"We will continue to watch this market closely before making any decision on launching this new service," she said.
With the possibility of more competition in mind, Yen said he intends to broaden E-Coffee's business scope by opening more spacious cafes and providing meals and a cozy atmosphere for its customers.
"Our low price is only temporary enticement, and it's natural for consumers to demand higher quality," said Yen.
"It is time to develop another product line to meet customers' expectations."
The retailer has done just that, developing a new frappe in various flavors, aiming to carve a slice out of the Starbucks Frappuccino market.
In the face of aggressive market expansion by local coffee chains and corner cafes, Starbucks acknowledged that these small chains actually play a crucial role in cultivating the overall coffee market.
"We don't feel threatened by small-scale coffee franchises because customers' needs are different," said Wu Chen-cheng (吳珍政), a public relations official with President Coffee Corp (統一星巴克), the firm in charge of Seattle-based Starbucks operations in Taiwan.
"Starbucks makes as exquisite coffee at a middle-level price," she said.
Starbucks is currently the largest coffee chain business in Taiwan with 120 sit-down cafe outlets; followed by Dante's (丹堤) with 87 stores; and Kohikan's (客喜康) with 68, according to Taiwan Coffee Association statistics.
Even so, small espresso chains take advantage of close interaction between owners and their customers, said another coffee shop owner surnamed Fung.
"Big brand chains are distant from their customers, but we are the reverse," said Fung, an owner of Black Coffee (黑咖啡) near National Taiwan University. "We memorize our regular customers' preferences so they don't even need to tell me what they want."
Surrounded by big name competition such as Starbucks and Dante, Wu didn't seem to be worried, saying that as long as his coffee was of a hight quality, customers would remain loyal.
"If there was really anything burning me out, it would be too many customers at a time asking for take-out or delivery," Wu said.
"But to look on the bright side, it is also a compliment to my business," he added.
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