肖战代言的网红咖啡品牌，靠“水替”杀回来了The internet famous coffee brand endorsed by Xiao Zhan has been brought back by "water substitution"
找到一个机会点，坚决干透它。
文｜《中国企业家》记者 李欣
编辑｜米娜
如果不是下属的无心之举，现在，林浩或许仍在冲调咖啡的红海中挣扎。
2024年秋天，隅田川咖啡创始人林浩和一位00后下属出去跑市场，走到一家好特卖门店时，下属顺手买了三瓶900毫升装的咖啡饮料。他递了一瓶给林浩，说剩下两瓶自己办公和健身时喝。
“我心想，他就在咖啡公司工作，怎么还买别的咖啡品牌。”林浩回忆说，但下一秒，他就被一个新的想法击中了——为什么我们不尝试做大瓶装即饮咖啡？
做1L装即饮咖啡饮料，很快从决议落实到行动。2025年初，新品在朴朴超市等即时零售平台首发，第一批货很快售罄。3月，渠道补单的消息密集地砸来。“货转得太快了，我很久没体会到那种被需求赶着跑的兴奋感了。”林浩说。
这久违的市场回响，驱散了隅田川持续已久的迷茫。
隅田川咖啡由林浩创立于2015年，定位日常口粮咖啡。2020年至2022年，冲调咖啡赛道迎来爆发期，恰好撞上了新消费投资的黄金期——有雀巢这样的传统巨头，也涌现了三顿半、永璞这类新消费品牌。
在这片红海中，隅田川依靠高性价比杀出重围，先后完成了4轮融资。2022年，隅田川成为国产冲调咖啡头部品牌。
但陡峭的上坡路走了没多久，行业竞争变了，线上流量环境也变了。2023年年中，销售额开始承压，2024年，销售额从2022年的峰值回落。
林浩与隅田川咖啡一起进入了一段煎熬的调整期。
更让人沮丧的是，不知道往哪个方向跑。在创新主业务冲调咖啡基础上，林浩尝试了包括但不限于胶囊咖啡机，线下咖啡馆等不同的路线。与咖啡有可能的一切，他都去“投石问路”，但始终没有找到第二增长曲线。
直到推出1升装大瓶咖啡——上市9个月销量超过1000万瓶，2026年销售额将接近2亿元。“现在，这个机会点我终于咬上了，那就坚决往死里干这个事，干透它。”林浩说。
2026年4月末，FBIF2026食品饮料创新论坛期间，《中国企业家》在隅田川咖啡上海总部见到了林浩。出生于1975年的他，言谈间思维跳跃，有种独属年轻人的亢奋感，他向记者回忆了隅田川在调整期的探索，以及如何在增长急刹车后补上了组织这一课。
他曾在日本做了7年通信工程师，或因为这个背景，林浩很关注技术对世界的改变，特别是AI在业务的应用。聊着聊着，他拿出AI眼镜，反问记者当AI眼镜解放了双手，未来的饮料难道还只是饮品？它难道不会变成一个能与人“对话”的智能终端？
“我们再也回不到那个稍微努力就能赚钱的时候了，下一个爆发期，对我们这种想创新的人机会更大。”他感叹。
以下是林浩的自述（有删节）：
真理有时就掌握在少数人手中
我第一次在内部提出做1L装咖啡饮料的想法时，大多数声音都是反对的。
大家的质疑也不是没有道理。咖啡饮料的核心战场，是便利店这类白领触达率极高、复购频次极高的主流渠道，货架位置有限，如果做一升装，体积太大，那就挤不进便利店的黄金位置，只能摆在货架最下面。消费者看不到产品，就没有动销，简直是纯浪费钱的行为。
支持声来自几位有健身习惯的年轻同事。他们是典型的大瓶装用户，提议先只做大规格（1升或800ml），暂时不做500ml以下的小容量，因为大瓶装饮料本质上是“水替”。
我觉得真理有时候就掌握在少数人手中，最后决定先做1L装的美式咖啡饮料。
当然，这也不是拍脑门定下来的。大概在2022年时，我们就推出过一批280ml装的即饮咖啡饮料，当时结果很不理想。那次失败，一半是价格体系的失误，另一方面就是自己的专注度不够。整个团队的精力都聚焦在冲调业务的以亿为单位的大盘里，对于区区几百万元（营收）的饮料销量，大家很难真正上心，做不成就权当交学费攒经验了，也没人太在意。
