilled at a cost of about 1-1.5 million VND each time,” Ms. Le said, adding that the average price of a machine distributed to the market is about 39 million VND, but depending on the type of wholesale or retail customer and the distance for transportation and installation, the company will adjust the price by 2 to 3 million VND.

Mr. Trong Phat, the owner of a coffee shop on Le Trung Nghia Street (Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City), said that his shop recently opened and put into use two machines that print images onto coffee and milk tea foam about half a month ago. Thanks to this novel service, the shop has attracted a large number of customers, mainly high school and university students.

“The machine frequently malfunctions during installation and operation, so the shop always has extra staff at the counter to guide customers on how to use the service. The most challenging aspect of achieving a high-quality printed image is mixing the top layer of cream to the right consistency, ensuring it is smooth and even. The shop is also looking for ways to preserve the cream and image so they don't get distorted during delivery,” Mr. Phat said, adding that he doesn't charge extra for this printing service, while many other places add 5,000 VND, and some even charge up to 10,000 VND.

According to VNE