Insights for Food Business Owners: You Are Not the Standard

The first time I visited a certain breakfast spot in Bangkok, the entrance felt almost hidden — tucked on the second floor above a bar, dark and uninviting. But the moment I climbed the stairs, the space opened up: full of people, alive with energy. Pancakes, English breakfasts, good coffee. It was like stepping into a Western morning ritual transplanted into the middle of Bangkok.

The food was good, the service warm. But for me, it didn’t fit. The price — 300 to 400 baht per head, small cups of coffee that cost 100 baht plus tax and service charge — made me hesitate. In the UK, I’d eat like this. In Bangkok, I have other choices. Noodles are my comfort food, not pancakes. So I only ever went when someone else asked me.

Yet the more I looked around, the more I realised: the place was packed. Every branch I visited was the same. They had found their base. Foreigners, expats, Westernized locals. For them, this was comfort. For them, the price was justified. For them, breakfast wasn’t noodles — it was exactly this.

That was when I reminded myself of something important: I am not the standard. My habits don’t define the market. My taste isn’t the measure of potential.

It’s easy to dismiss a concept because we don’t feel its charm. Harder to admit that what doesn’t resonate with us may resonate powerfully with someone else. Success sometimes means serving a comfort zone we don’t share — but can still recognise.

That’s the sense I need to keep developing: the ability to step outside myself and see with other people’s appetite.

---

Want practical help from real food business consultants? See what Livinism offers.