Vietnamese coffee chain Phuc Long Coffee & Tea Café has sold a 20% minority stake to The Sherpa Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Vietnamese investment firm Masan Group, for $15m
A Phuc Long store in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Photo credit: Phuc Long Coffee & Tea Café
The funds will be used to establish more than 2,200 planned Phuc Long coffee and tea kiosks at VinMart+ convenience stores across Vietnam. According to Vinmart+, a pilot of four kiosks in Ho Chi Minh City will be expanded to another 1,000 sites within the next 18-24 months.
“I believe that in combining the Phuc Long products and VinMart+ network of more than 2,200 stores today and 10,000 stores in the next five years, we will provide 100 million Vietnamese consumers with the opportunity to enjoy the freshest, most delicious tea and coffee," said Truong Cong Thang, CEO of VinCommerce.
Phuc Long Coffee & Tea Café operates around 82 coffee shops across Vietnam, which is the fifth-largest branded coffee shop market in East Asia, exceeding 3,800 outlets at the end of 2020, according to
World Coffee Portal data.
In a sign premium coffee shop culture is becoming increasingly popular among Vietnamese consumers, in February 2021 Filipino restaurant group
Jollibee Foods Corp said it would invest in opening 100 Highlands Coffee outlets in Vietnam during 2021, adding the coffee chain was currently the fastest growing business in its portfolio.