Is a campus coffee bean name and brand enough to draw students?

A junior student opened a coffee shop at an abandoned campus bar counter, selecting beans, milk and equipment personally. With no rent, the average price sat at 9 yuan, but almost no students bought. The pattern points to positioning rather than price: a low price alone does not pull customers away from chains that already sit on campus.

Students noted that Luckin, Cotti and Lucky Cup are established on campus, and at similar prices customers prefer brands with training, standardized output and a recognizable coffee bean name. The advice for campus operators is to decide whether the shop is a grab-and-go stop or a place to linger, then build traffic through online promotion, community groups and campus delivery.

Owning a coffee shop on a university campus is the entrepreneurial dream of many students. Recently, a junior student shared their experience of opening a coffee shop at an abandoned bar counter on campus: personally selecting beans, choosing milk, and picking equipment. With no rent pressure, the average price was only 9 yuan, but business remained sluggish. Aside from the occasional teacher stopping by, there were almost no customers. Why can't low prices win over the student crowd? Netizens analyzed that chain brands like Luckin, Cotti, and Lucky Cup had already taken root on campuses. When prices are comparable, consumers tend to favor chains with brand assurance and standardized output. Additionally, campus coffee shops need to clarify whether they are grab-and-go stores or third places, and open up the market through online promotion, community operations, and campus delivery. This article compiles netizens' practical suggestions as a reference for campus coffee entrepreneurs.

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Having a coffee shop of one's own is a dream for many, and quite a few students put it into practice during their campus years. Some open dorm coffee shops, and those with better conditions can even take over small shops on campus and seriously start a coffee business.

Recently, a netizen shared that there was a bar counter on campus that had been abandoned for a long time, and they took it over to run a coffee shop, personally handling everything from bean selection to milk choice to equipment setup. Since there was no rent pressure, the average price of coffee was as low as 9 yuan.

However, even at such a low price, the coffee shop's business remained very poor. Aside from teachers occasionally coming for a drink, there were basically no customers every day.

It is clearly located right among the student community, yet no students are willing to buy in. Why is that? Some netizens analyzed the reason for them: there are simply too many choices! Especially after low-price coffee chains like Luckin, Cotti, and Lucky Cup became permanent fixtures on campuses, when coffee prices are roughly the same, consumers may be more inclined to choose chain coffee with brand assurance, systematic training, and standardized output. Therefore, netizens pointed out bluntly: opening a coffee shop near a school without running promotions makes it hard to break into the market.

On the other hand, some netizens speculated that poor sales might be because the coffee shop hadn't found the right positioning. Especially for the teacher-student group, grabbing coffee and rushing to class and drinking coffee while discussing are both very common scenarios on campus. Therefore, campus coffee shop owners should decide early on whether they are only running a grab-and-go store or providing a third place to attract customers.

The advice given by these "online mentors" is of course far more than this.

Since the coffee shop isn't well-known, the first step is to build awareness — online, spread information about the coffee shop by running accounts on various platforms, using campus confession walls, and promoting through Moments; offline, use activity partnerships and signage promotion to make the coffee shop's name "ubiquitous."

Moreover, from certain angles, campus coffee is similar to community coffee, as both target a fixed nearby crowd. Therefore, running a campus coffee shop can draw on the successful experience of community coffee, and one very important aspect is community awareness. Some netizens suggested first creating a group to "capture" potential consumers, then regularly sending red envelopes in the group, with the best luck prize being free coffee, using this method to attract customers and increase attention.

In the comments section, quite a few actual university students excitedly offered suggestions: campus delivery must be offered! Although distances on campus are not far, "convenience" is the biggest lure for university students. Coffee delivered downstairs to the dormitory is somewhat more "fragrant" than coffee across the street.

Wow! I have to say, netizens are really amazing!

Image source: Internet

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