Hongqiao Coffee Festival connects Shanghai to the world
Shot by Shen Mengdan. Edited by Shen Mengdan. Subtitles by Shen Mengdan.
The 2024 Hongqiao International Coffee Culture Festival kicked off on Thursday with the release of a white paper on domestic coffee consumption.
The festival, organized by Xinhong Subdistrict of Minhang District and Hongqiao Pinhui (Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center), will run for a month with various activities.
The Global Coffee Industry Hongqiao Forum was held on Thursday, attended by representatives from countries that included Ethiopia, Brazil, and Vietnam.
"Coffee connects people from all over the world like a bridge, and I am full of confidence in the vast Chinese market," said Munteha Jemal Seid, plenipotentiary minister of the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in China.
"China has always been an important export market for Vietnam's coffee, and it is a land of unlimited potential and challenges for coffee suppliers. I also welcome Chinese investors to come to Vietnam to join the coffee industry," said Nguyen The Tung, consul general of Vietnam in Shanghai.
Augusto Pestana, consul general of Brazil in Shanghai, said coffee has always been part of Brazilian culture and history.
"I'm so glad that coffee culture now prospers in China, and I think our coffee partnership has just begun."
The 2024 China City Coffee Development Report was released at the ceremony.
At the opening ceremony, the 2024 China City Coffee Development Report was released, encompassing data on the national coffee industry and the current situation and trends of coffee consumption in different cities in China.
The report said there has been a significant increase in coffee consumption in China, from 9 cups per person a year in 2016 to 16.74 cups in 2023.
Shanghai is currently the most important Chinese city for investment and financing in the coffee industry, with a cumulative total of 27 investment and financing events from 2021 to 2023, far exceeding the 5 events in Beijing and Shandong.
Shanghai also remains the city with the largest number of coffee shops in China, with outlets totaling 9,553 in 2023, an increase of 1,023 from last year.
Among them, 2,056 foreign-funded coffee companies were stationed in Shanghai by the end of last year, and its number of foreign-funded coffee companies is also a nationwide first.
Among the top 10 coffee brands in terms of the number of stores in the country, most domestic coffee brands represented by Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee were founded after 2015, but their expansion speed is overwhelming.
For example, a Luckin Coffee was founded in 2017, it now covers 318 Chinese cities, while Starbucks currently covers 275.
The report also shows that milk coffee products with innovative elements are dominating the domestic market, such as "raw coconut latte" and "raw cheese latte," which has pushed many foreign coffee brands such as Costa and Peet's to develop coffee flavors with Chinese characteristics.
Visitors can taste coffee from different parts of the world at the ceremony.
"Shanghai has a destined relationship with coffee, with its first café opening as early as 1886. Coffee culture and Shanghai's city culture have a long history and connection," said Zhang Bin, deputy director of the Hongqiao International Central Business District Management Committee.
"The Hongqiao hub has the full geographic advantage that no matter who comes to Shanghai when they come out of Hongqiao train station or Hongqiao airport, their first cup of coffee starts exactly from here," said Zhang.
Policies related to promoting the coffee industry in Minhang were released at the opening ceremony, encouraging brand innovation and the development of overseas markets, as well as supporting financial, lending, and talent services for the supply chain.
A brand-new online Internet platform: Hongqiao International Coffee Port, was also formally established, a whole industry chain transaction service platform developed by Hongqiao Pinhui and China Construction Bank.
The platform will provide one-stop online services for all subjects in the coffee industry chain and form an "online standard" for the industry.
This month, Longfor Paradise Walk, TheHub, Hongqiao Railway Station will hold 9 activities including specialty coffee bazaars and themed concerts.
Speakers share their ideas at the Global Coffee Industry Hongqiao Forum.
