The coffee scene in China is booming: the drink is increasingly becoming the caffeine fix of choice for millennials and a growing middle class. While China still remains a tea-drinking nation, coffee isn’t exactly falling behind, and more people in the country want their coffee delivered right to their doorstep.
Starbucks has become synonymous with coffee. It’s the fastest growing market with more than 3,300 stores and 45,000 employees in China, dominating more than half of the country’s coffee market. Their delivery service, however, falls short. To Chinese consumers, Starbucks is location based — it represents a setting to drink coffee.
But with more Chinese looking to have their coffee conveniently delivered to them whenever, wherever, it was only natural that Starbucks venture into the delivery industry.
Only recently did the Seattle-based coffee chain make a major move in China by partnering with Alibaba to deliver coffee to customers. Prior to this, customers were getting their coffee delivered to them from third-party providers that have no relationships with the coffee chain.
One of those coffee-delivery servicers is Shanghai-based Coffee Box, which has been delivering coffee from Starbucks to customers since 2014. The delivery service simply dispatches couriers to buy coffee from Starbucks in main business districts, and charges $0.30 for delivery.
Over the years, Coffee Box has built a loyal following on its digital platform, raising $25 million in new funding just this March. After having researched and learned its consumers’ tastes and habits, Coffee Box now only delivers its own branded coffee and drinks.
Coffee Box CEO Zhang Xiaogao recently told Bloomberg how he plans to compete with Starbucks and shared what he thinks the American coffee giant’s foray into delivery industry means for China’s coffee industry.
By: Maytinee Kramer
