Innovation in coffeehouse

Zhang Yan, founder of One Quarter Coffee in Beijing, organized the brand's first livestream with her baristas on March 1.

"We lead the audience to visit our cafe and the hutong (traditional alley) where we're located. Also, our baristas show how to make our specialty coffees," Zhang says.

She opted against streaming on an open platform. The platform she used requires a QR code, which employees sent to family and friends.

"We may get fewer viewers than on an open platform. But we can ensure every single viewer is really interested in coffee," she explains.

"Coffee has a more specific consumer interest than restaurant food, which can be more indiscriminate."

Zhang and her team reviewed their performance after the first video to see what they could do to improve. They realized the camera shook during close-ups and they should prepare music.

Zhang hadn't watched many livestreams before the epidemic. She plans to watch more by the most popular hosts.

One Quarter Coffee opened last year, focusing on specialty coffee. The cafe suggests customers take their first sip within 30 seconds and finish their cup in three minutes.

"It's not the kind of coffee that you can enjoy for a whole morning," she explains.

"The baristas make coffee on our first floor. We don't even suggest our clients drink the white coffee on the second floor, because that several seconds of time spent walking to the table will diminish the coffee's best flavor," Zhang says.

The epidemic has stopped people from coming in to drink.

"We found that people still need good-quality coffee. So, we've started takeaway services and selling drip coffee," she says.

The livestreaming not only brought Zhang dozens of orders but also helped her to gather two WeChat groups each with around 200 people interested in coffee.

"For the past half year, we have run a group with 700 coffee lovers. But we added 400 more in two hours with the livestream. It's amazing," Zhang says.

The livestreamed shows have inspired the 40-year-old to embrace new media and has also pushed her to do more online sales.

"Offline sales growth is slow. The epidemic has shown me that online promotion can make growth exponential."

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