Huawei Exclusively Invests in a Coffee Shop!

In recent years, "coffee" has become a highly sought-after commodity in the eyes of giants from all kinds of industries. Leaders from every sector, food service or not, have one after another 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" (hereafter "One Cup Coffee"), classified under the international category of accommodation and food services. The trademark can no longer be queried today.

When the trademark was filed, people across industries speculated about whether Huawei planned to open a coffee shop. Although later developments showed this was not the case, it was clear that Huawei was trying to ride coffee's viral popularity to attract traffic.

The company also hoped to express openness, communication, and exchange through the Western habit of drinking coffee, in service of Huawei's strategic vision: a bucket of paste to bind Huawei's strength, a cup of coffee to absorb cosmic energy.

Huawei's Continued Coffee Strategy

Although "One Cup Coffee" never opened physical stores, Huawei's coffee strategy did not stop there. Recent reports indicate that Huawei has now exclusively invested in a coffee shop.

On February 8th, Jiangsu Bage'ai Coffee Operating Co., Ltd. received an angel round of financing worth 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 gives customers an independent third-party space suited to business negotiations, small gatherings of friends, leisure, and entertainment. It also provides tea sets and coffee equipment, so customers can use the facilities themselves after renting the shared space.

The funding from Huawei's current round will mainly go toward Bage'ai's key technology research and development, product updates and iteration, implementation of industry application scenarios, and market promotion.

The Strategic Vision Behind Coffee

In 2017, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said during a speech at the company's Cameroon representative office that a coffee shop is simply a place for communication. Whenever and wherever it appears, it is an opportunity and a place for exchange, and its form should not be understood narrowly.

A Huawei managing partner once stated that the future development trend of intelligent sensing is real-time, online, and miniaturized. That remark seemed to signal Huawei's strong interest in small shared-space projects, which it sees as a coming trend, with coffee and tea merely auxiliary services.

The Growing Trend of Shared Spaces

Now and in the future, intelligence is something many food and beverage brands value greatly. As people's pace of life keeps pushing toward speed and convenience, demand for shared independent spaces will only grow.

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. The company understands that customers come to coffee shops not only for a caffeinated beverage but in the hope of finding somewhere to breathe in their busy lives. These new multifunctional spaces also give the "third space" concept more concrete form.

Coffee as a Global Medium

A "simple" cup of coffee can help people build connections. What Huawei values most may be coffee's function as a global medium. Coffee itself is not the point for investors; the role the word "coffee" plays is what deserves attention.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Whether your coffee is shared in an office lounge, a meeting room, or at home, a dependable everyday bean makes all the difference. For anyone building a simple setup, FrontStreet Coffee recommends starting with two easygoing single origins: the Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon, a classic medium roast with creamy peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut notes that is smooth and low in acidity, and the washed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gudingding, a Grade 1 lot with jasmine florals, lemon, and citrus that stays clean and bright.

Both are forgiving across brewers and comfortable to share, which makes them a sensible first bag for a shared space or a home brewer just getting started.