GenZ has 50 million VND, can they open a drink shop?

Starting a business is the dream and ambition of many people, especially GenZ (those born between 1997 and 2012), they can be students, fresh graduates or people who have only been working for a few years.

Many GenZ with little capital (50 million VND) think they should open a beverage shop because this field is easy to do, easy to catch trends and quickly generates profits.

But according to Mr. Nguyen Thai Binh - expert in the food and beverage industry (F&B), Director of Concepts Academy (VCS): "For young GenZ people who do not have much experience, starting a beverage business with a capital of 50 million VND is okay, but they should not open a shop right away."

Because 50 million VND is enough money to start a business in the F&B industry but not enough resources to "open a shop". Opening a shop means taking on 5 risks at the same time: premises, equipment, human resources, products, cash flow. Starting a business in F&B means starting with a lean model, testing the market, learning from real data, and then expanding.

“50 million VND is not enough to open a store but it is enough to build a thinking platform and a testing model,” the expert emphasized.

Experts say that with 50 million VND it is difficult to open a beverage shop. (Illustration photo).

In addition, Mr. Binh also advised that the appropriate culinary model for starting a beverage business is a cart or take-away kiosk in office or school areas. The second is selling through Food Apps (GrabFood, ShopeeFood) to save on restaurant investment costs and rental costs.

“Some people can open a shop right in their apartment, then sell to the residents, and then develop it into a shop. Opening a shop with a streamlined model for take-away with an area of 20 - 40 square meters will require investment and capital preparation of 200 - 300 million VND,” the expert said.

Mr. Binh also believes that if we know how to exploit social networking platforms (Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram) well, this will be a good land for business. Because nowadays, young people sometimes do not buy products because they are cheap, but they buy them because of the feeling. A drink can go viral if it has a story, a visual (design), and a vibe (energy, emotion).

“Young people always want to be creative and innovative in their beverage experience. Just a 15-second video on TikTok, a signature (personalized) recipe, or a small corner full of personality, you can sell dozens or hundreds of drinks a day without a big sign. Besides, Food App is also a good customer access channel for first-time entrepreneurs, they can easily manage, operate, and control orders more easily,” the analyst said.

However, besides the opportunities, GenZ may encounter some challenges when starting a business such as: Emotional thinking, in this case, opening a shop because they like it, without testing the market first; Wanting to be the boss early but forgetting that being an F&B boss is a service job, not being a "boss".

In addition, being able to make the dish is a necessary and mandatory condition because customers must be able to drink it before paying for the product. In particular, everyone must also know how to operate the restaurant, understand the process, read the profit and loss statement (P&L), understand costs, inventory, net profit, and break-even point . "Lack of understanding of costs and cash flow will cause many people to burn capital because they do not know how to maintain profit margins," Mr. Binh warned.

Brand pressure and consumer habits are also big challenges. Because young people like to try but are not loyal if the product is not truly different.

Therefore, the expert suggests that before opening a shop, GenZ should do 3 months of "pretend shop owners" including: Making their own drinks, selling their own drinks, recording customer feedback; Calculating costs, profits and losses for each cup; Learning how to post products on apps, process orders, and take care of customers.

“50 million VND is not a small amount, GenZ should use it to buy real experience instead of buying a nice location. Starting an F&B business should not start by opening a shop but should start with a lean operational mindset and a deep understanding of customers,” Mr. Binh recommended.

HOANG DUNG

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/genz-co-50-trieu-dong-mo-quan-ban-do-uong-duoc-khong-ar984424.html