BREWING IN BLIGHTY

Doi Chaang Coffee is in talks with a Malaysian food company to jointly take its coffee chain to Britain next year.

Doi Chaang Coffee Original Co is negotiating with a Malaysian food company to jointly take its Doi Chaang coffee chain to Britain next year.

Phitsanuchai Kaewphichai, the company’s advisory chairman, said the two sides are halfway through the negotiation.

The Malaysian food company operates three food brands, with 30 restaurants and coffee outlets in Britain.

If a deal is sealed, Doi Chaang expects to operate its coffee chain in Britain by the middle of next year. It will convert some existing restaurants and coffee shops belonging to the Malaysian company to Doi Chaang coffee houses.

“We want to team up with a Malaysian business because we are both from Asean and have the same mindset,” said Mr Phitsanuchai.

In addition to Britain, the company plans to bring Doi Chaang to Italy with a similar joint venture planned.

The company recently awarded a franchise licence to a Chinese investor to open 24 Doi Chaang coffee houses in China. Six outlets each will open in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The first coffee house opened in Beijing last month.

Doi Chaang is continuing to expand in existing markets such as South Korea and Malaysia. It has four coffee houses in South Korea and two new ones planned to open next month and in October. The number of outlets is scheduled to double to 12 by the end of next year.

In Malaysia, Doi Chaang hopes to open a new branch every two months and expects total outlets of 20 next year.

“After reaching 20 outlets, we will slow expansion there to focus on service and quality control,” he said.

There are 21 Doi Chaang coffee houses overseas: 12 in Malaysia, four in South Korea, two in Singapore and one each in China, Myanmar and Laos.

Mr Phitsanuchai expects its franchised and joint venture coffee houses overseas will reach 200 in five years, with 500 branches in Thailand.

“Though there are many coffee shops in Thailand, there is a huge opportunity for Doi Chaang because of rising demand for premium coffee,” he said.

Doi Chaang has its own coffee plantation with about 30,000 growers under contract in Chiang Rai, producing 2,500 tonnes of parchment for last year’s crop.