那次失败给我提了一个醒：我不能再以小瓶切市场了，因为雀巢在这个市场是绝对龙头，无论我做300毫升、400毫升还是500毫升，货架就那么点位置，我可能就会陷入同质化竞争的泥潭中。
但1L装就不一样了。你去便利店买一升水还得四五块，而一升带提神功能的美式只卖9.9元，性价比不更高么？所以，作为水的替代品，多少有点和水品牌抢生意的意思了。
2025年年初，我们研发出了第一款1L装美式咖啡饮料，开始测试销售。我们另辟蹊径，第一个先进的是新零售渠道，因为这些渠道终端消费者的反馈速度最快，方便团队快速进行产品迭代。结果一个月内6万瓶，全部卖光了。
刚好第二个月就撞上了春节，产能和供货节奏都受到影响。那时候真是急，客户在春节档口急着要货，我们却拿不出来。到了3月份，整个上半个月都在等生产，好不容易下半个月补到货，结果十天半个月就被一扫而空，马上又得补单。
4月，隅田川1L装美式咖啡饮料率先在朴朴超市、盒马等新零售渠道跑出来了。在朴朴超市这单一渠道，月销量就达到数十万瓶。这次小胜利瞬间击穿了内部的所有犹疑，让此前分歧的声音彻底归为一统。一直到去年冬天，数据都一直在增长，这给了我极大的信心，说明方向是对的。
其实，如果只看销售额这个绝对值，一些人可能觉得一月卖10万瓶真没多少，线上冲调业务一个月仅天猫渠道就有数百万元收入。
但我觉得真的不一样。饮料行业的天花板太高了，找准切入点后，周转速度会非常快。到今年3月，从终端GMV角度看，仅批发这一单一渠道就妥妥破千万元了，等到了夏天动销最旺的时候，一定还会翻番。
货如轮转，太快了，你知道吗？我现在好像是从一个跳台跳了下去，从游泳池进到了海里，海阔凭鱼跃，这种感觉太疯狂了。甚至，连跃入大海前的滞空感，都让我极为享受。
因为，隅田川和我都太需要找到新的节奏了。
拼尽全力，却还是找不到方法
隅田川咖啡是我一手创立的品牌。我在日本生活了许多年，一开始是往国内代购挂耳咖啡，但挂耳咖啡太便宜了，单纯靠它根本撑不起业务。我不得不挖空心思，一边卖着咖啡，一边还得倒腾代购、保健品和其他零零碎碎的食品，就这么一路摸索做食品贸易，一边进了食品行业。
到了2014年、2015年，我已经做了整整五年的食品贸易。我感觉咖啡的风口要到了。既然看准了，那就别犹豫，于是把那些乱七八糟的副业统统砍掉，把资源集中到咖啡赛道上。
我主外，我老婆主内。她是公司的“大管家”，采购、财务等全抓在她手里。而我主要负责对外的大方向——产品、供应链，还有销售和品牌。
现在的研发负责人也是那时候加入的。他当年不是食品专业出身，却硬是把含金量极高的Q证（Q Grader：国际咖啡品质鉴定师）给考下来了。我们一起干了十几年，从最早的贸易到后来建厂，整个供应链的摸爬滚打，我们都一起经历过来了。
从零开始，一直到2020年，隅田川咖啡进入高速发展期，此后更是一路狂飙——2019年我们才做了六七千万元的销售额，后面几年，我们都是每年保持超过百分之百的高速增长，还成功请到了肖战来代言。2022年达到顶峰，营收干到了八亿多元，这也是我们的历史峰值。
也就是在那一年，拐点出现了。
那一年开始，我们依然很亢奋，还请王家卫给肖战拍了一部短片。但没多久，很多活动因为不可抗力全终止，货全压在仓库里，业绩开始肉眼可见的往下掉，这也是我们成立以来第一次面临业绩下滑。隔年，我们首先要面对的就是消化库存，处理临期品，业务带来的压力前所未有。
熬了几个月，2023年头几个月的销售表现还在预期之内，可就在5月20日我们办完音乐节之后，增长再次戛然而止，转头就又开始往下掉。
