Deal Street Asia reports that Révi Coffee & Tea, a coffee chain startup, has raised funding from TNB Aura, an investment fund based in Singapore, through its branch in Vietnam, as well as local investment funds Touchstone Partners and AiViet Venture.
Touchstone Partners was founded in 2021 and is led by Tran Nhat Khanh, former co-founder of VinaCapital Ventures, and Ngo Thuy Ngoc Tu, co-founder and Chairwoman of YOLA Education Joint Stock Company. AiViet Venture, on the other hand, is an investment fund nurturing Vietnamese startups, established in 2023.
According to Deal Street Asia, Révi Coffee & Tea was founded by Nguyen Vu Duc, former CEO of GoViet (now Gojek Vietnam). He gained attention for his impressive profile, having graduated from Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics (MESI) in 2003. From October 2003 to August 2013, he worked at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). During his nearly decade-long tenure at BIDV, Nguyen Vu Duc worked in various departments such as financial institutions, retail, electronic banking, and operations management. He received a Master of Business Administration scholarship from Harvard University and studied in the United States from 2013 to 2015.
Nguyen Vu Duc while he was still CEO of GoViet.
Nguyen Vu Duc made his mark in the business world as a co-founder and CEO of GoViet. Prior to that, he was also a co-founder and CEO of TDC, a financial technology startup (Fintech). He was responsible for bringing Uber to Vietnam and successfully launched Uber in Ho Chi Minh City in 2014. He stepped down as CEO of GoViet in March 2019 and joined MoMo a year later.
Revicoffee Joint Stock Company has been operating since mid-September 2023, with Nguyen Bao Linh as the legal representative, who is also a former member of GoViet.
Although it has only entered the market recently, Révi Coffee & Tea has already developed 8 stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Notably, all of these stores are located in expensive office buildings, such as Capital Place – the most expensive office building for rent in Hanoi, TechnoPark, and Keangnam Landmark Tower 72, among others.
A sales point of Révi Coffee & Tea (Photo: Révi Coffee & Tea’s Facebook)
Unlike popular chains like The Coffee House, Highland Coffee, and Phuc Long, Révi Coffee & Tea does not prioritize in-store experiences. Most of their locations are take-out counters without many seats, often located in lobbies and basements of office buildings. Révi Coffee & Tea also presents itself as a pioneer in Vietnam for implementing cashless payment methods.
According to Momentum Works’ statistics, the modern beverage chain market in Vietnam ranks third in the ASEAN region, with a scale of approximately $570 million, surpassing countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Of the top 5 modern beverage chains in Vietnam, 4 are owned by domestic enterprises: Highlands Coffee, Trung Nguyen Legend, The Coffee House, and Phuc Long. Starbucks is the only foreign brand among the 5 modern beverage chains in Vietnam, with over 100 stores in 9 provinces and cities.
