Vietnam startup expert closes Monkey in Black coffee shop

Tung BT (Tran Thanh Tung), a popular startup expert and social media influencer, is closing his final coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City, ending a 10-year journey of the "Monkey in Black" brand.

Tung, who has around 800,000 followers across various platforms, revealed Monday that the Monkey in Black coffee shop on Su Van Hanh street, District 10 will shut down soon.

Monkey in Black, a brand associated with Tung, had acquired significant attention over the years and the announcement of its closure quickly caught the eye of the online community.

On Tuesday, Tung shared his thoughts about the decision on his personal Facebook page. Within 24 hours, the post got approximately 7,200 reactions, nearly 400 comments, and 700 shares. On TikTok, his farewell clip for Monkey in Black drew over 100,000 views in just 17 hours.

Tung noted that he’d co-founded two coffee brands: Monkey in Black and Windmills Da Lat in Lam Dong province. At its peak, Windmills Da Lat had 15 locations, but this had dwindled to just one now.

While Tung has also served as a consultant and trainer for around 30 food and beverage (F&B) brands for more than a decade, he has stepped away from these ventures.

"The F&B industry in general and the coffee sector in particular is incredibly challenging," Tung said.

He had previously outlined the hurdles of running a coffee shop, citing high initial investments of VND1.2-1.5 billion ($47,220-59,026) for a mid-range location, low profit margins and the need for hands-on management.

"If managed well, profits are just 12-15% per year; and it’s uncertain when the initial capital will be recovered. While it's hard to fail outright in coffee, it’s equally difficult to get rich or expand significantly," he’d said.

Since announcing the closure, Tung has received inquiries from around 30 potential buyers. He plans to transfer the shop for around VND100 million ($3,935), a price he has described as "almost free."

At least 30,000 food and beverage (F&B) stores downed shutters in H1/2024 across Vietnam, reducing the total to approximately 304,700, down 4% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, new openings have been limited, according to a report by the Vietnam Food and Beverage Industry Report published by the iPOS.vn platform in August, which specializes in researching the Vietnamese culinary market.

The report revealed that HCMC experienced the most significant decline of 6% in the number of F&B stores. In contrast, Hanoi saw a slight increase of about 0.1%.

There has also been a noticeable rise in the number of stores with short lifespans (closing within less than three months of opening) in major cities, the report said.