最初的感觉就是莫名其妙，感觉自己什么都没有做错，但流量、销售额就是一直在往下掉，到了2024年，8亿多元的销售额直接掉到了5个亿。
我想了各种办法。刚开始，我觉得是产品不行，就改产品；后来又觉得是投放的达人不够，就疯狂加达人。实际上，线上流量已然枯竭，达人们早就“麻了”，根本带不动。市场也开始内卷，但可怕的是，总有比你更低价格的产品，他们哪怕流着血也要打你。
太疯狂了，但我还得想办法，那时我每天早晨六七点就起床，八点到了公司就开始工作，一直干到晚上11点，但最可怕的就是这种无力感，明明已经拼尽全力，却还是找不到方法，作为1号位，还背负着全公司的期待。如果没有亲身经历，可能真的很难体会那种无力。
那段时间，我能做的就是不让团队停下来，不断去投石问路，各种试。
虽然第二曲线一直没出现，但越尝试我越笃定，我们这个团队，扎根线上，反应敏捷，最擅长从0到1的事。比如，中国挂耳咖啡、常温咖啡液等产品的发展，我们都深度参与了；后来开发的胶囊咖啡机也卖了将近10万台。既然如此，那与咖啡有关的一切，我们就都去试试。
于是，除了国内线下业务和出海，还有低碳咖啡馆，甚至连商业咖啡机等硬件，我们也都做过探索了。那时真的不在乎成与不成，唯一的心态就是，哪怕结果不好，只要做了，总比坐着空想好。
现在回头看，我觉得所谓的迷茫，不过是上一个时代的门已经关上，而下一个时代的门，你不知道它会在哪个方向开启。但我觉得，总有一扇窗是为你留着的，只不过，得自己去把它撬开。如今，隅田川咖啡能从冲调赛道切入饮料行业，这就是我们亲手撬开的。
空降兵，他们根本不懂你的“水土”
其实，复盘过往，对我来说最大的痛点只有一个——组织。
隅田川早期更像是一个“游击队”，随着业绩上涨，规模越来越大，心里总有个念头，想成为别人眼里的“正规军”，于是就开始模仿理想中的样子去重塑自己，建流程、立规矩。
组织很快就从4个人增加到40个人，再膨胀到400人，打法完全变了。当要突然面对几百人的组织时，整个架构怎么理？流程怎么建？说实话，我们内部经验是不够的。
我也想着“专业的事交给专业的人”，请过咨询公司，也空降过高管，但最后你会发现，每家公司都有自己的DNA，外部经验当然有价值，但最终还是要和自己公司的“水土”相结合。
甚至，在我们这样的创业公司，很快就出现了部门之间打不通的情况，真是难以想象吧，一个人因为公司有钱了，手下多了十几个人，心态就变了。
我能理解，公司其实也是这样，没钱的时候拼命做销售，有钱了，心态难免也会变。这些我们都得经历，包括我自己。
作为一号位，我脑子里想得最多的还是销售额，所以那个阶段，我的目标就是协调整个组织去服务销售，每个人把自己该完成的事情做好就行了。高歌猛进的时候，很多事情都不会想的那么细。
这本来是个顺理成章的过程，但可怕就可怕在销售额突然放缓，甚至回头往下掉，这时候该怎么办？
换句话说，我要带兵打仗，可旧阵型失灵，作为指挥官，我得带着队伍重新找回节奏。自己亲身跳下去，调整队伍，比如准备裁员，该减就减，该加就加，你对这个人没有恶意，但从组织的角度，他的能力可能已经变得多余了。
所以打顺仗是一个团队，等到往下滑、要守城的时候，就又是另外一个团队了。
在这个过程中，有一天我越来越觉得，真不是人多、流程理清楚了就能把仗打好，流程当然重要，但正规军也有正规军的问题，比如系统变得僵化，流程长得让人窒息。
在业绩下滑的时候打仗，更要把队伍“化整为零”，让小团队先跑起来，去做那种小范围内更灵活、效率更高的动作，这才是活下去的法门。
如果非要复盘说能提前做点什么，我觉得我会去多读一些组织行为学方面的书，多进行一些演练，提前储备更多的人才，尤其会多带几个新人，多磨合一些能跟着你一起冲锋的人。
我觉得这里有个关键点，就是“契合度”，你得找到那些和团队文化合得来、并且对自己有要求的人。因为往往跟你走得久的，反而是那些一线成长起来的员工，他们跟得更牢。
