Takeaway beverage services are booming.

Việt Nam•21/09/2023

In today's fast-paced and dynamic lifestyle, the demand for food and beverage services is not only increasing rapidly but also requires diversity and convenience in service methods. This demand has fueled the strong growth of the takeaway beverage business in recent times.

Surveys conducted in areas surrounding hospitals, schools, and industrial zones in Phu Ly city easily reveal a booming trend of takeaway beverage businesses, providing a primary source of income for many. With just a mobile stall, fresh fruit, ice cubes, a coffee grinder, a blender, and necessary fruit syrups, vendors can open a sales point, catering to a diverse range of customer needs, from teas to coffee, smoothies, and fruit juices. Because there are no costs for renting premises or hiring staff, and the target customers are primarily students, low-income workers, and laborers, these takeaway drinks are usually quite affordable, ranging from 7,000 to over 20,000 VND per cup (depending on the type).

Around the roads in Chau Son Industrial Park (Phu Ly City), the number of mobile food and drink takeaway stalls is increasing, with the highest concentration of sales in the early morning when workers start their shifts and during rush hour each day. Ms. Lai Thi Lien, the owner of a mobile food and drink stall in Chau Son Industrial Park, said: "With the advantage of requiring little capital, low risk, and providing a decent income, I chose this business model to start my business. Because I mainly serve factory workers, I primarily sell homemade drinks that are both high-quality and affordable, such as black bean sweet soup, lemonade, and sugarcane juice… Along with that, I also sell some food items for workers to buy for lunch or shift meals, such as vermicelli, sticky rice, and various types of bread. Each drink or food package costs only 5,000-10,000 VND." Many workers want to change up their meals or save money on the company's lunch allowance, so they often buy food and drinks from me.

Takeaway beverage services are booming. — **Ms. Dang Thi Tham's takeaway beverage stall on Ly Thai To Street, Phu Ly City, offers a wide variety of drinks to customers.** Photo: Han Han

Furthermore, on major streets or in areas with high foot traffic, takeaway beverage "shops" are also common, meeting consumer demand, especially during the hot summer months. A common feature of most of these takeaway drink stalls is that the vendors prepare a menu with prices clearly displayed on the front of their mobile carts so customers can easily see and choose their desired drink, then pay and take it away immediately instead of sitting down to drink as in fixed beverage shops. This business model aims to meet the needs of busy people who don't have much time to sit down, such as students, office workers, etc.

For example, at Ms. Dang Thi Tham's takeaway beverage shop on Ly Thai To Street (Phu Ly City), customers can freely choose drinks that suit their budget and preferences, with common prices ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 VND per cup, such as tea, coffee, milk tea, fruit-flavored yogurt, lemon tea, smoothies, and various fruit juices. Besides selling on-site, Ms. Tham also promotes her products on social media platforms like Zalo and Facebook, and offers delivery services upon request. On hot days, Ms. Tham sells hundreds of drinks.

Sharing about her work, Ms. Tham said: "Modern life is increasingly busy, and many people don't have much free time to sit in a cafe and enjoy coffee or drinks. Recognizing the high market demand for takeaway drinks, I decided at the beginning of the year to take a course in beverage preparation and then invested in buying a cart, machinery, equipment, and raw materials to open a sales point this summer. After researching, I chose a location that is easy to find, near a local market and office lunch restaurants with high foot traffic, and convenient for customers to wait for their orders and travel to. Although the 'shop' has only been open for a short time, because the prices of drinks are reasonable, only 50% of the prices at fixed stores, the shop attracts a large number of customers every day, both those who come to buy drinks and those who call to order drinks for home delivery, with a large number of customers being office workers."

As can be seen, the beverage market in general, and takeaway models in particular, are extremely diverse and developing dynamically. This takeaway beverage shop model is considered a unique business method with outstanding advantages such as low capital investment, flexible location mobility, and easy access to a wide range of customers. With many advantages, this type of business is being chosen by many young people to start their own businesses.

Nguyen Oanh

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