Coffee, Cafes and Marketing in Japan

Coffee and cafes play a big part in many people’s lives in Japan, and it’s been that way for a long time. In fact, it was Japan’s kissaten coffee culture that inspired Blue Bottle Coffee founder James Freeman.

Looking around Japan, like many other countries, there seems to be a lot of coffee shops popping up. The truth is however, that the number has actually been decreasing over the past decade according to the Japanese government’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Annual spend on coffee by Japanese consumers has been increasing.

Despite this and other changes in the market over the past several years,  Japanese consumers are spending more on coffee than ever.

This is led by the under-30 year old demographic.

Prices at chains such as Starbucks and Ueshima have gone up, but that’s not the only reason for the increase in spending.

The majority of coffee, 6.54 cups per week, is actually not consumed at these chains but rather in the home.

Even though the number of coffee shops have decreased and consumers in Japan are spending more than ever, there is another battleground that wasn’t as big before - The digital space.

Coffee is a commodity, which means branding and marketing are more important than ever.

Yes, the beans, the drinks, the locations, the prices, online availability - these all matter and contribute to the success of a coffee or cafe business.

If we take a look at the ones growing and succeeding though, they have the same thing in common: Purposeful branding and marketing.

This goes beyond having a cool name and running Facebook Ads.

It’s a mix of tactical implementations that help build a relationship with potential customers and gain their trust - something of utmost importance when it comes to selling anything to Japanese consumers.

What we’ve compiled:

The challenge is what should businesses selling commoditized products do to succeed in Japan? In this case, those related to coffee and cafes.

A look at an Instagram post by a coffee shop in Tokyo, Japan

We compiled a brief that takes a look at the latest information around coffee, cafes and the Japan market, and then dove into what a few successful ones are doing to help them grow.

If you or someone you know is looking to grow their coffee or tea brand, cafe, restaurant or eatery in Japan, this might be interesting.