What the new Blue Bottle coffee store in Jing'an shows

Blue Bottle Coffee opened its second mainland China store on August 5 at Jing'an Kerry Centre in Shanghai, a two-floor space of over 500 square meters with about 160 seats aimed at white-collar workers. Opening-day queues ran about 25 minutes, down from seven hours at the first store in February.

The design uses more than 13,000 handmade terracotta bricks and draws on traditional roof tile forms, following the company's practice of tailoring each coffee store to its neighborhood. Prices stay at 28 to 50 yuan, and Blue Bottle has not joined the domestic price war, keeping its specialty positioning even as rivals discount.

Blue Bottle Coffee, hailed as the "Apple of the coffee world," opened its second store in mainland China on August 5 at Shanghai's Jing'an Kerry Centre. Unlike its first store by the Suzhou Creek, this new location is rooted in the Nanjing West Road commercial area, spanning over 500 square meters across two floors with about 160 seats, primarily targeting white-collar workers. The design incorporates traditional Chinese roof tile elements, using more than 13,000 handmade terracotta bricks. On opening day, queues were still necessary, but the wait time had shrunk from seven hours at the first store six months ago to about 25 minutes. Blue Bottle Coffee has not joined the domestic price war, maintaining its niche specialty pricing of 28 to 50 yuan.

On August 5, Blue Bottle Coffee, known as the "Apple of the coffee world," officially opened its second store in mainland China—the Jing'an Kerry Centre location.

Previously, Coffee Workshop had been closely following the progress of this new store. The first mainland China store opened on February 25 this year, and just a week later, netizens exposed the location of the second store.

In fact, Blue Bottle Coffee does not set restrictions on site selection. Hu Jun, General Manager of Blue Bottle Coffee Greater China, mentioned in a media interview that wherever coffee consumers are, the store will open there. Its locations cover various types, including communities and commercial districts.

Unlike the first store located by the Suzhou Creek, the second store is not situated in a historic building but is chosen in the bustling Jing'an Nanjing West Road commercial area. The store has two floors, with a total area of over 500 square meters, about 160 seats, and primarily targets white-collar office workers.

However, Blue Bottle Coffee has always pursued a unique design for each store, integrating with the surrounding community and architecture. For example, a Blue Bottle store in Brooklyn, New York, specifically reserves a large space for strollers to accommodate parents who often take their children for walks nearby.

For this reason, even amidst modern reinforced concrete, Blue Bottle Coffee's second store still incorporates traditional Chinese architectural elements. The design is inspired by traditional roof tiles, extending them into the space, materials, and meals. The store features over 13,000 handmade fired terracotta bricks, used for the bar, stairwell walls, and the second-floor main space. Through materials as a medium, it presents local history and culture, creating a unique sense of spatial immersion.

The preparation for the second Blue Bottle Coffee store in mainland China actually began in early March this year. Unfortunately, Shanghai entered a months-long pandemic control management at the end of March, which affected the preparation progress.

Shanghai's first Blue Bottle Coffee store was also affected by the pandemic, suspending operations from mid-March until May 3, when it launched community group buying services, and resumed dine-in on July 1. Unlike the initial opening period, after resuming dine-in, there were no longer long queues outside the store, and the face-to-face interaction time between customers and baristas was extended as much as possible.

On August 5, the first day of opening for Shanghai's second Blue Bottle Coffee store, a Shanghai media outlet conducted an on-site visit and found that around 9 a.m., many customers were already queuing at the entrance, with young people coming in droves to check in. However, compared to the grand scene six months ago when the first store required a seven-hour queue to enter, the Jing'an Kerry Centre store also required queuing on its first day, but the waiting time was significantly shortened.

A Xiaohongshu user shared their experience, saying they joined the queue in the afternoon and entered the store about 25 minutes later, but the first floor was already fully occupied, and by the time they went up to the second floor, there was exactly one empty table left.

Currently, Blue Bottle Coffee products are priced between 28 and 50 yuan, with Americano at 32 yuan per cup and Latte at 42 yuan per cup. It is evident that compared to Manner, which is found in many corners of Shanghai, Blue Bottle Coffee's pricing is considerably higher, partly due to its higher brand awareness and partly due to its unique product experience.

It is worth mentioning that Front Street Coffee also continuously monitors the dynamics of the specialty coffee market, providing professional information and product recommendations for enthusiasts.

Now that Blue Bottle Coffee's second store has opened, it has not only avoided the price war among domestic coffee brands but also continued its "niche minimalist + specialty" approach.

Image source: Internet

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