Kopi Tiam, The Original Starbucks?
[Opinion]
The Starbucks of Malaysia.
The Kopi Tiam has been around for decades, all the way back to the days of our grandparents and World War 2. Since then, it has transformed itself into a social past time for aged retirees, to the modern day, local equivilant of Starbucks and Coffee Bean.
Drive around in any large shopping district of Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya and you’d be hard pressed not to spot a Starbucks or Coffee Bean somewhere in the area, you may even find both! But look a little harder and you’ll probably find a Kopi Tiam nestled somewhere amongst the big boys, minding it’s own business and raking in all the cash.
The resurgence of an olden day past time which was more favoured by uncles and aunties who wanted a place to gossip and chit chat the day away has recently made a comeback. And what’s more, it’s the young who are frequenting the Kopi Tiams you see dotted around Malaysia.
A thing of the past, present and future.
You Sell Space? We Sell Space Too
The business model of the established coffee outlets like Starbucks and Coffee Bean are that they are not in the business of selling coffee, but selling space. Take this business model and replace the ‘Ice Blendeds’ with ‘Kopi Ais’, the ‘Muffins’ with ‘Roti Bakar’ and you have yourself a Kopi Tiam.
But selling space is no new thing for Kopi Tiams, they’ve been doing it for the longest time. 50 years ago there may not have been WIFI or airconditioning, but a Kopi Tiam was somewhere you would go with friends and just chit chat the day away, over a cup of black coffee, a piece of toast smothered in kaya and butter and two nicely half boiled eggs.
Getting In On The Act
The money generated by a Kopi Tiam can be quite staggering if it’s done correctly. For this reason and for this reason alone, the number of new outlets appearing all over Malaysia has been steadily increasing day by day. There are so many that in a single area, like Damansara Uptown, you can have 2 Kopi Tiams and 2 Starbucks no more than 500 metres away from each other.
There are many ways to start a Kopi Tiam, the easiest of which is to become a franchisee, where the parent company will provide assistance in almost every aspect of opening the outlet, all the way down to training the staff. However, this is probably the most expensive option as there can be very heavy royalty payments paid to the franchisor. However, you do get the benefit of a known brand name.
The other route to go down would be starting up your very own Kopi Tiam and creating a new brand for yourself. You’ll need to do everything from the training, decorating, stocking and recipes yourself, but it can cost you a whole lot less.
I prefer tea actually.
The Young and The Hopeful
Go into any Kopi Tiam now and I’ll bet you that 70% of the crowd are young, working adults or college/ university students. It’s a place to go and chat with friends, do some work or broker a business deal. It’s a trendy place to be seen now, although not so long ago they wouldn’t have been caught dead in one them.
Providing you with free WIFI for frequenting an outlet has made the Kopi Tiam a place where students and even working executives can congregate and do some work. A place where entrepreneurs and businessmen can meet clients or answer emails while they are out of the office. A place where these dame business deals can be made or broken.
The humble Kopi Tiam is slowly turning itself into a hub for the young and the business minded alike, a place for generation Y to sit and aspire.
So be it whether you want to run your own Kopi Tiam, sit and enjoy the atmosphere with family friends or do a little business, I think the Kopi Tiam experience is going to be around for another 50 years to come.
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December 12th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran
December 19th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Thanks Chris. Drop by again in the future…