The Adventure of Brazilian Coffee in the East: to pounce on the chain store

Brazilian coffee is excellent Oriental adventure: want to pounce on chain stores

February 01, 2013 09:48 Chinese Entrepreneur Magazine

Brazilian Coffee Oriental Adventures

● An unknown Brazilian coffee brand squeezed into the high-skilled Chinese market

● After successfully breaking the game, his great ambition is to pounce on chain stores

["Chinese Entrepreneur"](Wen_Reporter Zan Huifang Editor_Fang Yu)"Continue to purchase, or close Zhang Daji", this problem has plagued She Qiongzhi for a whole year. The ultimate problem tormenting him was how to get his company's little-known Brazilian coffee brand TABOM CAFE established in China.

At the end of 2010, she Qiongzhi joined Tabang Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. as the general manager of the company. At the time, the Brazilian-based coffee company had just settled in China. In an office on the fourth floor of an obscure building on Humin Road in Xuhui District, Shanghai, there are only three employees: She Qiongzhi, his partner and an assistant. On the Chinese market, who is he bar, what is "special bar" coffee, is even less known.

But coffee quality is his trump card in the Chinese market. The coffee company, which owns Brazil's largest coffee plantation with a history of 170 years, has been recognized by 11 certification bodies including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association. But it doesn't have the fame to match it. On 35% of the world's coffee production, he, like many local coffee producers, has a small market share and is unknown in the global coffee consumption market. "Brazilians are good at coffee growing, but not marketing," she explains, explaining why Brazil, as a coffee kingdom, does not have a coffee company or brand known to the world. At the same time, it also shows his great situation in China-everything has to start from scratch.

China is not a coffee market without incentives, thanks to companies such as Nestle and Starbucks, which have gradually introduced coffee culture to tea-loving Chinese. In particular, Starbucks has always insisted on freshly ground coffee, which is easier to maintain the inherent aroma of coffee beans than instant coffee. Under this influence, many Chinese consumers are also trying to buy coffee machines to grind their own coffee, many foreign coffee grinding equipment suppliers have come to China, China's coffee machine market can maintain a continuous growth of 20% every year. In this context, high-quality coffee beans deserve to be sought after by the market.

However, China remains an extremely price-sensitive market, which is the biggest problem for Brazilian coffee. Unlike Starbucks, which runs a chain of coffee shops, his company is currently limited to selling coffee beans. For example, in Jingdong Mall [Weibo], he sticks to the cheapest traditional coffee, the retail price of 454g is also about 90 yuan, and the same packaged gourmet coffee sells for 158 yuan.

At first, he hoped to open up the market by looking for general agents everywhere, but soon found it difficult to find suitable agents. China's coffee agents are roughly divided into two categories: one is the main agent illy, LAVAZZA and other large foreign companies high-priced products, the other is low-priced domestic OEM products. But no matter which category, usually already have a relatively fixed supply relationship, persuade them to recommend a price is not low and brand new is not easy. Shop supermarket, into the five-star hotel, but also means high "entrance fee", he can't afford it. In the end, the "new player" decided to use the catering channel as a breakthrough.

During that time, she Qiongzhi repeatedly walked into the customer's shop, introduced his great history, asked the other party to try drinking, persuaded the boss to place an order. In foreign countries, many restaurants will clearly inform consumers of the brand of coffee used in the store, but in China, few restaurants do so. In order to maximize profits, shopkeepers care more about whether coffee beans are cheap enough than quality. And the price of his bar is often about 40% higher than that of low-priced coffee beans, so many people reject it.

She quickly learned to talk about the price, no longer say that the total price is 40%, only tell each other,"My coffee, diluted to each cup of coffee, only 4 cents expensive"; He also found that Italian restaurants usually prefer Italian coffee, do not go; Instead of asking the owner to change the brand directly, it is better to convince his supplier, which often wins most customers of the supplier's service.

However, she also encountered all kinds of "unreliable" in this process, some shopkeepers to set up coffee machines as the premise of purchase; even some people in the name of false companies, holding fake contracts to come to the door, just to cheat a meal. She Qiongzhi was not stupid. After a few rounds, he was also summing up his experience.

