Starting a tea room in Bangkok

[Jaxter78]

Hi all

Lately I have been thinking alot about my future here in Thailand and what I would do with my money if I was able to save enough to start a small business. My first idea was to start a coffee shop, but there's already thousands of them. So I thought about starting a small tea room instead.

Do you guys think there's a market for that here in Thailand? It would be a small place, with a small selection of teas to begin with and some cakes etc.

It's just an idea and wanted to hear some second opinions on it as I don't have alot of experience in this field.

[Brit_Doggie]

Hmm do people still drink tea and more importantly do thais? i know they drink the lemon tea etc that you can purchase at the likes of 7 eleven so not sure that your idea is good,but if you do start very best of luck.

[NickJ]

The police seem to be collecting money for it often enough....so who knows.

[Jaxter78]

I see, I was just thinking that since you never see one, it might be an opportunity if I found the right location.

[onthemoon]

If you don't see any tea rooms, there are two possibilities: 1.) It is a virgin market and you have a revolutionary idea, or 2.) There is no market.

The MBA way to find out which it is, is to create questionnaires, make surveys and calculate the results. The more reliable way is to use money you can burn, and just open a tea room with a nice interior design in a good location (remember: location, location, location) and see whether it takes off.

Good luck.

[fletchsmile]

Quick initial thoughts:

On the positive side there might be something in it. If we were in the UK it could be one of those quaint little niche markets. Particularly in nice surroundings/ scenery. Not sure it would be easy to replicate that in BKK.

On the negative side:

- From what I see in Thailand though, tea isn't really a cultural drink, with perhaps the exception of green tea among Chinese Thai in particular. Not other types like Earl Grey, etc. So you'd be relying on introducing a new product/ concept with something different if tea only.

- Perhaps more important though is when you look at substitute products and competitors. The obvious one being coffee. As you say there are many coffee shops and chains. Unfortunately for you, these also sell tea, albeit a more limited range than perhaps you were considering. If you get groups coming along it's likely some of them would prefer coffee, unless you find as you say dedicated niche tea groupies.

If I consider our family: my wife prefers tea (so there are some Thais out there) but doesn't drink a great deal. I prefer coffee, so we'd be looking for somewhere to suit both tastes at the same time if out together. So if you didn't offer more than tea you'd be unlikely to get both our business at the same time, and we'd be in a coffee shop that also does tea and biscuits for the kids. Also what would you be offering my kids? Healthy Fruit juices? As without them most of the time you wouldn't get us either, so most of the time we'd be looking for family or nothing. Can't see you attracting large groups of guys either

On the positive side, and from another angle I might consider paying you double if you would take my wife and kids off my hands now and again for a place I had a valid excuse not to go with them. Possibly treble if there was something of interest to me nearby I could slip off too....

Cheers

Fletch

Edited March 23, 2015 by fletchsmile

[Mark79]

There is a cake shop / tea room near my old condo Millennium Residence on Suk soi 20, think it was called "let them eat cake" it was more focused on the cakes but did do a pot of tea also. Prices were astronomical but it was quite a pleasant place to sit for a cuppa.

There were often Lambos and Ferraris parked outside and it was very popular with the hiso Thais.

I've seen those TWG tea stalls in Emporium and Paragon too which often look to be doing good business.

[balo]

Thais loves ice tea with milk or hot green tea , So yes there is a market if you try to make it "Thai friendly".

Personally I prefer Japanese Green tea macha latte .

[MJP]

Thais loves ice tea with milk or hot green tea , So yes there is a market if you try to make it "Thai friendly".

Personally I prefer Japanese Green tea macha latte .

What has happened to you? You've been turned.

I'll send an emergency package of PG Tips and Tetley.

[AyG]

Upmarket malls have tea rooms. Brands include: Twinings, TWG and Mandarin Oriental.

These are very much places to go to be seen, charge an arm and a leg, and present very attractive cakes. I'm not sure there are many examples of simpler, more rustic tea rooms outside the upmarket shopping malls.

