How does Shanghai Independent Cafe operate in the city with the largest number of coffee shops in the world?

According to the "2022 China Coffee Consumption Insight" released by Meituan yesterday, as of June 30 this year, the number of cafes in Shanghai reached 7857 (including more than 60% of independent cafes), Shanghai is still the city with the largest number of cafes in the world, far exceeding New York, London, Tokyo and other places.

The report also mentioned that Huangpu District has 38.5 cafes per square kilometer and Jing 'an District has 20.1 cafes per square kilometer. And the numbers continue to rise. In Shanghai, where there are so many and dense cafes, why do they keep opening? What do these independent cafes rely on to attract consumers? (I know you will answer: because of money) Of course, this is only one factor, this article will not discuss this factor.

Coffee shops in Shanghai will continue to increase, because most Shanghainese have the habit of drinking coffee, and it is passed down from generation to generation. As early as 1866, Shanghai Meihua Publishing House had recorded the cooking method of COFFEE in a book called "Making Foreign Rice Book." By the end of Qing Dynasty, there were many transliteration words about COFFEE in newspapers and books. In 1906, the first official opening of the Chinese "Baoli Coffee Shop" was established in Fuzhou Road, Shanghai. From this time on, Shanghai's socialites and nobles began to have the habit of drinking coffee.

By 1917, more and more coffee shops had appeared in Shanghai, and by 1937 the coffee industry in Shanghai was thriving in numbers and intensity no less than it is today (based on the number of people who could consume coffee at that time). As you can notice from the map below, 100 years ago, there were already one cafe in Shanghai within a few steps.

But what really made Shanghai people have the habit of drinking coffee was the emergence of vacuum-packed coffee powder in the early 60s. The appearance of pre-packaged coffee powder has changed the expensive price of coffee and changed the scene of people consuming coffee. Therefore, more and more ordinary people begin to buy coffee powder to cook at home, not to pursue flavor or environment. Drinking coffee is just a signal to encourage themselves to cheer up every day and form a cultural habit.

Of course, with the development of the times and the spread of fine coffee culture, even if it is not Shanghai, coffee shops are opening more and more. Shanghai has such a dense number of cafes, nor overnight things, each generation of independent cafe managers, in fact, have their own unique way of business. This explains why chain coffee shops are opening up so much, while independent coffee has room to compete.

The three most valuable things in independent cafes are: soul-like existence of the main manager, unique decoration style, unique product characteristics.

- about style

The greatest pleasure in opening an independent cafe is not to find professional people, according to their own preferences, decoration and decoration of a unique style of the store, the more casual style, the easier it is to leave a profound impact on consumers. There are thousands of beautiful cafe styles, but there is only one unique cafe.

Regardless of whether you have experience in running independent shops or not, you need to control the upfront costs at the beginning of each independent cafe. Each independent coffee shop opens, the first thing to ensure is that guests arrive with clean and tidy space to stay and a place to produce coffee, and the rest can be added slowly in the course of operation. This not only does not have to force themselves to hastily add some unsuitable decorations and cabinets in a period of time, but also allows the cafe to show its unique style because of the process of fate.

- on product

Unique product characteristics, this can be your own roasted coffee beans, can also be a homemade drink, can also have their own unique brewing understanding. The essence of coffee beans is a kind of crop. The display of flavor depends on whether the roasting person and brewing person understand it or not. The uniqueness of the product cannot be separated from the barista's interpretation of coffee beans.

A cup of hand-brewed coffee, a cup of cold coffee, or a cup of creative coffee can reflect a person's understanding and understanding of coffee. No matter what extraction/collocation method, it is the key to show the coffee flavor characteristics, and the sublimation coffee flavor characteristics are charm.

- About the Manager

Interesting host can be said to be the treasure of the independent coffee shop! Not many guests will turn back because of the product and environment, but many guests will turn back because of the host. Independent coffee shops have always been in demand because they have an interesting soul that chain coffee shops lack.

In this fast-paced city, the independent cafes that stand still are still spread all over the streets a hundred years later because of their human touch and slow pace.

Image Source: Internet

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