Building your own brand with "unique" coconut coffee

Ms. Tran Hong Nhien’s start-up with coconut coffee products was also very coincidental. Ms. Nhien said that she loves cooking, often goes into the kitchen and creates new foods and drinks.

Although she loves coffee, Nhien gets drunk on pure coffee, her heart beats fast and she gets a headache every time she drinks it. By chance, she once roasted coconut and found it fragrant, so she mixed it with coffee to drink. Unexpectedly, the coffee was delicious, with a very unique flavor, especially delicious when mixed with milk. She doesn't get drunk when drinking it, so she often makes coconut coffee for herself and her family members to enjoy.

In 2022, Nhien learned about and practiced using the social network TikTok. One time, she accidentally saw a video sharing people's frustration when buying crabs but the crabs were not delicious and the "string was heavier than the crabs". Having experience in choosing food, she immediately made a video sharing how to buy delicious crabs without being fooled. This video unexpectedly received a lot of attention and shares.

After that, Nhien continued to make more videos sharing her experience in distinguishing and selecting snails, freshwater fish, freshwater frogs, etc., and how to prepare some dishes. In particular, the video about coconut coffee received a lot of views. Although there were videos where she shared in detail how to make coconut coffee, many people were interested and asked to buy the product to use.

Many acquaintances and friends after enjoying Ms. Nhien's coconut coffee also praised it as delicious. With encouragement and motivation, at the end of 2022, Ms. Nhien officially sold coconut coffee widely to the market.

According to Ms. Nhien, the raw materials for making coconut coffee are not too difficult to find, because there are many coconut gardens in the area so the supply is always abundant, she buys from gardens near her house. As for the coffee, she selects beans from Dak Lak province.

The process of making coconut coffee is not too complicated. After grating the coconut, put it in a pan and roast until it turns golden brown, then turn off the stove. The finished product is mixed with pre-ground coffee.

The new feature of the coconut coffee product made by Ms. Nhien is that it does not combine coffee with coconut milk but rather dry-roasted coconut rice at the right temperature and time. These two ingredients are finely ground and then mixed together. The product has a clean production process, saying no to additives, preservatives, flavorings, etc. From there, it creates a coffee drink with its own unique characteristics.

"The initial packaging of the products was very simple, just wrapped in paper. But because people trusted and loved them, they sold a lot. After a while, some customers suggested that we should invest in packaging and labels so that more consumers would accept them," Nhien shared.

Focus on quality, improve product

In 2023, Ms. Tran Hong Nhien participated in the Hau Giang Women's Startup Competition organized by the Provincial Women's Union with the coconut coffee project and won 3rd prize. This is also considered one of the turning points in her startup journey.

"When participating in the competition, the judges asked many questions and gave many comments. Among them, the experts said that the product needs to be carefully tested for quality, because the coconut material is locally available but the coffee is from Dak Lak. Besides, it is also necessary to invest more in product packaging. In addition, the Association at all levels also regularly organizes training courses with very good startup knowledge. These things have helped me a lot in the process of starting a business," Nhien expressed.

Immediately after the startup competition, Ms. Nhien was supported to test the product. The coconut coffee product was later certified as a 3-star OCOP. At the same time, she also boldly borrowed capital to invest in building a factory and buying some necessary machinery.

Coconut coffee products focus on product quality as well as packaging and labels.

At this time, Ms. Nhien's production facility has created regular jobs for 5-7 local workers, with an income of 300,000 - 450,000 VND/person/day. In addition to retailing on social media platforms, especially her personal TikTok channel with more than 138,000 followers, Hong Nhien branded coconut coffee products are also distributed to many coffee shops across the country. From the profits, Ms. Nhien continues to invest in buying more machinery to help make the production process more efficient.

Happy to build my own brand

Ms. Tran Hong Nhien said that the initial success achieved in a short period of time does not mean that her entrepreneurial path is always paved with "roses" but also has many thorns and challenges.

According to her, besides the advantages, selling on social networks also causes her to encounter certain risks and troubles. "Every journey has its difficulties. When selling, there will be some problems, I cannot meet the tastes of 100% of customers. When selling on social networks, there are many customers who order in large quantities and then sell out. These times take time to process, which is both costly and makes me stressed. Then the floor fee increases, there were times when I wanted to give up, but when I was encouraged, thinking about the values ​​the work brings, I pulled myself together to continue. Later, when someone orders in large quantities, I have to contact them again to confirm the details," Ms. Nhien shared.

Ms. Tran Hong Nhien is happy to have created a product with her own brand and to have her family accompany her in the process of starting a business.

Recently, Ms. Nhien has also made a number of other products from locally available agricultural products to sell, such as honey kumquat, pickled kumquat, kumquat with custard apple... This achievement comes not only from her nature of always wanting to explore and learn, but also from her desire to increase the value of local agricultural products.

According to Nhien, the thing that makes her happiest in her entrepreneurial journey is that she has her own brand. From there, she can not only take care of her own life but also have the conditions to support other women, especially those with disabilities.

Sharing her future plans, Nhien said she will make more products from local agricultural products. She hopes that the products will be distributed throughout the provinces and cities across the country. In addition, she also plans to grow more coconuts from her family's available land to proactively increase the source of raw materials, especially when coconut prices are high, helping to stabilize the price of coconut coffee products.

"In my entrepreneurial journey, I am also very happy and fortunate to have the support of my family, especially my husband, who has supported me wholeheartedly. I think that for rural women, when starting a business, they should try to use locally available products. This will bring many advantages and conveniences. Besides, they need to boldly sell on social platforms. If they can do that, they can make money at any time," said the owner of the Coconut Coffee brand in Hau Giang.

"When starting a business, especially participating in startup competitions, I realized that many women are very passionate about starting a business. However, besides the advantages, there are also many women who are still shy and afraid to learn. In particular, some women are afraid to share and sell products on social networks because they are afraid of being judged and said this and that. I think this is also normal, because in reality, daily life is the same.

We must determine that sales must be multi-dimensional. The important thing is that the products we sell are of guaranteed quality and that we do them with all our heart. It is impossible to please everyone. I have also shared this with many women and some of them have overcome their fears when participating in social networks and achieved certain results."

- Ms. Tran Hong Nhien -

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/xay-dung-thuong-hieu-rieng-voi-ca-phe-dua-doc-la-20250509100937824.htm