[Jaxter78]

Hello again

Thank you all for your replies, and especially thanks to you Fletchsmile for insightful post. It seems as if there's very different opinions on wether it would be a success or not, so I have to give it some more thought.

[Aussieroaming]

Hi Tea for HiSo...lovely idea

[onthemoon]

Hi Tea for HiSo...lovely idea

I do believe this could work ... if (and probably only if) the HiSo people are your friends and support you.

[NeverSure]

Hi Tea for HiSo...lovely idea

I do believe this could work ... if (and probably only if) the HiSo people are your friends and support you.

Actually he should serve LoSo tea and biscuits from England which MJP would be happy to ship in for him.

</joking>

(I love English teas.)

[Jaxter78]

Hmmm...

Maybe it's too risky. How much do you ghys think it would cost to set up a small Place like that?

[CaptHaddock]

There seem to be lots of tea rooms popping up lately. On Thanon Lang Suwan at the Portico community mall there is a very nice cafe on the second floor. They must be successful because they recently expanded into the adjacent space. There is also a small, very neat tea shop at the top floor of the Mercury Villa, the red mall close to the Chidlom BTS station.

If I were the op I would go and try to chat up the owners/workers of these places to try to get some idea of how the business works.

[canarysun]

I can't see the idea of a " Tea Room " working in Thailand.In the Uk most of the old Tea Rooms that we had in the 1970's ( The days of " On The Buses " & " George & Mildred " ) have all closed down.They were very popular with the " Blue Rinse Brigade " and most were packed out!

But most of the Thais don't drink tea,and the idea would be totally alien to them........

F.J

[seancbk]

Hmm do people still drink tea and more importantly do thais? i know they drink the lemon tea etc that you can purchase at the likes of 7 eleven so not sure that your idea is good,but if you do start very best of luck.

Emporium has a TWG Tea Salon

The food: More or less French with minor Asian touches. The menu includes sets for breakfast, brunch and dinner, as well as all-day dishes. Almost everything is infused with tea, from the seared foie gras salad (B790) and beef tenderloin (B990) to the mango crumble (B230). Afternoon tea sets (3pm-6pm, B370-B680) include some patisserie choices while their macarons (B50 each) come in interesting flavors like Camelot Tea & Praline. TWG is also working on adding a few local dishes to the menu, hinting at some intriguing tea-infused Thai flavors.

The drinks: With a dizzying selection of over 450 types of tea, you might want to ask staff for a recommendation. Served by the pot (B250 for most), signature varieties include the delicately floral white earl grey (B470) and the 1837 black tea (B250). Teas can be taken hot or cold, but most are recommended neat, unadulterated by sugar, lemon or milk. Mocktails (B190), wine by the glass (B380) and champagne (B4,900/bottle) are also available.

The crowd: During the week it’s mostly ladies who lunch, but on weekends it’s packed with families who come for brunch or tea. The salon doesn’t take reservations, so a wait may be required.

If you can find the right location (Thonglor, Sathorn, Silom most likely) and you can afford to do decor that makes the Thais think the venue is upscale then you could potentially do well. Bear in mind that F&B (Food & Beverage) is a tough business and there is a lot of competition for people's baht.

There are plenty of similar businesses (Teas, Coffees, Cakes) around Bangkok.... recommend you do extensive research.

What I can tell you is the Thais love these places.

Good luck!

[AyG]

Emporium has a TWG Tea Salon

TWG is a Singaporean franchise operation (as far as I can tell) with outlets in upmarket establishments worldwide. If the OP has the capital, and somebody else hasn't bought the sole franchisee rights for Thailand, that might be a way forward.

https://www.twgtea.com

[NoshowJones]

If you don't see any tea rooms, there are two possibilities: 1.) It is a virgin market and you have a revolutionary idea, or 2.) There is no market.

