Trung Nguyên Legend Expands Coffee Shop Network in the U.S. and China

Ten new Trung Nguyên Legend café spaces are being launched across the U.S. and China throughout July.

Nearly a year after the first Trung Nguyên Legend franchised café debuted in the U.S., Vietnam’s leading coffee corporation continues its expansion with the grand opening of two new Trung Nguyên Legend Coffee World locations in San Jose, California, on July 18 and 25. These are the first Coffee World model locations and mark the brand’s fourth café in the U.S.

Located at 909 Story Road, Unit 100, San Jose, and 1631 East Capitol Expressway, Unit 107, San Jose, both Trung Nguyên Legend Coffee World spaces sit along vibrant streets full of cultural, commercial, and trade activities. These prime locations are expected to attract American customers and international visitors eager to explore and experience something new.

Customers lining up to experience coffee at Trung Nguyên Legend Coffee World, 909 Story Road, Unit 100, San Jose (USA) on the opening day, July 18. Photo: TNL

For the first time, Trung Nguyên Legend is introducing to coffee lovers in the U.S. its full range of coffee products, equipment, and coffee appreciation styles based on three coffee civilizations: Ottoman, Roman, and Zen. Among them, Zen Coffee — an original creation by Trung Nguyên Legend — has been described by many as offering a fresh, unique experience in coffee enjoyment.

Trung Nguyên Legend also continues to impress with its menu of Vietnamese-style drip coffee and iced milk coffee, along with creative espresso-based drinks such as Latte, Mocha, Cappuccino, Americano... all made using 100% robusta beans from Buon Ma Thuot.

In 2023, on the occasion of Trung Nguyên Legend’s first café opening in the U.S., American culinary site Eater Los Angeles praised: “Trung Nguyên Legend’s space in the U.S. is a special destination to enjoy drip and espresso coffee using 100% robusta and arabica beans grown in Vietnam.”

Alongside its expansion in the U.S., Trung Nguyên Legend plans to open eight more spaces in three Chinese cities in July. With this, the total number of Trung Nguyên Legend cafés in the vast Chinese market will reach 18, located in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Dongxing, Suzhou, Zhejiang...

In nearly two years since entering China, Trung Nguyên Legend coffee shops — with their deep embodiment of Vietnamese coffee culture — have become popular destinations attracting large customer bases. The Tao of Coffee documentary by Discovery noted that the story of the three coffee civilizations — Ottoman, Roman, and Zen — distilled by Trung Nguyên Legend in its Coffee World space in Shanghai has gradually “elevated into a profound historical experience” that captivates coffee lovers there.

Customers exploring the appreciation styles of the three global coffee civilizations and Vietnamese coffee culture at Trung Nguyên Legend Coffee World (Southwest Nanjing, Shanghai, China) in 2022. Photo: TNL.

A representative of Trung Nguyên Legend stated that the group aims to develop nearly 130 coffee shops in China in 2024, kicking off a long-term plan to reach 1,000 shops in this market. In September, Trung Nguyên Legend will expand its café model to Australia and Canada, while continuing with plans to open 100 more locations in the U.S. and other Southeast Asian, Asian, and European countries...

The Trung Nguyên E-Coffee startup café model is also being aggressively promoted within Vietnam and expanded internationally. Currently, nearly 800 Trung Nguyên E-Coffee stores span across Vietnam and are also present in countries like the U.S. and Iceland. According to the group’s statistics, over 1,000 franchise contracts have been successfully signed. The article The Tao of Coffee: From Beans to Beauty on CNN rated this “an inspiring and successful coffee franchise model for the entrepreneurial community,” representing “part of the group’s strategic vision to elevate the enjoyment of Vietnamese coffee culture.”

Miss Grand International Thùy Tiên promoting the Trung Nguyên E-Coffee model. Photo: TNL

Before expanding its cafés internationally, this coffee group had already brought over 300 products made from robusta beans sourced from Buon Ma Thuot to about 100 countries and territories. Trung Nguyên Legend's sales have continuously grown in major economies like the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, Dubai, France, and various Southeast Asian, Asian, and European countries...

In the U.S., G7, Trung Nguyên, and Trung Nguyên Legend products are present in Costco, nearly 100% of Asian supermarkets, and across online sales platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Say Weee... The company also continues to push trade promotion activities, expand distribution systems, and build strategic partnerships in the U.S.

In China, Trung Nguyên Legend already has 15 importers, 300 secondary distributors, 30,000 offline retail points, and tens of thousands of online storefronts on platforms like JD, Amazon, Taobao.com, Tmall.com, Century Mart... The Chinese market now has over 15 million regular G7 coffee users. According to The Tao of Coffee documentary aired on Discovery, G7 is ranked among the top 5 coffee brands in China, supplying 2.5 billion coffee sachets annually to this market.

Last year, Trung Nguyên Legend opened its second international office in South Korea (the first was in China). In addition to collaborating with online sales platforms such as Coupang — South Korea’s leading e-commerce retailer — and physical retail chains like Lotte Mart, Homeplus, Emart, and Hanaromart..., Trung Nguyên Legend has also developed its official sales channel in South Korea under the name G7Coffee.

Trung Nguyên Legend coffee products are now present in nearly 100% of major retail chains in several countries such as Costco, Walmart, Carrefour, Auchan (Russia), Woolworths (Australia), Loblaws (Canada), Lotus (Thailand)...

Miss Grand International contestants exploring Trung Nguyên Legend Coffee World in Buon Ma Thuot in 2023. Photo: TNL

Trung Nguyên Legend coffee products have made it into the Top 5 most popular and purchased coffee brands online in South Korea (2020); Top 13 most popular instant coffee brands in China (2019); and Top 20 best-selling instant coffee products on Amazon (2021)...

Source: According to Hoành Anh / VnExpress
View original article here.