Bloggers help chic cafe to promote its name, trade

Four young friends formed a joint venture called Nikko Cafe to set up a warm Japanese cafe on Ekamai. After six months, the cafe has done well in terms of revenue and recognition on social media.
Chanon Rungruengpaitoon said last week that he and his friends are very pleased with the response to the cafe, as they would like to do a business that not only earns a profit but also caters to people’s tastes and lifestyles.
“The company has balanced |our return on two sides. First is quantitative, return of investment, and the other is brand recognition. Now we are quite successful on this point because not only have Thais followed the company’s Facebook, Instagram, but also many bloggers have written reviews on Nikko Cafe,” he said.
Cyberworld could help make the cafe well-known and create brand awareness among bloggers.
The restaurant has been recognised as a hangout or hip place for people to spend their time, meet friends, read books and do online work.
Nikko recently won the Best Design Award from Silpakorn University for its easy and chic design.
The coffee shop business is highly competitive in Thailand. Another coffee shop or cafe opens every day.
“We need to seek differentiation from other coffee shops or franchise business models to draw our own target group of customers, who not only want to buy beverages or food, but also would like to lie down or relax, and sop up the nice atmosphere.”
Panupol Ohmpornnuwat said his cafe had been getting a good response among customers for its quiet atmosphere, although it is located in Sukhumvit – one of the busiest areas in Bangkok.
“In Ekamai, we found a site that could serve our demand to build a cosy cafe. Japanese-style decoration and food have been chosen as the theme of the place as the Japanese style is peaceful and tolerant.”
The four partners have spent Bt10 million on establishing the cafe on plenty of land with only one mango tree.
Chanon, Panupol and the two other friends, Denwut Padung-kiatkamol and Lippanun Siripongsusin, helped design their own cafe and painted the building by themselves.
The cafe can ring up about Bt800,000-900,000 a month. Panupol said the company is expected to recoup its investment in four years.
The target is Bt12 million in the first year of operation. Growth is about 5-10 per cent a month.
The partners plan to launch a branch by late next year. Nikko Cafe in Ekamai 12 will be like a prototype for the new outlet. It is expected to be located in the city centre or in a modern trade shop, but will retain its uniqueness as an easy Japanese style place to chill out.
About 70-80 per cent of customers are Thais and the rest are foreigners like Japanese, Indians, Koreans, Hong Kong Chinese and Malaysians. Some read the bloggers’ reviews and then visited the place.
The target customers are teenage students, working people and even elderly people who would like to hang out with their friends or read a book.
The prices of beverages start at Bt100. The cafe would like to encourage customers to visit. Although the price is quite high, it is luxurious, but affordable.
The food quality is premium grade, as the partners are very selective about each menu item’s ingredients. Some are imported from various places.
Signature items are matcha latte, Nikko lemon tea and extreme choc.