TNI King Coffee General Director Le Hoang Diep Thao shares about the journey of building the Trung Nguyen coffee brand in the past and King Coffee in the future.

Have to step in and find out the secret yourself

- In your autobiography The Queen of King Coffee, you said that no matter what happens, your belief in Central Highlands coffee will always be steadfast. How has that belief helped you in pursuing the coffee industry and building brands?

Ms. Le Hoang Diep Thao: I have always been troubled since the first days of starting my business. Around 1996, at that time, Vietnamese coffee had low value, almost only exported raw. The whole world did not know about the quality of Vietnamese coffee.

10 years later, when I participated in many international business activities, went to many events around the world, people still did not know much about Vietnamese coffee.

With my belief, my colleagues and I worked hard to build Trung Nguyen, G7, and King Coffee from scratch, which I later founded.

Ms. Le Hoang Diep Thao (Photo: Nguyen Hue )

- You used to be a 108 operator at Gia Lai Post Office . How did the process of processing information data and answering customers help you when you embarked on the journey of building coffee brands?

It can be said that I have had this quality since I was a child. When doing anything, I always research deeply and thoroughly, not only the main issue but also the surrounding issues. To make a decision, I never rely on superficiality.

The whole process from the beginning of choosing the coffee industry, entering Ho Chi Minh City, developing instant coffee and then selling internationally, is a whole chain of great thinking, not at a single point in time.

In fact, that mindset has been consistently formed in me. In the past, as a 108 employee, I soon saw the opportunity when living in the coffee land. Up to 90% of the phone calls were interested in coffee, I could speak English, communicate with foreigners so I saw the opportunity clearly from that moment.

- In the past, coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City were still heavily prejudiced, but to survey the market, you applied to work at coffee shops to experience the space and learn how to build a shop model for Trung Nguyen?

We have to be knowledgeable first. If we don’t step in and figure out for ourselves the secret to running a coffee shop or a chain of coffee shops, we will hardly be successful. If we can’t do the small things, don’t dream of doing the big things.

At that time, Ho Chi Minh City had many small, long-standing coffee shops. They had existed for 60-70 years, passed down through several generations. The coffee industry at that time was constrained by a stagnant way of thinking. Therefore, after surveying, Trung Nguyen approached the market in a different, more youthful, and progressive way.

In 1998, the first Trung Nguyen coffee shop at 587 Nguyen Kiem Street opened. When it opened, we gave customers free coffee. This was a shocking event in the coffee industry. In Ho Chi Minh City, everyone was impressed with that campaign. A lot of people came.

"Blind taste" survey to create instant coffee

Then, in 2003, my colleagues and I continued to have a “blind taste” survey to launch G7 instant coffee.

In the coffee industry, there is an unwritten rule that companies that make roasted coffee do not make instant coffee. At that time, people thought that instant coffee was bad coffee. But when I went to international fairs and visited large corporations, I saw that instant coffee was a very large market with high revenue. I saw the opportunity there and I learned the instant coffee profession.

Ms. Le Hoang Diep Thao (Photo by Nguyen Hue)

At that time, Nescafé was very strong, accounting for about 68% of the market share in Vietnam. Winning them was a dream, winning them would help Vietnamese people overcome their inferiority complex.

After 11 years, G7 sales have surpassed Nescafé. That is the clearest proof of the product's success.

- In your autobiography, you said that coffee is a symbol of patience. Looking back over 25 years, from when you first entered the coffee industry until today, what role does patience play in King Coffee's journey?

Patience is extremely important, because coffee is an extremely difficult industry. Looking back, many people have entered this industry, with a lot of experience, a lot of money, and big corporations, but many people have given up. The coffee industry is very difficult, not easy.

Since starting with Trung Nguyen, I understood that and when I started again with King Coffee, I understood it even more. Besides vision, heart, and commitment, we need perseverance and inner strength, which help us overcome difficulties to reach the same goal. The effort to overcome that is the impression of the brand.

To date, we have made another important step forward in the US and global markets. King Coffee is about to be available at 23 Costco Business Center locations across the US. After Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Kroger and other international supermarket chains will follow.

- Thank you for the interview!

Vietnamnet.vn

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