Vietnam’s coffee industry is gearing up to jump into the more lucrative segment of single-serve coffee. For many years, Vietnam has been exporting mainly coffee beans, rather than processed coffee.
A recent report has shown that the quality of Vietnamese coffee remains low due to poor processing, drying equipment and outdated harvesting technology.
“The weakest point of the coffee sector is lack of connectivity among production, processing, preserving stages and loose link between farmers and enterprises,” said Nguyen Trong Thua, head of the Agro-Forestry Processing and Salt Industry Department.
The department is developing a plan for future coffee processing and preserving which sets out a range of steps to increase export value of Vietnamese coffee by building high-quality coffee production areas and enhancing promotional and marketing efforts.
Luong Van Tu, chair of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa), said to improve their income, enterprises need to boost the export of roasted and instant coffee products, which can bring twice the turnover as coffee beans.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, instant coffee exports only account for 4.2 percent of total export volume, but can bring 12 percent of total value. Meanwhile, capsule coffee will even bring higher value.
Nestlé’s new production line
Nestlé inaugurated a new Nescafe Dolce Gusto capsule production line in Dong Nai province in July.
Ganesan Ampalavanar, general director of Nestle Vietnam, said by using 100 percent of materials from Vietnam, Nestle will help boost the value of Vietnam’s coffee.
It is expected that 10 percent of the output will be consumed in Vietnam, while the remaining will be exported to 13 markets.
In the domestic market, analysts say Vietnamese have become more familiar to the western coffee drinking style. That is why Nestle began selling capsule coffee in Vietnam in October 2015.
Other well-known capsule coffee brands, such as Carraro, Lavazza and Gimokia, all are in Vietnam, especially in hotels, restaurants and coffee chains.
Meanwhile, King Car began offering Mr Brown capsules in Vietnam in May.
Vietnamese coffee producers have jumped on the bandwagon
Vinacafe Bien Hoa two years ago marketed Café de Nam, a kind of capsule coffee using automatic drip.
Vinacafe Bien Hoa hopes that besides Italian Espresso and the Americano, the world will know a Vietnamese way of tasting coffee – Vietnamo.
Prior to that, Sagaso pioneered making capsule coffee, with design similar to Nestle’s Nespresso.
Sources said that Trung Nguyen plans to launch Trung Nguyen Legend Capsule in September.