至于其他方面，我觉得没什么好后悔的。现在AI水平这么高，沟通的成本已经被打得非常低了，人少，效率反而更高。否则流程太长，大家很容易“屁股决定脑袋”。
当然，隅田川现在的组织力肯定没有达到完美。有时候也会出现一件事推进不够快的情况。举个例子，年前我们复盘时觉得，虽然一升装咖啡饮料爆发得很好，但在饮品市场，500毫升以下才是主流市场。那隅田川在这个阶段要怎么做小规格，用什么包装、什么口味，我们虽然讨论了几次，花了很多时间，但推进速度还是太慢。
说到底还是那句话，只有行动才能带来真正的思考。哪怕只是小规模的投石问路，花点小钱去试错，你才能在具体的执行中深入验证这件事到底行还是不行。光坐在办公室里想，是想不出结果的。
单纯的“卖货时代”结束了
现在，我们团队的重心会进一步向即饮咖啡倾斜，毫无疑问饮料是重点。而且我发现，专心做一件事，我从来没败过，这感觉很酷。
但这也意味着要彻底走出舒适区。过去我做线上，张口闭口都是数字化、精准用户、复购和流量，逻辑纯粹。但到线下，我发现那是另一个世界，是江湖。
你想进一个渠道，货当然重要，产品是根本，但人家认不认你，也特别重要。毕竟线下本质是人和人的关系，终究要靠人和人面对面的沟通，有些问题，真不是打几个电话、发几句微信就能解决的。
所以你走进我们办公室，乍一看会发现很多工位都是空的，因为都出去跑市场了。包括我也是到处出差。只要是业务员喊一声“老板，我需要你”，我马上去。
我们的嗅觉要比狗还灵敏，而只有在一线才能做到。去年跑了西安我才发现，北方一些地区咖啡馆密度相对较低，大众对酸甜口味的接受度更高，但反过来，南方市场则更偏爱无糖。所以说，中国实在太大了，指望一个爆款打遍全国，那是不可能的，必须得因地制宜，迭代更多产品。
人与人的关系也是这样，一回生二回熟。你不断地出现在前线，不停地讲自己的品牌故事，你的员工、经销商都会被你带着动起来。机会，很多时候就是这样一点点跑出来的。
这些年，隅田川咖啡把线上线下的各种波折都经历了一遍，也正是有了这些经历，现在的我反而变得理性了。
我当然还会追求增长，但是现在我会更关心经销商动销好不好、终端的陈列好不好看、品牌和产品的口碑稳不稳定、哪款规格卖得好，哪款不行。每天我都会盯着这些细节。
即饮咖啡业务的发展让我感到兴奋，团队也在扩编，但也不会太快，因为现在的我对增长的兴奋度很“节制”，今年有三倍增长我就知足了。我不贪心，先把渠道动销和产品口碑做好。
最近张雪很火，我觉得我和他挺像的，我对咖啡的爱，绝不输他对摩托车的执念。到现在为止，我喝了不下六七万杯咖啡，几乎尝遍了所有可能性。所以，创业十年，凡是跟咖啡沾边的事，你脑海里能想到或者想不到的，我全都做了。
除了零售产品，从北京的胡同到杭州的西湖，再到大阪的街头，我们还开了三家风格不一样的线下咖啡馆，尝试把咖啡当成文化和体验来经营，因为我越来越确定，单纯的“卖货时代”已经结束了。
我现在经常对团队说，不创新，就走不下去，而要持续创新，要么渠道新，要么做事的是新面孔，要么方法新，要么产品新。一个新的时期正在来临，我们要玩命跑起来。
Find an opportunity point and firmly work on it.
Article | Reporter Li Xin from China Entrepreneur
Editor | Mina
If it weren't for the unintentional actions of his subordinates, Lin Hao might still be struggling in the red ocean of brewing coffee.
