Jilin Yanbian Prefecture Party Secretary Invites Internet Celebrity Coffee Enterprises for Discussion: Making the “King of County Coffee” Golden Brand Shine Brighter
On December 2, Yanbian Prefecture in Jilin Province held a symposium for internet-famous coffee enterprises, attended by Hu Jiafu, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Prefectural Party Committee. Nineteen representatives from coffee, catering, and vocational training institutions were invited to participate.
On December 2, Yanbian Prefecture gathered selected heads of internet-famous coffee enterprises to discuss ways to promote the upgrading of the coffee industry and accelerate the development of Yanbian’s cultural tourism market. WeChat public account “Yanbian Fabu” photo.
According to reports in the “Yanbian Daily,” Hu Jiafu, representing the Yanbian Prefectural Party Committee and Government, expressed gratitude to the coffee enterprises for their contributions to the prosperity of Yanbian’s cultural tourism market. He encouraged them to seize the current favorable opportunity of Yanbian’s rising cultural tourism market, closely follow changes in market demand, enrich product offerings, enhance consumer experiences, tell the story of coffee well, and jointly promote the large-scale, distinctive, and branded development of Yanji’s coffee industry, making the search for a hint of coffee aroma in Yanbian a new cultural tourism consumption trend.
The report stated that the atmosphere at the symposium was relaxed and lively. Nineteen enterprise representatives from Hanzhi Coffee, Laodingben Coffee, Yanchuan Xuebing Coffee, Shiting Coffee, Houlang Coffee, Xinluoyu Coffee, Yinglun Shiguang Coffee, Xiaoxingqiu Coffee, Kube Coffee, Quanchao Coffee, Hagenna Coffee, Leye Coffee, Yanqing Coffee, Miluojia Coffee, Yiwu Coffee Co., Ltd., Yanbian Yanfu Qingtandong Catering Management Co., Ltd., Yanbian Enxi Coffee Management Co., Ltd., Yanji Pengbei Vocational Training School, and Tian Huali Coffee in Longjing City spoke freely, introducing their production and operation status in detail, candidly discussing the challenges and difficulties they faced, sharing their future development plans, and expressing their thoughts and expectations regarding policies supporting enterprises, staff training, and strengthened financial services. Officials from Yanji City, Longjing City, and relevant departments directly under the prefecture engaged in interactive discussions with the enterprise representatives on supporting enterprise development and promoting the deep integration of “coffee and tourism.”
Hu Jiafu pointed out that he hoped everyone would adhere to creativity, innovation, and invention, focusing their efforts on production and operation management, coffee product development, and marketing promotion to make the “King of County Coffee” an even brighter and more attractive “golden signboard,” further enhancing the popularity and influence of Yanbian’s cultural tourism. WeChat public account “Yanbian Fabu” photo.
Hu Jiafu noted that Yanji is dotted with coffee shops and brands, ranking first among county-level cities nationwide in the number of cafes per 10,000 people. Coffee culture has deeply integrated into the city’s fabric and citizens’ lives, becoming a beautiful calling card for the city. Currently, Yanbian Prefecture is leveraging the rapid development of Yanji’s coffee industry, actively attracting upstream and downstream coffee enterprises to settle in the area, further extending the coffee industry chain, cultivating new coffee consumption formats, accelerating the deep integration of “coffee and tourism,” and striving to make the coffee industry a new growth point for the cultural tourism industry. He hoped that everyone would adhere to creativity, innovation, and invention, focusing their efforts on production and operation management, coffee product development, and marketing promotion to make the “King of County Coffee” an even more dazzling “golden signboard” that attracts fans and further enhances the popularity and influence of Yanbian’s cultural tourism. In product development, efforts should be meticulous, catering to increasingly diverse consumer needs and individualized consumer psychology. Innovation should be pursued in taste, pairing, packaging, and consumption methods, with a focus on localizing products to Yanbian. Efforts should be made to introduce more coffee products with rich and varied flavors, suitable for various drinking habits, combining fashion and convenience, and embodying Yanbian’s local characteristics to provide consumers with better taste experiences and superior consumption experiences. In terms of innovative consumption scenarios, efforts should be made to create distinctive consumption scenarios such as “coffee + books,” “coffee + e-sports,” “coffee + performances,” and “coffee + folklore” by closely integrating the business theme and the characteristics of the target consumer group. By shaping specific scenarios and atmospheres, creating comfortable environments and services, and offering immersive consumption experiences that are observable, sensible, participatory, and interactive, customer loyalty can be further enhanced, and word-of-mouth promotion can be facilitated, striving to create new city attractions. In marketing, precise efforts should be made to learn from the operating models and marketing methods of well-known enterprises in the industry, explore the opening of 24-hour stores, brand image stores, and urban flagship stores, and adopt comprehensive online and offline “omnichannel retail.” Real-time interactions and live sales should be conducted on social media platforms, cross-industry brand and IP collaborations should be actively pursued, and a series of co-branded coffees and related products should be carefully launched. Promotional activities should be carried out in conjunction with specific events to continuously stimulate consumers’ freshness and purchasing desire, promoting sustained and steady growth in business performance.
Among them, the “King of County Coffee” mentioned by Hu Jiafu refers to Yanji City, the capital of Yanbian Prefecture.
According to data provided by the Propaganda Department of the Yanji Municipal Party Committee, in Yanji City, a county-level city with a permanent population of 690,000, there are more than 800 coffee shops scattered throughout the city. The number of coffee shops per 10,000 people is nearly four times that of Shanghai, known as the “Coffee Capital,” making it worthy of the title “King of County Coffee” among the 394 county-level cities in China.
According to a previous report by People’s Net, Yanbian is located at the juncture of China, Russia, and North Korea. As the capital city of Yanbian Prefecture, Yanji was the first to come into contact with the coffee culture of neighboring countries at the beginning of reform and opening up, becoming a “window” for cultural openness and integration in Northeast Asia.
“I remember when I was a child, a relative brought back instant coffee from Russia, which was my first time having coffee,” said Cui Fenghua, President of the Yanbian Coffee Culture Exchange and Development Association, in an interview with People’s Net. In the 1980s and 1990s, Yanji residents were already drinking coffee. With the deepening of reform and opening up, many Korean-Chinese took advantage of their language and geographical advantages to work in South Korea. Influenced by the Korean love for coffee, they brought this trend back to Yanji, ushering in the “tea house” era in Yanbian.
The report stated that around 2008, Yanji people who had worked in South Korea returned to start businesses, introducing South Korean coffee chain brands. The elegant and comfortable environment of these shops, coupled with freshly ground coffee beans, gradually introduced more Yanji people to coffee culture and cultivated their love for it. After nearly four decades of development, drinking coffee has become a daily habit for most Yanji residents.
