Recently, as the popularity of matcha beverages is rising on social media (SNS), the American startup coffee shop 'Blank Street,' which sells various matcha menu items, is receiving great love from the American Generation Z.

The appearance of a Blank Street Coffee store / Courtesy of Instagram

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that 'Blank Street has gained broader cultural influence thanks to teenage customers, along with brands like Sephora and Stanley,' noting that 'the company's corporate value is $500 million (about 700 billion won), which is very large for a coffee chain that is not Starbucks.'

Blank Street was founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, USA. Founders Sam Freyha and Vinay Menda aimed to reduce rental expenses through a small storefront in the form of a coffee truck while offering prices that are 20-30% cheaper than Starbucks.

Gaining popularity with fast coffee production speeds using automatic coffee machines, Blank Street quickly expanded its stores after receiving millions of dollars in venture capital investments. The company raised funds three times in 2021 alone from hedge funds like Tiger Global, attracting significant interest from venture investors.

It is gaining popularity among Generation Z by promoting matcha as a non-coffee beverage. After observing that blueberry drinks became immensely popular through word-of-mouth in London in 2023, Blank Street began to focus on matcha beverages. Coupled with the SNS-centered 'matcha boom,' Blank Street's matcha drinks currently account for 50% of its total sales due to rapid growth.

Maddie, a 12-year-old who bought Blank Street's matcha beverage on the Upper East Side of New York, said, 'I used to walk by here without knowing what they sold, but I learned through TikTok.' She added, 'Now (matcha drinks) have become a trend. High school students order them a lot at school.' Madison Ginsburg, a sophomore at the University of Florida, said, 'Influencers drink matcha as if it's part of their lives, so I thought I had to try it at least once.'

One of the matcha menus at Blank Street Coffee is strawberry shortcake matcha / Courtesy of Instagram

One of Blank Street's strengths is its unique efforts to mix various ingredients with matcha. There are drinks like strawberry shortcake matcha, blueberry matcha, and white chocolate matcha, and this month, a cookie and cream matcha has been newly released. Especially, drinks like banana bread matcha have succeeded significantly, establishing Blank Street as a specialty matcha beverage shop.

The unique membership system is one of the factors contributing to Blank Street's popularity. The cafe chain offers benefits for invited members, allowing them to pay $22 (about 30,000 won) to the barista and enjoy up to 14 drinks a week. As demand for this membership surged, Blank Street gained significant attention online.

Thanks to the popularity of matcha beverages, Blank Street received an investment of $25 million (about 34.3 billion won) in the Series B round at the end of last month. This increased Blank Street's total funding to $135 million (about 185.2 billion won). Currently, Blank Street's annual revenue reaches about $149 million (about 204.4 billion won), and the company plans to expand its total of 90 stores to other areas like Miami and Los Angeles.

The WSJ reported that 'Blank Street has faced criticism from coffee enthusiasts for lacking authenticity in café culture due to its automatic espresso machines and aggressive expansion,' but it has now reached a turning point with sweet, colorful, and TikTok-friendly matcha beverages.