Lemonade sellers make cold cash from hot days

Hanoi is sweltering in unseasonably high pre-summer temperatures, but lemonade sellers are rolling in cold cash as crowds of young people seek to escape the heat.

Crowded pavement

Shops on Dao Duy Tu, Nha Tho and Nha Chung streets are particularly popular, with footpaths packed with young people and tourists quenching their thirsts and chatting with friends.

Thuy, a shop owner on Dao Duy Tu Street, said she opens her shop 8am to 2am to meet demand, easily selling 140 cups a day at VND10,000 to VND15,000 a cup, bringing in monthly revenue of VND40-60m.

After rent and costs, she said she was clearing VND25-40m a month.

Huge profit for small investment

Another shop owner said young people liked to sip lemonade and chat with friends at all times of the day and night to escape the heat, the hotter the better, for vendors, who can turn 1,000 cups a day.

Trang, a shop owner on Nha Tho Street, said that due to the high profits and low overheads, almost every house on Dao Duy Tu Street served lemonade and other fresh fruit juice drinks, and the footpath was almost always crowded.

Three lemonade shops on Nha Chung

Young people like the juice shops because they are convenient, open onto the footpath and provide a cheap space where they can meet and chat with friends.

Thu Hang, a university student in Hanoi, said, "To many people, this is just like a habit."

Several female customers said they feel at ease wearing casual summer clothes than in more formal cafes or restaurants.