In the autumn of 2024, Lin Hao, the founder of Sumida River Coffee, and a post-2000s subordinate went out to run the market. When they walked to a convenience store, the subordinate casually bought three bottles of 900ml coffee drinks. He handed a bottle to Lin Hao and said he had two bottles left to drink when he worked out or worked out.
I thought to myself, he works in a coffee company, why would he buy other coffee brands? "Lin Hao recalled, but the next second, he was hit by a new idea - why don't we try to make big bottled ready to drink coffee?
Making 1L ready to drink coffee beverages quickly moved from resolution to action. At the beginning of 2025, new products will be launched on instant retail platforms such as Pupu Supermarket, and the first batch of goods will be sold out quickly. In March, news of channel replenishment was pouring in intensively. The goods are moving too fast, I haven't experienced the excitement of being driven by demand for a long time, "Lin Hao said.
This long-awaited market response has dispelled the long-standing confusion of Sumida River.
Sumida River Coffee was founded by Lin Hao in 2015, positioning itself as a daily staple coffee. From 2020 to 2022, the blended coffee industry has entered a period of explosive growth, coinciding with the golden period of new consumer investment - traditional giants like Nestle have emerged, as well as new consumer brands such as Sandun and Yongpu.
In this red sea, Sumida River relied on high cost-effectiveness to break through the encirclement and completed four rounds of financing. In 2022, Sumida River became a leading domestic blended coffee brand.
But not long after the steep uphill road, the competition in the industry has changed, and the online traffic environment has also changed. In mid-2023, sales began to come under pressure, and in 2024, sales fell from their peak in 2022.
Lin Hao and Sumida River Coffee entered a painful adjustment period together.
What's even more frustrating is not knowing which direction to run in. On the basis of innovating his main business of brewing coffee, Lin Hao has tried different routes including but not limited to capsule coffee machines and offline cafes. Everything that is possible with coffee, he went to "ask for directions" but never found the second growth curve.
Until the launch of the 1-liter large bottle coffee, which has sold over 10 million bottles in 9 months, the sales revenue will approach 200 million yuan in 2026. Now that I have finally seized this opportunity, I will resolutely do this thing to the death and do it thoroughly, "said Lin Hao.
At the end of April 2026, during the FBIF2026 Food and Beverage Innovation Forum, "Chinese Entrepreneur" met Lin Hao at Sumida River Coffee's Shanghai headquarters. Born in 1975, he had a leap of thought in his speech and a sense of excitement that was unique to young people. He recalled to reporters the exploration of Sumida River during the adjustment period and how he learned how to organize after experiencing a sudden growth brake.
He worked as a communication engineer in Japan for 7 years, and because of this background, Lin Hao is very concerned about the changes that technology can bring to the world, especially the application of AI in business. As we chatted, he took out his AI glasses and asked the reporter, 'When AI glasses liberate our hands, will future drinks still be just drinks?'? Will it not become an intelligent terminal that can 'talk' to people?
We can never go back to the time when we could make money with just a little effort. The next explosive period will have greater opportunities for people like us who want to innovate, "he sighed.
The following is Lin Hao's self statement (with some deletions):
Truth is sometimes in the hands of a few people
When I first proposed the idea of making a 1L coffee beverage internally, most of the voices were against it.
Everyone's doubts are not without reason. The core battlefield of coffee beverages is mainstream channels such as convenience stores, which have a high reach rate among white-collar workers and a high frequency of repeat purchases. The shelf space is limited, and if a one liter package is too large, it cannot fit into the golden position of convenience stores and can only be placed at the bottom of the shelf. Consumers who cannot see the product and do not sell it are simply wasting money.
The support comes from several young colleagues who have fitness habits. They are typical users of large bottled beverages, and it is proposed to only produce larger sizes (1 liter or 800ml) for now, and not to produce small capacities below 500ml, as large bottled beverages are essentially "water substitutes".
I think sometimes the truth is in the hands of a few people, so I decided to make a 1L pack of American coffee drinks first.
