VIETNAM – Recently, Scotsman Ice Systems – the world’s leading brand of ice machines that is 60 years old – has had many activities to promote business in the Vietnamese market. In addition to collaborating with distributor BT International (BTI) to mark their presence in this emerging market, they have just invited Michalis Dimitrakopoulos – CIGS 2016 Champion and World Barista 2019 Runner-up to Vietnam to organize an interesting event in a special coffee shop: Every Half store, Ho Chi Minh.
Accordingly, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos performed the art of Coffee in Good Spirits with a drink mixed between coffee – rum – fruit juice and other more recipes.
Scotsman Ice System in the Vietnamese market
Michalis Dimitrakopoulos says: “I believe that if I really lived in Vietnam, I would be very happy. Because, you are the second largest coffee producing country in the world, you can be very close to coffee farms. You have the opportunity to access the freshest and highest quality coffee sources”.
Dimitrakopoulos adds: “I really like the taste of Vietnamese coffee, as well as the way you guys are rising on the world coffee map. You have many champions in Barista tournaments and you are trying to rise every day with your quality”.
Dimitrakopoulos continues: “This means a lot to us, because if there weren’t people who wanted to improve the quality, we wouldn’t have a reason to come here and support you. However, if you already have a good source of ingredients, the only thing left to do is to invest in equipment to extract good coffee and serve it with high-quality ice to have the perfect cup of coffee.”
Continuing, Mr. Simone – International Marketing Director of Scotsman Ice Systems further analyzed. “We have been selling globally for many years and we have seen strong growth in the coffee market in Asia; especially Vietnam, one of the major raw material areas for Robusta beans”.
Mr. Simone adds: “Coffee chains in Vietnam are developing very well and will continue to develop in the coming periods. We are also about to have a meeting with Highlands Coffee, one of the largest coffee chains in Vietnam. For us, sales and cooperation with coffee chains are indispensable. Unlike Europe, coffee culture in Europe has very few chains, people often like to drink espresso, cappuccino at their favorite coffee shops and usually drink it hot. But in a tropical country like Vietnam, it’s different: people often like to drink coffee with ice”.
Simone continues: “So, in my opinion, investing in a good ice maker is very important. Because, as Michalis shares, ice is the first important ingredient in your glass of water. Like specialty coffee shops that can invest a lot of money in the quality of coffee beans, they can import coffee from Colombia, Brazil; But if they put poor quality ice in a customer’s coffee, it could ruin a delicious drink”.
“After today’s event, I find it very important to find someone like Michalis in Vietnam – someone who can share knowledge and is dedicated to the barista/bartender community in Vietnam,” Mr. Simone affirmed.
BTI will be the distributor of Scotsman Ice System in the Vietnamese market.
Accordingly, Scotsman Ice System’s target customers in Vietnam are F&B businesses in the middle and high-end segments, such as large coffee chains like Highland/The Coffee House – especially specialty coffee chains.
With the characteristics mentioned at the beginning of the article, high-end ice machines will clearly ensure product quality – both visual and food hygiene and safety for specialty coffee chains, rather than using industrial stone.
