Dynamic Young Women Brewing Cambodia’s Coffee Business Boom

By Vijian Paramasivam

PHNOM PENH, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- Young enterprising Cambodian women are redefining the local coffee industry by creating new career paths and showcasing their entrepreneurial skills that challenge traditional norms.

Thousands of trailblazing Generation Z females are starting their own mobile coffee kiosks or working as baristas in beverage outlets around Phnom Penh.

Fuelled by entrepreneurial zeal and a desire to escape monotonous work routines, low-cost mobile coffee stalls are becoming a new pathways that offer career mobility and financial independence.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of local brand Alarm Clock Coffee, Vy Chandra Rainsey, said this trend signals the emergence of a new young workforce that is shaping a fresh vocation.

“Coffee lovers are becoming owners of coffee shops. Many young people, especially Generation Z, are entering the business because it is easy to start and does not require major infrastructure or capital. They learn how to run a business through social media,” Rainsey told Bernama.

Rainsey started his modest mobile cart business in 2017 with his two partners, and now owns nine outlets in the city. Nearly 70 per cent of his staff are young women who mostly work as baristas.

Youth driving growth 

The Generation Z are not just coffee artisans, they are the storytellers of Cambodia’s ambitious, youthful generation.

Cambodia’s demographic tailwinds inspires optimism. At least 60 per cent of the kingdom’s 17 million population is under the age of 30, and close to 50 per cent women. 

In Cambodia, women are known for their industriousness and sound financial skills. They are envied as tough business negotiators.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the garment, textiles, and footwear sector in 2024 employed one million workers, 75 per cent of whom were women.

Almost 61 per cent of the country’s micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs are owned by women. 

In 2023, women’s workforce participation reached 78.9 percent, the highest level among ASEAN countries.

Young Cambodians are venturing into numerous low-cost businesses such as barber shops, laundries, pedicure and manicure studios, and hair saloons – all of which require minimal investment. 

Trendsetting coffee culture

In cosmopolitan Phnom Penh, mobile coffee kiosks are popping up in every nook and cranny – around malls, markets, universities, and residential areas.

Cheaper financing for new start-ups, lower operational costs, digital payment options, and affordable fancy mobile carts are fuelling the growth.

“More teenagers are drinking coffee even at midnight, it is becoming a trend, a new culture. So there is high demand for coffee outlets, and the supply is plenty too. But profit margins are not so high.

“The young generation enter this market with a new business model and it shapes a new work culture.

They don’t rely on branding or marketing, one or two outlets are enough for them,” said Rainsey.

These make-shift coffee kiosks are quietly rivalling well-established local and foreign brands for a share of the growing market.

The energetic Generation Z is certainly emerging as a game-changer.

"Many mobile kiosks are creating jobs for high school leavers and offering an opportunity to earn an income. At night, they go to colleges to pursue their preferred career paths,” said Rainsey.

In the rugged terrains of Cambodia’s Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces, weather-beaten farmers diligently produce the popular Robusta coffee beans for the market. 

And in bustling Phnom Penh, these young people are becoming skilled and passionate coffee artisans who brave the harsh monsoon rains to whip-up aromatic cappuccinos, mochas, lattes, and espressos for their neighbourhood consumers.

-- BERNAMA