Of course, this was not determined by banging the forehead. Around 2022, we launched a batch of ready to drink coffee drinks in 280ml packs, but the results were not ideal. That failure was partly due to a mistake in the pricing system, and on the other hand, it was due to insufficient focus. The entire team's energy is focused on the billion dollar market of the research and development business. For beverage sales with only a few million yuan (revenue), it is difficult for everyone to truly care. Whether or not they can achieve success is like paying tuition fees to accumulate experience, and no one cares too much.
That failure gave me a wake-up call: I can no longer cut the market with small bottles, because Nestle is the absolute leader in this market. No matter if I make 300ml, 400ml or 500ml, with only a few positions on the shelves, I may fall into the quagmire of homogeneous competition.
But the 1L pack is different. You can buy a liter of water at a convenience store for four or five yuan, while a liter of American style water with a refreshing function is only sold for 9.9 yuan. Isn't it more cost-effective? So, as a substitute for water, it's somewhat like competing with water brands for business.
At the beginning of 2025, we developed the first 1L American coffee beverage and began testing and selling it. We have taken a different approach, and the first advanced one is the new retail channel, because these channels have the fastest feedback speed from end consumers, which facilitates the team to quickly iterate products. Within a month, 60000 bottles were sold out.
Coincidentally, the second month coincided with the Spring Festival, which affected production capacity and supply rhythm. At that time, it was really urgent. Customers were in urgent need of goods at the Spring Festival stalls, but we couldn't bring them out. In March, the entire first half of the month was spent waiting for production, and it was difficult to replenish the goods in the second half of the month. However, ten days and a half of the month were swept away, and we immediately had to replenish the orders.
In April, Sumida River 1L American coffee beverage was the first to emerge in new retail channels such as ParknShop and Hema. In the single channel of Pupu Supermarket, monthly sales reach hundreds of thousands of bottles. This small victory instantly shattered all internal doubts and completely unified the previously divergent voices. Until last winter, the data continued to grow, which gave me great confidence that the direction was right.
In fact, if we only look at the absolute value of sales revenue, some people may think that selling 100000 bottles in a month is not much, and the online marketing business alone has millions of yuan in revenue from the Tmall channel in a month.
But I think it's really different. The ceiling of the beverage industry is too high, and once you find the right entry point, the turnover speed will be very fast. By March of this year, from the perspective of terminal GMV, the wholesale channel alone had already surpassed tens of millions of yuan, and by the peak of summer sales, it will definitely double.
The goods are like rotation, too fast, do you know? I seem to have jumped from a platform now, from the swimming pool into the sea, jumping with fish in the wide sea. This feeling is too crazy. Even the feeling of hovering before jumping into the sea makes me extremely enjoy it.
Because both Sumida River and I are in great need of finding a new rhythm.
I tried my best, but still couldn't find a way
Sumida River Coffee is a brand that I personally founded. I have lived in Japan for many years. At first, I purchased hanging ear coffee in China, but it was too cheap to sustain my business solely. I had to put in a lot of effort, selling coffee while also dealing with purchasing agents, health products, and other miscellaneous food items. I explored the food trade all the way and entered the food industry.
By 2014 and 2015, I had been engaged in food trade for a full five years. I feel like the coffee craze is coming. Since you have identified it, don't hesitate, so cut off all those miscellaneous side businesses and concentrate resources on the coffee track.
I am in charge of the outside, and my wife is in charge of the inside. She is the 'butler' of the company, with procurement, finance, and everything else in her hands. And I am mainly responsible for the overall external direction - products, supply chain, as well as sales and branding.
The current R&D manager also joined at that time. He didn't come from a food major back then, but he managed to pass the highly prestigious Q Grader exam. We have been working together for over a decade, from the earliest trade to building factories, experiencing the ups and downs of the entire supply chain together.
Starting from scratch, Sumida River Coffee entered a period of rapid development until 2020, and then continued to soar. In 2019, we only achieved sales of 60-70 million yuan, and in the following years, we maintained a high-speed growth rate of over 100% every year. We even successfully hired Xiao Zhan as our spokesperson. In 2022, we reached our peak with a revenue of over 800 million yuan, which is also our historical peak.
That year, a turning point appeared.
Starting from that year, we were still very excited and even asked Wong Kar wai to shoot a short film for Xiao Zhan. But not long after, many activities were terminated due to force majeure, and all goods were stored in the warehouse. The performance began to visibly decline, which was also the first time since our establishment that we faced a decline in performance. The following year, the first thing we had to face was digesting inventory and dealing with products on time, which brought unprecedented pressure to our business.
