'The key risk I see is that Highlands does not invest fast enough': exec 

Highlands will drive the growth of the Vietnamese specialty coffee segment globally, acting as a ‘flag carrier’ for Vietnamese culture by exporting Vietnamese coffee and heritage, said Tim Seltzer, CFO of Highlands Coffee.

How is investment reshaping Vietnam’s coffee landscape, from your perspective?

Investment is reshaping the coffee landscape in two ways.

At the farm level, investments including soil technology, regen agriculture (a holistic farming approach that restores and enhances the health of ecosystems), agronomy training, technologies like drone mapping and blockchain, supply chain finance, and refining/strengthening the post-harvest processing of robusta are revolutionizing the robusta landscape in Vietnam.

Providing sustainability for farmers and overall robusta supply is enabling better crop yields, higher prices and higher profits. Enabling the production of ‘fine robusta’ is at scale, to drive the ‘Robusta renaissance’ globally.

At the café level, significant investment in new cafes for independents and chains bring innovative products and services to consumers.

You’ve seen how people at Highlands pour their time, talent, and hearts into everything from product innovation to customer service. How has this influenced your own philosophy around investment and return?

As a finance professional, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of brand strength as a key driver of enterprise value. The Highlands brand is really just an extension of our people and our values – a combination of products, services, experience and authenticity that delights Highlands customers again and again. You cannot deliver this without a team of ‘Highlandsers’ – from David Thai to our office staff and especially our café employees – that are passionate about Highlands, coffee and Vietnam.

As a finance leader, how do you personally define “value” at Highlands? What makes a return feel truly meaningful to you?

I came to Vietnam with a double-bottom line investment fund – we were seeking a financial return and a social return. The fund failed, and I realized it's difficult to successfully serve two masters. With Highlands, we don’t have to sacrifice our values and social return for financial value.

In fact, quite the opposite – we will maximize the returns on our investments by investing sustainably in our people, suppliers, Vietnamese communities, and the environment. This will truly underpin our brand value, and also allow us to develop a sustainable supply chain which will be a competitive advantage as we grow.

Highlands has invested significantly in infrastructure, particularly with a new roastery in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, as well as in technology and talent. How do these investments strengthen Vietnam’s competitiveness in the global coffee industry?

Born in Vietnam and a ‘brand or origin’, Highlands specializes in robusta-based products which are sourced in Vietnam, roasted to perfection in our state of the art, ‘Robusta first’ roasting facility and distributed globally.

We will continue to be a market leader in Vietnam, investing ahead of the market in our people, cafés, technology, and supply chain, ensuring long-term sustainability for our business, suppliers, employees, Vietnamese communities, and the environment.

Internationally, Vietnamese specialty coffee is an emerging and high growth segment of the coffee industry. Highlands will drive the growth of the Vietnamese specialty coffee segment globally, acting as a ‘flag carrier’ for Vietnamese culture by exporting Vietnamese coffee and heritage.

As we expand, Highlands will stay true to its Vietnamese roots by continuing to championing robusta based Vietnamese coffee and Vietnamese with dedicated service.

Every opportunity comes with risk. What are some of the key challenges or vulnerabilities associated with investing in Vietnam’s coffee sector, and how is Highlands Coffee navigating or mitigating them?

The key risk I see is that Highlands does not invest fast enough – particularly in people, technology and our upstream supply chain – that will allow us to address the opportunities in Vietnam and globally. Highlands will navigate this risk by continuing to invest ahead of the market in our people, cafés, technology, and supply chain.

How does Highlands Coffee's investment strategy align with the Vietnamese government's broader goals for the coffee sector, such as value-added production, sustainability, and rural development?

Investment is reshaping (with the potential to revolutionize) the coffee landscape in Vietnam at the farm level and downstream ‘from farm to cup’. Key areas of investment include soil technology, regen agriculture (a holistic farming approach that restores and enhances the health of ecosystems), agronomy training, technologies like drone mapping and blockchain, supply chain finance, and refining/strengthening the post-harvest processing of robusta.

The key benefits of these investments include providing sustainability for farmers and overall robusta supply by enabling better crop yields, higher prices and higher profits; while enabling the production of ‘fine robusta’ at scale, to drive the ‘Robusta renaissance’ globally.

This investment will allow Vietnam to develop and advance the overall Vietnamese robusta coffee industry by increasing volumes and quality while providing traceability and meeting sustainability and environmental standards.