The MBA way to find out which it is, is to create questionnaires, make surveys and calculate the results. The more reliable way is to use money you can burn, and just open a tea room with a nice interior design in a good location (remember: location, location, location) and see whether it takes off.

Good luck.

One thing to remember which is very important. If you start up any business and it

becomes successful, you can be sure other Thais in the area, will start doing the same thing.

[AyG]

One thing to remember which is very important. If you start up any business and it

becomes successful, you can be sure other Thais in the area, will start doing the same thing.

That really depends upon the height of the threshold of entry into the business. If, for example, the start-up costs are high, or the business has protected intellectual property, or the business has an exclusive contract with a key supplier, then there won't be copycat businesses.

[schweizer]

Personally I would go for a Japanese tea room with some full tea ceremony rooms, its very niche but the HiSo do love niche (and the countless Japanese visitors) and being special and different in a world of pre-packaged chain coffee shops and tea rooms could work

[samsensam]

there's a 'tea room' on the GF at Emporium. outrageous prices and plenty of customers so you could make a bomb if you get your product and location right and are clear on your market; not run of the mill thai's but the hiso crowd, foreigners especially americans, and chinese

there used to be a decent tea shop on sukhumvit called Anna's tea room, a cheeky reference to Anna from 'The King and I' story. i'm not sure how the Culture Ministry didnt spot the reference and close the place down. or maybe they did.

[saakura]

A lot of the good coffee shops around central bangkok have a nice selection of tea, so it is not rare.

[maidee]

start a tea room in a muslim area, but than your place might be used for other things too

[NickJ]

Aint no Thai Chinese gonna frequent a farang tea room....unless its a tea room.

[sprq]

Thais loves ice tea with milk or hot green tea , So yes there is a market if you try to make it "Thai friendly".

Personally I prefer Japanese Green tea macha latte .

What has happened to you? You've been turned.

I'll send an emergency package of PG Tips and Tetley.

Yes, anybody who likes green tea with milk in it is seriously disturbed, as are the people who invented it. Disgusting!

[carter1882]

Tea rooms are up market and attract the kind of clientele who will pay a lot. However, they will want very pleasant surroundings, ample parking etc. and are most likely to go to up market malls for that. If the OP goes into this the only chance of success is with a big initial investment. Any half hearted "we'll see how it goes before we invest much" is doomed to failure.

[sprq]

Many people have said Thais prefer coffee. Well this is something very new, only beginning in the 1990s, started by Nescafe originally with massive publicity, then cranked up by Starbucks with proper coffee, then others tried Starbucks-type outlets, then every bright spark was opening a cafe on every corner, until you have a veritable coffee mania in Thailand today.

But in 1990 hardly any Thais drank coffee, and they were more likely to drink tea, especially those of Chinese background.

So it all depends on marketing and fashion. The coffee craze is basically impelled by American and continental European influence. A tea craze would be difficult now because of coffee's entrenchment, but certain kinds of tea rooms could work well. In an area with plenty of British retirees, you could do well with a retro caff just like used to exist everywhere in Britain up until the 1970s. In other places, you'd probably only do well with a posh Windsor-style tea room for hi-so Thais or a trendy-type tea room for the young and hip Thais.

[timendres]

I see, I was just thinking that since you never see one, it might be an opportunity if I found the right location.

When I was looking to purchase a company in BKK two years ago, there were two "tea shops" for sale. They were both located in large modern shopping centers and seemed to do a decent business. The key to their survival was not people coming in to drunk tea. They made their money selling specialty teas that you could not purchase at BigC or Tesco, and tea making/drinking accessories.

Their sit down business was mostly foreigners and HiSo Thais.

This is not an easy business to make work. For many reasons. I eventually decided to steer clear of this business model, but if you really really love tea, then you might be able to make it work. But it appeared to be a business that required the owner to invest a labor of love to make it work. If you are just looking for any business that will make you an income, then I think there are much better choices.