Vinacafe’s scandal is hot discussion on social media

Vinacafe caught the public’s attention after launching a new advertisement campaign with the statement, “At Vinacafe, we believe that coffee must be 100% coffee. From August 1, Vinacafe’s coffee means pure coffee."

With the statement, Vinacafe has declared war on ‘dirty coffee’, a formula that helps roasters optimize profits.

Pham Quang Vu, chair of Vinacafe Bien Hoa, the owner of Vinacafe brand, has appeared in the media, admitting that the company’s two coffee products had "soybeans inside", but "coffee with soybeans won’t be seen in the market from August 1". 

“In fact, Wake-up and Phinn (their products) bring good business results, but we are ashamed because we were not adhering to our original philosophy,” he told Infonet,

Analysts commented that Vinacafe takes risks when following such a marketing campaign. Consumers could respond positively or could boycott the brand. 

A branding expert said that he thinks the second scenario could happen. The problem is that Vinacafe has said the same thing twice.

Three years ago, Vinacafe marketed TVC and also advertised that the product was "coffee made of coffee only".

“It may happen that consumers won’t believe Vinacafe anymore,” the expert commented. “Consumers may get angry when realizing that they drank ‘dirty coffee’ in the past."

Meanwhile, another expert said that Vinacafe has taken a wise move.

“Vinacafe is not the only roaster which mixed coffee with soybeans, but it is the only roaster that has admitted it. And this is key,” he said.

Imonitor, a tool that monitors social networks, showed negative comments about the ‘Vinacafe phenomenon’, especially comments made on August 9 and 10, just days after Vinacafe’s statements were released.

Vietnamese consumers are angry after local newspapers reported that police discovered many roasters who sold ‘coffee mixed with soybeans, flavors and chemicals’.

Most recently, in early 2016, the Vung Tau City Police discovered a roaster in the city selling dirty coffee.

Vinacafe Bien Hoa’s shareholders in 2015 felt disappointed when they were informed about the unsatisfactory business result.

The revenue increased modestly by 5.3% in the first quarter of 2015 to VND481 billion, while the profit was VND5.56 billion only, or just 7% of the same period of the year before.

This was a record low profit Vinacafe Bien Hoa has reported since it listed shares on the bourse. By the end of the third quarter, Vincafe Bien Hoa had earned VND88.2 billion in pretax profit.