New Telegraph 
Half Million Coffee CEO, Meshal Khalid H Alshehri, has explained how the shop coped during the coronavirus pandemic that brought the world to a standstill in 2020.
Half Million Coffee, an upscale and fast-selling coffee retail outlet, draws a wide array of customers , from different tribes and nationalities, all coming together in to enjoy quality coffees in a serene and cosy environment.
Speaking with journalists in his office, yesterday, Meshal Khalid H Alshehri, while stating that the COVID-19 pandemic initially affected the business, noted that the shop was able to beat the curve through dynamism.
In the words of Meshal Khalid H Alshehri: “In truth, our business was initially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, just like other businesses also took a negative hit from the global pandemic
“COVID-19 caused a huge meltdown to the healthcare industry and to businesses because without good health, nobody can function at all not to talk of functioning effectively.
“The lockdown, especially the complete closure of all businesses affected our work but I was able to do online sales and I managed to achieve good sales,” added the Half Million Coffee boss.
Getting it right in business requires careful planning and Meshal Khalid H Alshehri said the above has helped in shaping 1/2M Coffee Shop into a top-selling shop for coffee.
According to Meshal Khalid H Alshehri: “To boost sales and visibility l, we have become more social media compliant because we know that the world is now online and everything is trending in the social media space.
“We do lots of marketing on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and periodically parley with some celebrities to do promotions for our brand and coffee shop,” said Meshal Khalid H Alshehri.
Revealing the main lessons he has learnt since he started running Half Million Coffee, Meshal Khalid H Alshehri said expansion into new locations and previously uncharted territories has opened his eyes.
“Opening branches in all of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and then establishing international and international branches, and also opening shop in Britain served big lessons to us,” he explained.
Reacting to a question on what was the business philosophy upon which Half Million Coffee was hinged on, Meshal Khalid H Alshehri, said:
“Delivering the right taste of coffee to the world in an innovative way, and knowing that coffee has many uses, but the appropriate choice for this use gives the desired result.”
On the vision he has set for 1/2M Coffee in the next 10 years, Meshal Khalid H Alshehri said: “My vision is that It will be one of the strongest brands in the world with high accuracy and professionalism.”
Reacting to a question on the challenges that came his way when he opened 1/2M Coffee and how he was able overcome them, Meshal Khalid H Alshehri replied: “Reaching out to suppliers of high quality.and original coffee presented it’s peculiar problems because there are more than one type and there are luxury and regular ones
“To get s good product, you will at first come in contact with products that are not up to the highest level required but because I know what I want and patiently searched for the suppliers of the best quality products.”
