Coffee Boom

Coffee Boom

Both foreign and domestic takeaway coffee brands are appearing more densely, creating a vibrant and dynamic business market.

Vietnam’s Market Potential:

Ms. Huỳnh Thị Thanh Nga, who sells street coffee on Hàn Hải Nguyên Street (Ho Chi Minh City), comments: “Previously, people drank coffee according to their taste, and the coffee had to be strong to be considered good. Nowadays, among the young people and office workers, some tend to drink coffee as a refreshing drink. Foreign-style coffee contains less caffeine, can be consumed multiple times a day, and has a trendy style, so it’s favored.”

Regarding takeaway coffee, street coffee stalls like Ms. Nga’s have existed for a long time. However, since foreign coffee brands such as Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (USA), Gloria Jean’s Coffees (Australia), Angel In Us (South Korea), and most recently Starbucks (USA) entered Vietnam, the terms “to go” and “take away” have become increasingly popular.

Foreign coffee targets young customers who like to explore and embrace new things—a group that makes up about half the population.

According to statistics from the International Coffee Organization (ICO), from 2008 to 2011, coffee consumption in Vietnam increased by 65%. In 2010 alone, the growth rate was 31%, compared to the global average. This shows that Vietnam has a strong potential coffee market. Not only foreigners, but Vietnamese entrepreneurs have also gradually recognized this potential, and Vietnamese coffee brands have begun to emerge.

Since Passio opened its first store in December 2006, it has developed into a chain of 10 stores. Effoc appeared in August 2008 as a small coffee cart and has now expanded to 5 stores. A number of other coffee “kiosks” such as Freddo Coffee, Urban Station Coffee, Cactus, Buzz… have also steadily appeared. The newest brand, La Fontaine, opened its first store on Hai Bà Trưng Street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) on January 20, 2013, and just three weeks later opened a second store in District 5. La Fontaine plans to grow into a chain of 10 stores in districts 2, Tân Bình, and others during 2013.

Ms. Trần Thị Phương Dung, Director of La Fontaine Coffee chain, said: “We plan to invest heavily so we can win in our home market. With a plan to ‘cover’ the whole country, we are currently focusing on building our brand in Ho Chi Minh City first. We dream of making a brand right here in the Vietnamese market.”

Despite the massive influx of foreign coffee brands, Vietnamese investors remain confident, believing “water from the river does not invade the well,” meaning the market is still quite large. Ms. Dung added: “Foreign brands focus on high-income markets. Meanwhile, we serve the middle-income market segment, which is quite large.”

Competition by Price and Brand?

Compared to sit-down or garden coffee shops that require large spaces, high initial investment, and many staff, the cost of running a “to go” coffee kiosk does not bear those expenses. The initial investment is not too high—about 200 million VND for a kiosk with around 10 seats and from 100 to 150 million VND for a kiosk without seating. This shows that opening a “to go” coffee kiosk is not too difficult, which might explain why most owners of Vietnamese coffee brands are students or young entrepreneurs.

While foreign brands target the high-income segment, with prices averaging from 60,000 to 100,000 VND per cup, Vietnamese brands aim at students and office workers, offering prices 30–50% lower. For example, Effoc sells coffee from just 20,000 VND, Buzz ranges from 18,000 to 27,000 VND, Cactus from 12,000 to 30,000 VND, La Fontaine averages 30,000 VND, and Urban Station ranges from 16,000 to 27,000 VND. Thus, the mid-price segment is a battleground mainly among domestic brands.

A representative from a Vietnamese “to go” coffee brand revealed: “Previously, the store sold only 40 cups per day. Now, it sells about 200 cups daily. If we open more stores and apply promotions, sales will surely increase.” After price, flavor is the key factor brands compete on. Brands like Passio, Freddo, Buzz, Effoc, Urban Station compete by offering Italian-style coffee with cappuccino, latte, mocha, and other specialty drinks such as ice blended, yogurt, chocolate blended, whipping cream, smoothie, coffee blend, frappuccino… The newer brand La Fontaine competes with a Vietnam-France fusion flavor, featuring a special coffee brewed with cordyceps militaris (dong trung ha thao).

Another important factor in service business is staff attitude. Some coffee shops have quietly closed after a short time due to poor staff training. Ms. Nguyễn Thị Nguyên Thảo, an office worker in District 3, recalled an experience at a takeaway coffee shop on Đinh Tiên Hoàng street where the staff were rude when she only bought one cup. That shop later closed. She said: “Even if the flavor is good and the price is cheap, bad service will drive customers away. When I spend money, I expect at least a polite attitude from the seller.”

Though not publicized, some “to go” coffee brands have ambitions to expand via franchising. This would be a breakthrough for “to go” coffee. However, insiders say these brands are still not strong enough to implement franchising on a large scale.