After enduring several months, the sales performance in the first few months of 2023 was still within expectations, but after we held the music festival on May 20th, the growth suddenly stopped again and then began to decline again.
The initial feeling was inexplicable, as if I hadn't done anything wrong, but the traffic and sales continued to decline. By 2024, the sales revenue of over 800 million yuan had dropped directly to 500 million yuan.
I have come up with various ways. At first, I thought the product was not good, so I changed it; Later, I felt that there were not enough influencers to advertise, so I went crazy to add influencers. In fact, online traffic has already dried up, and influencers have long been "numb" and unable to move at all. The market is also starting to turn inward, but the scary thing is that there will always be products with lower prices than you, and they will beat you even if they are bleeding.
It's crazy, but I still have to find a way. At that time, I woke up at six or seven in the morning, started working at the company at eight, and worked until 11 at night. But the scariest thing was this sense of powerlessness. Even though I had tried my best, I still couldn't find a way. As the number one, I still carried the expectations of the whole company. Without personal experience, it may be really difficult to understand that kind of powerlessness.
During that time, all I could do was not let the team stop, constantly asking for directions and trying various methods.
Although the second curve has not appeared yet, the more I try, the more convinced I am that our team is rooted online, agile in response, and best at going from 0 to 1. For example, we have been deeply involved in the development of products such as Chinese hanging ear coffee and ambient temperature coffee liquid; The capsule coffee machine developed later also sold nearly 100000 units. Since that's the case, let's try everything related to coffee.
So, in addition to domestic offline business and going global, we have also explored low-carbon coffee shops, and even hardware such as commercial coffee machines. At that time, I really didn't care whether it was successful or not. The only mentality was that even if the outcome was not good, as long as I did it, it was better than just sitting and daydreaming.
Looking back now, I feel that the so-called confusion is just that the door of the previous era has already closed, and you don't know in which direction the door of the next era will open. But I think there is always a window reserved for you, but you have to pry it open yourself. Nowadays, Sumida River Coffee can enter the beverage industry from the brewing track, which is what we have personally pried open.
Airborne troops, they don't even understand your 'soil and water'
Actually, looking back at the past, the biggest pain point for me is only one - organization.
In the early days, Sumida River was more like a "guerrilla team". As its performance increased and its scale grew, it always had the idea of becoming a "regular army" in the eyes of others. Therefore, it began to imitate its ideal appearance and reshape itself, establishing processes and rules.
The organization quickly increased from 4 people to 40 people, and then expanded to 400 people, completely changing the style of play. What is the overall structure when facing an organization of hundreds of people suddenly? How to establish the process? To be honest, our internal experience is not enough.
I also think of entrusting professional matters to professional people. I have consulted consulting firms and parachuted in executives, but in the end, you will find that every company has its own DNA, and external experience is certainly valuable, but ultimately it still needs to be combined with the "soil and water" of one's own company.
Even in start-up companies like ours, it's hard to imagine the situation where departments can't communicate with each other quickly. One person's mindset changes because the company has more money and they have more than ten subordinates.
I understand that companies are also like this. When they don't have money, they work hard on sales, but when they do have money, their mentality will inevitably change. We all have to go through these, including myself.
As the number one person, the most on my mind is still sales revenue, so at that stage, my goal was to coordinate the entire organization to serve sales, and everyone just needs to do their own job well. When singing loudly, many things are not thought of in detail.
This was originally a logical process, but what to do when sales suddenly slow down, or even turn back and fall?
In other words, I want to lead troops in battle, but the old formation is malfunctioning. As a commander, I have to lead the team to regain rhythm. Jumping in and adjusting the team yourself, such as preparing for layoffs, reducing as needed, and adding as needed. You have no ill intentions towards this person, but from an organizational perspective, their abilities may have become redundant.
So fighting smooth battles is one team, and when it comes to sliding down and defending the city, it's another team.
During this process, one day I increasingly realized that it's not enough to win a battle with a large number of people and clear processes. Processes are certainly important, but regular armies also have their own problems, such as systems becoming rigid and processes becoming suffocating.
