Very few Vietnamese coffee brands enjoy global exposure: exec

Although there are thousands of coffee firms in Vietnam, only a select few are able to expand the Vietnamese coffee brand globally, said Nguyen Duc Hung, director of Napoli Import-Export Production and Trading JSC.

Hung was speaking at the 2nd "Honoring Vietnamese Coffee – Tea 2024" festival organized by the Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City last weekend.

Major exporter, unknown brand

Hung said that there were more than 100 coffee businesses in every province in the country, with HCMC boasting more than 2,000. And although there are many coffee exporters, there hasn't been much visible growth for Vietnamese companies on the international scene.

"I have travelled to more than 100 countries and have encountered very few Vietnamese coffee names. In some countries, I noticed Vietnamese brand Trung Nguyen on store shelves. The market and coverage of Vietnamese coffee brands are meagre compared to Thailand and Malaysia," he said.

Nguyen Nam Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association (VICOFA), noted that raw coffee accounts for approximately 91% of the nation’s total coffee export revenue, with the remainder undergoing extensive processing.

Even though the export of processed goods and instant coffee has increased recently, this is mostly concentrated in foreign-invested firms.

"Of the top 10 exporters of roasted and ground instant coffee in Vietnam, only Trung Nguyen is a Vietnamese enterprise, the rest are FDI enterprises," Hai said.

He cited the cost of investing in a deep processing factory system as the reason Vietnamese businesses were still exporting instant coffee and other processed goods at a low rate.

Only major businesses like Intimex, Timex Corp., Vinh Hiep, and Phuc Sinh can afford a spray drying plant with an annual capacity of about 3,000 tons. Additionally, companies must advertise and market their products for a very long time. For instance, the Trung Nguyen brand has taken 25 years to develop, he noted.

Building Vietnamese brand recognition

Gruber Alexander Lukas, director of Saigon Professional Roasting Services JSC, who represents the Alambé - Finest Vietnamese Coffee brand, said Vietnam was well known for abundant supply of inexpensive coffee.

Therefore, it was essential that due investments are made in brand and quality, dividing coffee into good grades, premium grades and so on, he said.

Nguyen Quang Binh, a coffee specialist, suggested that state management agencies should create funds to support businesses and support development of the coffee industry.

Binh said expanding the production and processing of specialty coffee was another important strategy, because these can cost $6,000-8,000 per ton, against $4,000 per ton for regular coffee.