However, an unknown brand in the early stage of entering the new market, negotiation skills are not the key, really help She Qiongzhi, is the network. She Qiongzhi knew many chefs, friends introduced him, plus the quality of the special coffee itself, so that he accumulated the first batch of customers. According to reports, 28 of his top 30 customers in China were introduced by friends.

The problem is that the speed of customer accumulation is too slow. In the first year, he added only one new customer per month on average. Add in the fact that new customers typically order only one case a month and inventory pressures begin to show. In March 2011, the company officially opened the first batch of 5000 kilograms of coffee imported, a year later sold only 1000 kilograms. To prevent expiration, he ended up disposing of the rest of the coffee at a low price. The Brazilian coffee company, in its first battle in China, suffered heavy losses.

The turnaround occurred in March 2012. An agent serving a high-end supermarket in Shanghai took the initiative to come to the door and asked for special coffee. The former noticed the excellent coffee at the exhibition in October last year. After months of evaluation, she Qiongzhi decided to represent his excellent products. She Qiongzhi was overjoyed."What makes me happy most is that the other party said he likes our coffee very much."

Restocking, ensuring that all coffee is as fresh as possible (supermarkets require delivery time not to exceed half a year of production date), in November 2012, Super Coffee placed on the shelves of more than 200 Ole 'and Cityshop supermarkets. For him, the profits from supplying supermarkets and restaurants are similar, but the former provides steady demand and demand is considerable. Now, his stick sales can reach 1800 kg per month, with supermarkets accounting for 40%. Coming in late, it's hard to conclude that great coffee gets a warm welcome in supermarkets, but it gives him a chance to be great. In February, he will be allowed to sample and promote his products in supermarkets.

At the same time, the external environment is also changing in a direction conducive to his development. In the past, trade between China and Pakistan flourished. No matter whether it was export or import, containers were always loaded on ships sailing between China and Pakistan. In 2012, imports from Brazil to China are decreasing, container prices are falling, he only needs to import half a container of coffee at a time, the product is fresher, but the cost is only a little higher; restaurant and coffee shop owners find that the taste of customers is getting more and more sophisticated, the number of consumers accepting coffee beans is increasing, and it is getting harder and harder to substitute inferior coffee beans. In order to meet the trend, owners are willing to pay for more expensive coffee beans. On the one hand, the high-priced coffee bean market is full of fakes, on the other hand, because the price is transparent, it is losing bargaining space, and using new brands such as Tebang has higher profits instead.

Although China currently consumes only 4 cups of coffee per capita per year, and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other first-tier cities only 20 cups, far behind the average annual consumption of 500 cups of coffee per capita in the United States, the Chinese market is providing more opportunities for coffee-loving consumers. The number of cafes in China has doubled in the past five years-from 15898 in 2007 to 31783 in 2012, according to a new market research report from Mintel, a London-based specialist market research firm. She says the number of coffee shops in Shanghai has doubled since 2010, when she first entered China.

She Qiongzhi hopes to further accelerate the development of his stick in the Chinese market. In 2013, he plans to open a coffee shop in China. She Qiongzhi has thought of two models_one similar to "looking for tea," which focuses on coffee takeout, which he makes himself and welcomes young people to join; and one like Starbucks, which provides rest space and pastries and expands in a way that brands authorize. However, he knows that change will not come so quickly."We are mentally prepared. It will take four to five years for him to make money in China."

The number of cafes in China has doubled in the past five years-from 15898 in 2007 to 31783 in 2012, according to a new market research report from London-based specialist market research firm Mintel.

Of the 3000 Internet users over the age of 20 surveyed, one in five Chinese urban consumers said they had visited a cafe at least five times in the past year. When consumers choose a cafe, the quality of the food is the primary factor, followed by the quality of the beverage, attracting consumers into the coffee culture circle is not just food and beverage. 15% of consumers are influenced by the environment and atmosphere.

(Editor's Note: Coffee Vera)