How does coffee history in Europe shape this Shanghai post office café?

Shanghai's first post office selling coffee opened on September 17 at the Tianping Road Post Office, 1883 Middle Huaihai Road, remodeled as a Wukang Mansion-themed branch with a café run by Qiao Coffee of the 1909 brand Qiaojiashan. The interior borrows European architectural style and an open layout, with a courtyard outside and wooden fittings inside, alongside a photo check-in area and cultural merchandise display.

The postal area plus café totals 18 square meters, with the café built to no less than 5 square meters, and postal services continue as before. Qiaojiashan, known for traditional Chinese pastries, has pastry techniques listed in Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage. The move follows China Post's earlier milk tea shop and continues a pattern in the history of coffee shop industry where time-honored brands add drinks to draw younger visitors.

Following the buzz created by China Post opening a milk tea shop, Shanghai has also seen its first post office selling coffee. On September 17, the Tianping Road Post Office at 1883 Middle Huaihai Road was transformed into the Wukang Mansion-themed post office. While retaining its original postal services, it introduced a café, a photo check-in area, and a cultural and creative merchandise display area, in collaboration with Qiao Coffee under the century-old Shanghai brand Qiaojiashan. Is this post office coffee actually good? Why does China Post frequently cross over into the beverage track? This article will analyze from the perspectives of store renovation details, partner brand background, and China Post's crossover history, and explore the underlying logic of time-honored brands seeking rejuvenation.

After China Post ventured into the milk tea industry, Shanghai also saw a post office selling coffee.

According to Shanghai Post's official WeChat account and The Paper, on September 17, Shanghai's first post office offering coffee drinks officially opened, marking the city's first postal outlet selling coffee.

It is understood that Shanghai Post transformed the Tianping Road Post Office, located on the west side of Wukang Mansion at 1883 Middle Huaihai Road, into the Wukang Mansion-themed post office.

The renovated Wukang Mansion-themed post office presents a completely different look. In addition to continuing its original postal functions, the most eye-catching feature is a dedicated café inside, along with an outdoor photo check-in area and a cultural and creative product display area.

In terms of decor style, the post office features European architectural style and an open layout as its main theme, with a courtyard-style approach outdoors and wooden interiors in the hall.

In terms of area, the postal office area plus the café totals 18 square meters, with the café built to a standard of no less than 5 square meters.

Another noteworthy point is that this postal café has invited Qiao Coffee, newly launched by the time-honored Shanghai brand Qiaojiashan, to move in.

Public records show that Qiaojiashan is a time-honored Shanghai brand founded in 1909, known for traditional Chinese pastries and delicacies. As a century-old brand, Qiaojiashan's pastry-making techniques have been included in Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage list. At the end of 2019, Qiaojiashan boldly attempted a crossover, opening a unique café called Qiao Coffee at 1314 Middle Huaihai Road. With a youthful yet culturally rich new image, it sparked a new trend of pairing traditional pastries with Italian coffee, and the addition of pour-over coffee further enriched Qiao Coffee's menu.

As Shanghai's first post office selling coffee, the person in charge of the Wukang Mansion-themed post office stated that the original intention of opening this store was to further enhance the postal brand's influence in the cultural tourism market and among young consumers through a path that integrates tradition and modernity.

Currently, this postal café has entered its trial operation phase starting September 17.

However, when it comes to post offices venturing into the beverage sector, Shanghai's coffee post office is not the first to test the waters.

On June 4 this year, China Post made Weibo's trending list due to news of establishing a milk tea shop, and the very next day, the topic #OfficialResponseToChinaPostOpeningMilkTeaShop# trended again.

The Weibo topic #ChinaPostMilkTeaShopNotPostalBusiness# also accumulated 5.731 million views.

There have been detailed reports before: Whoa! China Post has opened a milk tea shop too.

In addition, China Post also opened a coffee shop in Xiamen. Although the café is not large overall, it is somewhat well-known locally. In terms of product line, China Post's coffee shop only offers a few coffee options, priced between 20 and 30 yuan.

However, whether it's the current Shanghai post office coffee, the Youyang de Cha milk tea shop in which China Post Fujian Company holds shares, or the Xiamen postal coffee, essentially they are all just means for the post office to explore innovation. If any brand always sticks to convention, indulges in past achievements without seeking change, it will eventually be abandoned by the market and quietly fade from public view.

Nowadays, more and more time-honored brands and old brands are choosing to cross over into the two major tracks of milk tea and coffee, which is no longer anything new. Milk tea and coffee are precisely the beverage categories most favored by today's younger generation, and are also seen by industry insiders as directions with broad market space and development prospects.

From a certain perspective, brands combining traditional elements with fashion trends for crossovers are seeking transformation and innovation, hoping to break free from the stereotypical impressions of time-honored brands, make their brand image more youthful, and keep pace with new markets to cater to consumer demands.

As for whether the post office's coffee crossover can ultimately secure a place in the coffee market, let time give the answer.

Finally—

Would you consider visiting a café opened by the post office for a check-in experience?

*Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.