The caf้ chain has been in the Thai coffee market for 15 years, expanding from a local enterprise in Chiang Rai province. The company opened its first coffee house in the northern province as a market experiment in 2004, before launching the first franchised branch in 2013 at Krabi International Airport.

Doi Chaang Coffee now operates 50 coffee houses under franchising, and a further 150 branches under a partnered licensing model. By 2022, the company plans to cover every province in Thailand with 300 franchised branches.

“We first started the franchise model to ensure the quality and the integrity of our coffee,” said Phitsanuchai Kaewphichai, a co-founder and business adviser at Doi Chaang Coffee.

“Now it is time to make sure that the quality coffee we produce reaches coffee drinkers everywhere.”

On its 15th anniversary, Phitsanuchai said the company plans to strengthen its status as a cafe franchise business by expanding the number of its franchised outlets from 50 now to 100 by the end of this year.

“As seen in today’s market, there are a lot of newcomers and this increases competition. However, when we look deeper into the market segment, we can see that there is still an untapped space for us as the only brand that produces, roasts, distributes, and franchises single-origin coffee,” said Phitsanuchai.

“While we consider Doi Chaang Coffee to be a premium brand in this niche field, we see the opportunity for growth as the consumer trend for coffee consumption is moving towards ‘interest in origin’ as people become more knowledgeable on coffee.”

Before 2013, Doi Chaang Coffee offered products ranging from green beans to roasted beans, under a licensed partnership. However, the company, wishing to control the premium quality of the product throughout the entire process, put in place a brand philosophy of “From Earth to Cup” and implemented the franchise model in its business strategy.

Doi Chaang Coffee is also the country’s leading coffee exporter, having accounted for US$3.6 million (Bt120 million) in overseas sales in 2015 and US$4.2 million in 2016. This success has spurred the company to plot further growth outside the country, with an existing roaster in Canada, franchise expansion and new roaster plant opportunities in Europe in the frame for Doi Chaang Coffee’s expansion.

“Our wish looking forward is to reach coffee drinkers in Thailand with the same quality that we are known for worldwide,” Phitsanuchai said, “We have been certified to international standards, including an SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) score of over 90. Such recognition is given only to coffee universally graded as specialty coffee, and we want people in our home country to taste our coffee and share in the pride and joy that we have been giving to the world.”

Doi Chaang Coffee’s franchise strategy highlights the importance of reaching consumers with a “1 cafe, 1 province” concept. This strategy envisages one large franchised branch in every province by 2022. For Bangkok and its surrounding areas, the brand plans to go for “new urban areas” – the newly developed real estate communities. Such a move would see it stay true to the brand’s target segment, the company says, as it reaches out to those who have embraced the coffee culture.