One of the major international players in the local coffee market is Pacific Coffee. The company was started by Thomas Neir of Seattle, who went to Hong Kong in 1992 and noted a lack of European-style coffee houses in his adopted city.
He opened the first outlet in 1993 in Hong Kong’s Central district and the brand is now present in Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and even Cyprus. In Hong Kong, the brand has gone from strength to strength with 150 stores, to be expanded to 300 by the end of this year.
Marjorie Wong, Area Manager for the Future Bright Group, the Macau food and beverage company that represents Pacific Coffee in the territory, explains that it was during the tourism boom in 2007/08, that the coffee brand decided it was time to tap into this city’s market.
“I think everyone wanted to enter the Chinese market and another important point was Macau’s proximity to Hong Kong. At that time Pacific Coffee had existed for around 15 years so it was a brand that people already knew, and being so close to Hong Kong we felt that tourists would already know us.”
“We opened our first Macau store in July 2009 and we currently have eight stores, soon to be nine as we are opening another one next month in Broadway [Galaxy Phase 2]. We have big shops and also smaller kiosks in universities and in Kiang Wu hospital, as well as a branch in the Departure Lounge at the airport.”
Joyce Lai, General Manager of the Future Bright Group explains who Pacific Coffee’s typical customer in Macau is.
“Around 50 to 70 percent of our customers in Macau today are tourists, whereas in Hong Kong they are mostly residents. The tourists in Macau are a good mix of Hong Kongers and people from further afield like ASEAN countries and also of course Mainland Chinese people, as well as people from Taiwan. There are increasing numbers of tourists from India and Korea too.”
The beans used come from all over the world, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Sumatra, and Brazil. But the Brazilian beans are most commonly used in a mix, as are most beans sourced from South America.
The smooth, medium roast breakfast blend is very popular in Macau, Wong explains – a mix of Indonesian and French Roast coffee with cream and sugar complimenting it perfectly, it features on the daily brew menu options. The Indonesian component offers notes of hardwood, cocoa and earth, while French Roast adds a smoky tang and buttery, almost savory element.
In terms of fairtrade, the Crema Scura Primo Organic is 100 percent high-grade certified organic fairtrade coffee from Costa Rica, Colombia and New Guinea. The end product is an extremely balanced and well-structured espresso, which is excellent as a single shot or as a base for milk drinks, and is often used in promotional beverages, according to the Area Manager.
Hot chocolate or Matcha Lattes are what sell best within the non-coffee range, with the Matcha Latte growing in popularity.
And Macau customers will soon be able to find more customized items on the menu that reflect the city’s distinct heritage.
“As a Pacific Coffee franchise we follow instructions from Hong Kong,” Lai shares, “but at times we do have some special food items we work on with Hong Kong such as Portuguese egg tarts. In Macau we are working on launching them as well as other small Portuguese desserts. But it is a long and meticulous process, with a lot of testing involved to make sure everything is just right.”