Among the brands owned by Vietnamese people, Fat Milk makes a distinct mark by bringing youthfulness, boldness but still rich flavor with paper filter coffee served in a modern bar-style shop.
Time Out describes: it takes about 5 minutes for coffee to drip from the phin, a traditional Vietnamese brewing tool. After this wait, diners will enjoy a delicious, smooth, creamy cup of Robusta coffee. Fat Milk works with local farmers in Vietnam to test and source the highest quality Robusta beans. Only a handful of roasters specializing in Robusta coffee beans have turned the slow-drip coffee filter into a living art.
Fat Miilk is a brand founded by Lan Ho, 35 years old, a Vietnamese female doctor who graduated in pharmacy in the US. Sharing about Fat Miilk, CEO Lan Ho said: “Fat Miilk does not only sell coffee, the brand sells an experience of a cup of strong Robusta coffee, brewed from a Vietnamese filter, with the dream of bringing hometown coffee to the world ”.
Her passion for Vietnamese coffee led Lan Ho to a new direction despite having a stable job. Born in Oakland (California) and raised in St. Louis (Missouri), after graduating from Lindenwood University, she earned a master's degree in finance from Harvard University and a doctorate in pharmacy from St. Louis School of Pharmacy. Lan Ho used to work as a pharmacist for the Walgreens pharmacy chain, with a salary of 120,000 USD/year. During her time as a student, she wrote a blog, started a fashion business and tried many different business ideas. But in the end, she realized that the drink that was most attached to her was coffee and her passion for learning about the endless creativity in the coffee industry urged her to start a new journey.
In 2019, Lan Ho gradually built Fat Miilk and registered the brand name. A year later, she left Walgreens and took a remote seasonal job at a medical company so that she could gradually build the coffee company with savings, loans from family and banks. At that time, the company mainly sold coffee beans online and accompanying products such as filters, coffee cups, promoting the origin of raw materials as well as the brewing style of filter coffee and iced milk coffee typical of Vietnamese culture.
In 2022, a turning point came to Fat Miilk when Lan Ho first participated in the American reality competition show Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars. As the youngest contestant in the finale and also the youngest entrepreneur, Lan Ho still confidently seized the opportunity to present Fat Miilk to famous businessman and chef Gordon Ramsay on American television.
Although she did not win, the national television attention for Lan Ho’s Fat Miilk brand paved the way for her to open her first cafe. Fat Miilk transformed from an online-only company to a physical store.
The first Fat Miilk coffee shop in Chicago opened in February 2024, selling pre-packaged products and coffee brewed directly on the shop. Fat Miilk's motto is to only roast and supply 100% Vietnamese Robusta coffee beans. Talking about Lan Ho's shop, Chicago Book Club said that not only bringing the original coffee line, Fat Miilk has honored the energetic strength, rich flavor and cultural pride inherent in the product, at the same time expressing the strong vitality and confidence of immigrant origin.
Lan Ho plans to open a second store in Naperville, Illinois, in 2026. A third location, which will be the first outside of Illinois, is in the works. Lan Ho shares that one of the biggest lessons she learned on her coffee entrepreneurship journey was learning to assert herself through action, daring to turn bold ideas into reality.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khoi-nghiep-tu-uoc-mo-ca-phe-viet-post818786.html
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