A Coffee Business Handled off a Motorbike Turns Profitable, and Expands
Near the Royal University of Phnom Penh, a couple is busy making coffee on their Zoomer-X motorbike while customers are waiting for their orders. Photo provided
- By Nhor Sokhoeurn
- October 14, 2023 9:00 AM
PHNOM PENH — Near the Royal University of Phnom Penh, a couple is busy making coffee on their Zoomer-X motorbike while customers are waiting for their orders.
Choum Sareach and his wife Chay Sok Thavory own a small coffee business called Motor-Mocha where every weekend the couple sets up their materials and, of course, coffee powder on their motorbike and start making coffee.
Sareach and Thavory work for a company from Monday through Friday. And on the weekend, they work from 7 am to 5 pm making and selling coffee. Customers can get two types of coffee, Pot-Mocha and Finn, as well as other beverages such as green tea and milk tea at reasonable prices.
The couple launched their business one month ago, with the idea of offering a training course and becoming a supplier in the future.
The idea of starting it came to them a while back. “During the pandemic, while being isolated at home, we came across a YouTube video about selling coffee on motorcycle in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia,” said Thavory who, for 10 years, worked with her parents who were selling coffee. And it is by mixing what she knew of the coffee business through selling coffee with her parents and by watching those videos that the concept for Motor-Mocha came to her, she said.
The couple spent $600 on business setup. Now, they also sell their coffee on weekdays in the morning in-between their office hours.
Customers can get two types of coffee, which are Pot-Mocha and Finn, as well as other beverages such as green tea and milk tea at reasonable prices. “From Monday to Friday customers buy between 40 to 50 cups but on the weekend, we can sell between 150 to 200 cups,” Thavory said.
Sareach and Thavory plan to develop their brand to become a supplier of coffee beans, offering good quality products and affordable prices to small businesses. They also aim to offer a coffee-brewing course.
“We want to strengthen our capacity first before we can help others,” Thavory said. “If you want to do something or love something, do it but do not just follow. You should make it in your own style. And if you fall, don’t give up. Do it again because success takes time.”
