Refresh yourself with fruity sweetness while the crowds have yet to discover the store.
Japan’s cafe culture is a flourishing landscape of specialty roasters, themed cafes, and retro junkisssa coffeehouses. However, the presence of large foreign players, led by companies like Starbucks and Gong Cha, can’t be understated due to their expanding presence in the sector. Recently, a budget, large-capacity coffee brand from South Korea, Fave Coffee, has been opening locations one after another, while the world’s largest food and beverage chain Mixue from China is also steadily increasing its number of stores.
In this environment, B-Fresh, billing itself as “a brand from the Middle East,” has made its first splash into the waters of the Japanese market with opening a store in Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood on October 1. Our ace reporter Mr. Sato was slightly worried it would already be bearing the brunt of the throngs of young people that flow through Harajuku’s streets, he still decided to give it a go.
About three weeks after the opening of the store, Mr. Sato stepped foot into Harajuku, and despite it being a weekday, Takeshita Street was crowded as usual, with places like Marion Crepes seeing no drop in customers regardless of day or time, with people lining up endlessly.
Scouring the streets, Mr. Sato was sure that he was in the right area and was keeping an eye out for one of these telltale lines, indicating a store’s popularity, but it turns out there was no line for B-Fresh at all.
This meant great convenience for Mr. Sato, but he lamented the fact that it had just opened and felt kind of desolate already. It may just be that word of mouth for the store hasn’t spread yet, and business will pick up in the weeks to come. On top of that, it looked as if the building is undergoing exterior wall construction, so if there hadn’t been a sign indicating they were open as usual (tsujodori eigyochu, 通常通り営業中), an uninformed passerby might assume they were not open at all.
The store itself is a juice bar that serves smoothies using fresh fruit, acai bowls, and yogurt, with a variety of items that Mr. Sato was unfamiliar with or unsure how to choose.
Using the ticket vending machine inside the store, Mr. Sato chose based on appearance and ordered something called B-Pink Brûlée, priced at 1,100 yen (US$7)] for a large (please note that only cashless payments are accepted in the store).
While waiting for his order, Mr. Sato inspected the menu some more. The products seem to be broadly divided into three categories: bubble drinks, smoothies, and acai bowls and frozen yogurt. The main representative of the bubble drinks is the Bubble Tea, and you can also choose fruit juice-filled pearls. For smoothies, there are drinks that blend things like Nutella and Oreos along with fruit, and toppings such as superfoods like chia and flaxseed can be added to any order. The range of customization really is quite wide.
In light of the numerous options and indecisiveness, Mr. Sato focused on which menu photos looked appealing, but seeing the actual drink itself, he was confident that his choice was not wrong as it looked incredibly delicious.
▼ Plenty of whipped cream and strawberry crunch on top
Making up the drink was a mix of strawberries, vanilla milk, and “creme brulee,” but even after drinking it, Mr. Sato wasn’t quite sure what the creme brulee was actually represented by—he believes it might be the custard cream.
The menu photo also showed strawberry pearls inside of it, but that was an additional topping for 100 yen, so Mr. Sato passed on it this time. Even without the additional pops of fruit, it was deliciously sweet. Amid the unseasonably hot weather and a feeling of fatigue after his morning pole dancing practice, the flavor was very refreshing.
In the end, it remains to be seen whether or not this brand can catch on in Japan, but for now, it appears that crowds are yet to form.
Store information
B-Fresh
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 1-chome 20-4, tenpo kukaku chuo
東京都渋谷区神宮前1丁目20-4 店舗区画中央
Open 12:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Related: Official Website, PR Times
Photos ©SoraNews24
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