Huawei Exclusively Invests in a Coffee Shop!

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In recent years, "coffee" has become a highly sought-after commodity in the eyes of giants from various industries... Leaders from all sectors, whether in food service or not, have纷纷 invested in and ventured into coffee-related projects.

Last May, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. applied to register the trademark "One Cup Coffee Absorbs Cosmic Energy" (hereinafter referred to as "One Cup Coffee"), classified under international category of accommodation and food services. (Currently, the trademark can no longer be queried)

When this trademark was registered, people from all walks of life speculated whether Huawei was planning to open a coffee shop. Although subsequent developments showed this was not the case, it's clear that Huawei was attempting to leverage coffee's viral popularity to attract traffic.

They also hoped to express openness, communication, and exchange through the Western habit of drinking coffee, in order to achieve Huawei's strategic vision: A bucket of paste to unite Huawei's strength, a cup of coffee to absorb cosmic energy.

Huawei's Continued Coffee Strategy

Although "One Cup Coffee" did not open physical stores, Huawei's "coffee strategy" has not stopped. Recent reports indicate that Huawei has recently exclusively invested in a coffee shop!

On February 8th, Jiangsu Bage'ai Coffee Operating Co., Ltd. recently received an angel round financing of tens of millions of RMB, exclusively invested by Huawei, with Zhong Yueju E-commerce serving as financial advisor.

According to available information, this is a 24-hour unmanned shared tea and coffee room that provides customers with an independent third-party space suitable for business negotiations, small gatherings of friends, leisure and entertainment, etc. It also provides tea sets and coffee equipment, allowing customers to self-use the facilities after renting the shared space.

The funding from Huawei's current round of investment will mainly be used for Bage'ai's key technology research and development, product updates and iterations, implementation of industry application scenarios, and market promotion.

The Strategic Vision Behind Coffee

In 2017, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei once said during a speech at the Cameroon representative office that a coffee shop is just a place for communication. Regardless of when and where, it's an opportunity and place for exchange. Don't narrowly understand the form.

A Huawei managing partner once stated: "The future development trend of intelligent sensing is real-time, online, and miniaturization." This statement seems to indicate that Huawei is very interested in small shared space projects, which will also become a future trend. Coffee and tea are merely auxiliary services.

The Growing Trend of Shared Spaces

Whether now or in the future, intelligence is something that many food and beverage brands value greatly. As people's life rhythms continue to seek speed and convenience, the demand for shared independent spaces will also increase.

In November 2021, Starbucks took this step first, opening a new type of multifunctional space in the lobby of an office building, extending elements of shared office work and further strengthening the combination with coffee culture.

The "third space" concept has also been consistently emphasized by Starbucks. They understand that customers come to coffee shops not just for a caffeinated beverage, but hoping to find a place to breathe in their busy lives. These new multifunctional spaces also better materialize the "third space" concept.

Coffee as a Global Medium

A "simple" cup of coffee can help people establish connections. What Huawei values more may be coffee's function as a global medium. Coffee itself is not the focus for investors; the role played by the word "coffee" is what's worth paying attention to.

Image source: Internet

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