When fighting in times of declining performance, it is even more important to "break down the team into small parts" and let the small team run first to do more flexible and efficient actions within a small scope. This is the way to survive.
If I have to review and say that I can do something in advance, I think I will read more books on organizational behavior, conduct more exercises, reserve more talents in advance, especially bring in more new people, and train more people who can join you in the charge.
I think there is a key point here, which is' fit '. You need to find people who are compatible with the team culture and have requirements for yourself. Because often the employees who have been with you for a long time are actually those who have grown up on the front line, and they follow you more closely.
As for other aspects, I don't think there's anything to regret. Nowadays, with such a high level of AI, the cost of communication has been greatly reduced. With fewer people, efficiency is actually higher. Otherwise, the process will be too long, and it's easy for everyone to 'butt decide their head'.
Of course, the current organizational strength of Sumida River is definitely not perfect. Sometimes there may be situations where something is not progressing quickly enough. For example, when we reviewed it a year ago, we thought that although one liter coffee drinks had exploded well, in the beverage market, below 500 milliliters is the mainstream market. At this stage, we have discussed several times and spent a lot of time on how to make small specifications, packaging, and flavors for Sumida River, but the progress is still too slow.
At the end of the day, it's the same sentence that only action can bring true thinking. Even if it's just a small-scale trial and error, spending a small amount of money to test it out, you can deeply verify whether it works or not in the specific execution. Just sitting in the office and thinking won't yield any results.
The era of simple 'selling goods' is over
Now, our team's focus will further shift towards ready to drink coffee, and there is no doubt that beverages are the key focus. And I found that focusing on one thing, I have never failed, which feels cool.
But this also means completely stepping out of the comfort zone. In the past, when I was working online, I always talked about digitization, targeted users, repeat purchases, and traffic, with pure logic. But offline, I found that it was another world, the martial arts world.
If you want to enter a channel, of course, the goods are important, the product is fundamental, but whether they recognize you or not is also particularly important. After all, offline is essentially a relationship between people, ultimately relying on face-to-face communication between people. Some problems cannot be solved by just making a few phone calls or sending a few WeChat messages.
So when you walk into our office, at first glance, you will find that many workstations are empty because they have all gone out to run to the market. I am also on business trips everywhere. As long as the salesperson shouts' Boss, I need you ', I will go immediately.
Our sense of smell is even more sensitive than that of dogs, and it can only be achieved on the front line. Last year when I visited Xi'an, I realized that the density of coffee shops in some northern regions is relatively low, and the public has a higher acceptance of sweet and sour flavors. However, in contrast, the southern market prefers sugar free options. So, China is too big, it's impossible to expect a popular product to spread throughout the country. We must adapt to local conditions and iterate more products.
The relationship between people is also like this, getting to know each other twice. You constantly appear on the front line, telling your brand story, and your employees and distributors will be moved by you. Opportunities often come out little by little like this.
Over the years, Sumida River Coffee has gone through various ups and downs both online and offline, and it is precisely because of these experiences that I have become rational now.
Of course, I will still pursue growth, but now I am more concerned about whether dealers sell well, whether terminal displays look good, whether the brand and product reputation are stable, and which specifications sell well and which ones don't. I stare at these details every day.
The development of ready to drink coffee business excites me, and the team is also expanding, but it won't be too fast because I am currently very "restrained" in my excitement about growth. I am satisfied with a threefold increase this year. I am not greedy, first focus on channel sales and product reputation.
Recently, Zhang Xue has been very popular. I think we are quite similar. My love for coffee is no less than his obsession with motorcycles. So far, I have drunk no less than sixty or seventy thousand cups of coffee, almost tasting all possibilities. So, after ten years of entrepreneurship, I have done everything related to coffee that you can think of or can't think of in your mind.
In addition to retail products, we have also opened three offline cafes with different styles, from the hutongs in Beijing to West Lake in Hangzhou, and then to the streets of Osaka, trying to operate coffee as a culture and experience, because I am increasingly certain that the era of simple "selling goods" has ended.
I often tell my team that without innovation, we cannot continue. To keep innovating, either we need new channels, new faces, new methods, or new products. A new era is approaching, and we must run with all our might.