Where can you find a taste of England, America and Korea all in one spot? Tianjin! More specifically, on the small pedestrian street in front of the Tianjin XiKai Catholic Church 天津西開天主教教堂, you will find Costa Coffee, Starbucks, and Caffe Bene.

Who's who?

Costa Coffee beckons from the UK, London that is. Costa was founded in 1971 by two Italian brothers. Now with over 1,600 locations, it is the Brit's largest coffee conglomerate.

Starbucks is nestled in none other than the cradle of grunge, Seattle Washington, USA. Before Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder gave a name to all the angst, in the same year Costa was cracking open their coffee can, that is 1971, Starbucks started its journey down coffee lane as well. Starbucks now has 18,000 locations.

Caffe Bene calls the slick, social, soul of Korea that is Seoul its haven of sanity. Late to launch but fast to follow, founded in 2008, Caffe Bene has 1275 locations worldwide.

Outside of coffee, what do these three coffee power houses have in common? The answer yet again is... Tianjin. Tianjin the little brother oh so near to the Beast of the East known as Beijing, is slowly but surely drawing big brands and foreign investment. With a massive population and lower cost of development, big businesses are looking into Tianjin. Costa, Starbucks, and Caffe Bene aren't looking, they've arrived. With these three coffee connoisseurs competing side by side for Tianjin coffee customers, there's a bit to be learned.

First, Tianjin is on the move. It is growing, changing, and making its transition from little brother overshadowed by big brother Beijing, to its own legitimate city. The fact that three major coffee brands like Costa, Starbucks, and Caffe Bene choose to invest in Tianjin and invest big, is just another notch in the “draw foreign investment” belt of Tianjin.

Second, be it coffee or any other industry, if you plan on opening your business in Tianjin, be ready, competition will come a knocking. Don't think you can open any old store and people will flock to you and fill your pockets with their hard earned RMB. You are going to need to be creative, bring not just a brand but some muscle, proving you are here to stay and can outlast, outwit, and outplay the competition. Reality T.V. like competition is in Tianjin everywhere you look. In less than a stone's throw distance you've got three major coffee shops all fighting for the same Yuan.

Where can you find a taste of England, America and Korea all in one spot? Tianjin!

Third, same place, same time, oh so different result. Here's a reality check for all you expat business folk looking for your opportunity to cash in on Tianjin. At the same place, the small pedestrian street in front of the Tianjin XiKai Catholic Church, at the same time of day, three coffee shops were getting dramatically different results. What results? Costa has less than 10 customers, Starbucks close to 30 customers and well, sorry Mr. Caffe Bene... 0 customers. Yes, from 0 customers to nearly 30, the difference was shocking.

Walking back and forth between the three locations, thinking, observing and asking questions, there was so much to learn. For the bosses behind the brands, these stats are gut wrenching. The questions is, why? Why were these three establishments getting such different consumer reactions?

Here are a few keys:

First, brands are big in Tianjin. Who's bigger is often who's perceived as better. Look at the stats above, sure Costa and Starbucks both got their start in 1971, but looks like Starbucks has been on steroids and Costa is just a spectator. With Starbucks out pacing Costa to the tune of nearly 16,000 more stores, ah, is Costa even trying?

Caffe Bene, trying hard, but paling at roughly 1,200 stores, candidly there is no comparison between the size and scope of these brands. Yet, respectfully, in the UK and Korea, their home turf, neither Costa nor Caffe Bene is a joking matter.

The issue at hand though is Tianjin China. If you want to take on Tianjin, than you need to come big. Bring your brand and everything it has to offer, Chinese consumers and Tianjin locals do take note of brands and they like big. After all with a country population breaking a billion, you've got to be big to be noticed. Thus you better understand not just who you are, and what your brand is, but how big or should we say “bigger” the competition is, after all, from Starbucks at nearly 30 customers, Costa less than 10, and Caffe Bene dead in the water at 0, ironically this moment in time perfectly reflected the three brands and their actual relative size as it relates to each other. Coincidence?

Second, 環境 “environment” matters. What environment? Namely, it is about the ambience, the feel, the mood, the mojo, the surroundings, and the vibe inside the store. Take our three coffee chaps for example, Starbucks, leading with nearly 30 customers consuming their brew at the time of visiting, offers their clientele a two floor comfortable, cozy consuming cocoon.

Costa, with less than 10 customers had a relatively small one floor location. It had two ways in and out of the store which resulted in quite a cross wind, this drafty dive was not welcoming. Plus the main walls were glass which left customers catching a cup of Joe inside feeling more like a fish in a fishbowl put on display for the pedestrians walking to and fro outside. Still, it wasn't the worst showing, as we have our bronze finalist, namely Caffe Bene.

Caffee Bene from an environment standpoint was not the worst, however it was the worst as far as the numbers go. Their location is also two stories, with the cashier and ordering happening on the first floor and main seating above, really almost an identical layout to Starbucks. Copy cat? However, despite its best attempt at duplicating Starbucks posh pad, no one was in there.

Conclusion, environment comes second in things to consider when doing business in Tianjin. First, check your brand and see if you have what it takes to battle with the big boys; second, create a comfortable consumer experience by offering a well designed and suitable in-store environment.

Coffee anyone? In Tianjin both expats and locals alike are not short in finding a shot of espresso or fancy frappuccino. Tianjin has plenty of mega brand coffee houses like Costa, Starbucks and Caffe Bene. So if you are stuck in Shanghai or beat in Beijing why not try a trip to Tianjin? A first class bullet train ticket to Tianjin and a cup of coffee can be had for less than 100 RMB. A simple experience aside, study up on the city, as Tianjin is calling more and more foreign businesses home. Reduced startup costs, large consumer base and rapidly expanding transportation infrastructure also make the list of reasons to consider Tianjin. Yet, buyer beware, expat or local, if you plan on doing business in Tianjin, brush up on your market research as you sip the caffeinated coffee of choice and remember, be it coffee or something else, in Tianjin competition will come a knocking.