If you’re a mango lover, then Thailand is the place to be. The country famously produces some of the best tropical fruits, especially mangoes. The Thai yellow mango is popular due to its sweet and succulent taste which makes it hard to dislike. Whilst yellow mangoes are already delicious when eaten alone, Thais have crafted other mango-blended desserts to make them even better. Some of the fan favorites are the mango smoothie, mango bingsu (trending!), mango sorbet, and of course, the conventional mango and sticky rice. These menus have proven to be extremely popular among both locals and tourists, especially with the Chinese. Despite the typical mango season in Thailand that covers only 3 to 4 months a year, Make Me Mango dessert cafe has all mango lovers covered all year long.

How it all began

By being raised in a family of mango lovers, Ploypailin Kornprasertvit had the inspiration to open her very own mango-themed dessert cafe, ‘Make Me Mango’. Make Me Mango is a Bangkok-based mango dessert cafe that combines tasty mango menus with a good and cozy atmosphere. Originally opened in her family heritage home (Tha Tien branch) out of the passion for mangoes, two and a half years later, she recently opened her 5th branch in Bangkok (The Market, G Floor). We had a chance to sit down and have a chat with Ploypailin, Make Me Mango’s CEO at one of their current 5 branches in Central World shopping center, Bangkok.

The dessert cafe industry is very competitive nowadays, it is important for us to establish our identity within the market and stay ahead of the game. Besides having a unique menu, we also look at other ways to improve our service and to create a memorable experience. Previously, we were only accepting cash in some branches. When our business expanded (into shopping malls), we realized the importance of transaction options and decided to expand our payment channels. Our cafe at King Power duty-free store (Rangnam Branch, 3rd Floor) is very popular among Chinese tourists. Many tour groups make stops here daily to let visitors shop and dine. In our Icon Siam, Takashimaya (UG Floor) and Central World branch (3rd Floor), we have quite a diverse group of customers since they’re both main shopping centers. People from all over the world love mangoes and would make a stop at our store.

A report from Nielsen shows that 92% of (Chinese) tourists would consider shopping at a store that has Alipay and 91% would consider buying more goods when Alipay is available.

Adapting to Chinese spending behavior

“We noticed that Chinese customers do not carry much cash and when they see the Alipay sign, they are more encouraged to walk in. As a merchant, we will try to find the most convenient option for our customers. The ability to provide quick and seamless payment options has raised the spending flow from our customers. In January 2019, we received almost 600 transactions from Alipay alone."

Chinese people and Alipay are like natural counterparts. Wherever there is Alipay, there is Chinese spending.

How adopting OmisePay can cater to Chinese consumers

We specialize in mango desserts and do not have a technical team in-house. When we started using OmisePay to accept Alipay, our concern was mainly about configuring the system and its updates. We were also worried whether there would be a language barrier when using the app since our staff are local Thais, but Omise provides us with a localized language platform.

“We found that OmisePay has a user-friendly interface which makes it simple to use. It was completely hassle-free when we had to train our staff to use OmisePay. And now, whenever our staff sees Chinese customers walk into our store, they will automatically prepare the Alipay payment method.”

The charm of QR Code payments

Offering a QR code payment method via Alipay provides tourists with a smooth transaction experience when visiting stores. For them, it takes out the messy configuration of unfamiliar banknotes and coins. All it takes to make a payment is to simply scan the QR code with their mobile device. Additionally, as a merchant, it becomes very easy for you to handle many customers at once by providing a cashless channel that is quicker to process.

Although Thailand is still considered to be a cash-based country, we are gradually developing towards cashless ways. Adopting OmisePay as an e-payment solution will help encourage customers to carry less physical cash and not worry about ‘running to an ATM’ and merchants to stop worrying about ‘not having enough change’ as most often do.