Mobile Coffee - an 'emerging' business model in Nghe An
Recently, the "take away coffee" business model has flourished in Nghe An. The speed, convenience, and low price have helped this service attract customers...
Born in 2005, in Thanh Xuan commune (Thanh Chuong), Le Thi Hoai is currently a student at Vinh University. To have money to spend on living away from home, Hoai chose to start a take-away coffee business. Every day, on her motorbike, Hoai carries a box of ice, a few bottles of pre-made coffee, plastic cups, and some simple brewing tools.
According to Hoai, after learning how to make coffee, she decided to sell take-away coffee. “The investment capital is only about five or seven hundred thousand to buy some simple equipment. I only study one afternoon, so I sell from 6:30 am to 9 am. On a busy day, I sell 40-50 cups, on a slow day, 10-30 cups. After deducting expenses, I still have an income of 150,000 - 200,000 VND. The most important thing is that I can take the initiative with my time,” Hoai said.
Hoai's selling locations are not fixed. Usually, Hoai stops at each place for about 30 minutes, then moves to another location, most of which are crowded places.
Phan Van Nguyen - a young man in Hung Loc commune (Vinh city) chose to sell take-away coffee to start his business. With just a simple cart, decorated with an eye-catching poster and a diverse menu, every day, Nguyen pushes the cart to the gate of Military Hospital 4 to sell coffee and other drinks.
Nguyen's customers are mainly workers, small traders at Coi market and passersby. "Compared to opening a shop, a mobile coffee cart is more convenient because it does not cost money to rent a space, tables, chairs or decorations, and it is easier to attract customers if the products are of good quality. After nearly half a year of business, I have an income of 12-15 million VND per month," Nguyen said.
As for Ms. Nguyen Thi Lieu, 50 years old this year, she used to work as a janitor at a government agency. After retiring, she chose to start a mobile coffee business. With just a small shelf, a thermos of ready-made coffee from home, a few bottles of ingredients, and paper cups, she sells coffee every day at a bus stop on Nguyen Du Street (Vinh City). Her customers are bus passengers, motorbike taxi drivers, taxi drivers waiting to pick up passengers, or people waiting for the bus to send goods.
“Each cup of coffee costs only 10,000-15,000 VND, so it is suitable for everyone’s budget. Selling a little bit every day, I can earn 120,000-150,000 VND, the extra income and income make up for my small pension,” said Ms. Lieu.
As life becomes more modern and developed, coffee drinking habits also change. Instead of going to a shop, struggling to find a parking space, waiting for the coffee to be made and sipping, many people choose to buy take-away coffee and bring it to work to enjoy.
The menu of mobile coffee carts is relatively simple, with popular types of coffee such as black coffee, brown coffee, salted coffee, silver coffee... The selling price is often much cheaper than in stores, averaging 13-15 thousand VND/cup because there is no cost for premises, no need to invest in buying tables and chairs, no need to hire service staff...
In addition, this service attracts customers because of its speed and convenience, customers only need to stop for 5 minutes to have a drink delivered to their hands. Receiving a cup of salt coffee for 15,000 VND, Mr. Tran Huu Trung - a customer said: "Fast, convenient, cheap and importantly suitable for busy people like me, this is a useful service. Just stop for 5 minutes to have a drink, no need to wait, the price is only half compared to going to big coffee shops".
Currently in Vinh city and the centers of districts, towns, along the way to industrial parks in the province, there are many mobile coffee and beverage carts. This is considered a new and unique business method with outstanding advantages such as low capital, flexible location, easy access to many different customer groups. With many advantages above, this form of business has been chosen by many young people to start a business. However, this business model also faces difficulties such as: bad weather, customers are concerned about food hygiene and safety, no fixed time and location, so sometimes losing old customers, ...
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The Take away coffee business model originated in Italy and began to penetrate the Vietnamese market in the early 2000s. However, at that time, this form of business was not highly appreciated and was not very popular. In the past few years, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, people's consumption habits and needs have changed a lot, causing this model to develop rapidly. In Nghe An, in the past 2 years, take away coffee business has emerged as a startup trend for young people.