“Katinat SaiGon Kafe” – the name of the familiar drink chain inspired by the land of Saigon. After a time of understanding and listening, KATINAT decided to change its brand positioning to KATINAT Coffee & Tea House, from which the next step promised to bring product stories from lands that do not stop in Vietnam.
This shows that when deciding to change, KATINAT still maintains a link with its original core values, while also breathing in a new wind, aiming for sustainable values and quality product experiences for customers.
KATINAT Bach Dang, one of the crowded gathering places for young people in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Instagram @khanhdidoday
This famous Vietnamese beverage brand among young people – belongs to KATINAT Cafe Joint Stock Company – has now made many spectacular developments.
At the end of 2021, although the FnB market was unstable, consumers tightened their spending on entertainment and coffee, KATINAT saw “opportunities in danger”, a suitable time to seize opportunities and develop into the chain’s growth.
From 2022 onwards, the journey of launching new products and expanding strategic partnerships has also helped the brand grow rapidly. The most recent is the Coc Coc Dac Dac product, which has made a refreshing summer flavor. Before that, the brand also caused a stir with Bo Gia Dua Non, a product with a flavor that is very popular with customers both domestically and internationally. Besides, the brand also aims to spread community benefits through charity projects such as ‘1,000 VND Raise Em’ – marking the cooperation between KATINAT and the electronic wallet application MoMo, ‘Contribute books to remote areas – Give knowledge to them’, …
The old KATINAT Dong Khoi store with the Katinat SaiGon Kafe logo (2016). Photo: KATINAT
The Dong Khoi store “renews” with the logo that has changed Coffee & Tea House (2023). Photo: KATINAT
Joining the FnB industry, KATINAT always emphasizes the core strategies, all aimed at the goal of bringing the best experience to customers: Continuously upgrading the quality of products; Design space is impressive, catchy; Communication is of interest to the group of young consumers.
In particular, regarding the product development strategy and the 2024 slogan: “The journey to conquer new flavors”, the brand with the main focus on “Tea and Coffee Line”. From here, the brand promises to lead the drinker through a unique journey of flavors, with ingredients from the land being brought back and continuously refined from the hands of artisans.
KATINAT promises that the journey always starts with carefully selecting raw materials from fertile lands, to the meticulousness in preserving and preparing them by hand.
Tea is one of KATINAT’s core product lines. Mr. Le Ngoc Khanh (Co-founder of KATINAT Coffee & Tea House) shared that tea is a product line with a huge demand in the FnB market. Our country has many high-quality agricultural products, but most of them are used for export, so the brand wants to take advantage of this resource to enhance the value of Vietnamese agricultural products, always taking high-quality materials from the tea-growing regions of our country and upgrading them with creative and innovative combination formulas. Thanks to that, KATINAT’s products have always been well received in recent times even though the market is changing as rapidly as it is today.
“By providing information about agricultural products, KATINAT demonstrates a commitment to the quality and origin of products, while significantly supporting local communities (Buon Me Thuot, Bao Loc, Da Lat, Moc Chau, etc.). KATINAT’s journey to conquer new flavors will not only stop in Vietnam, but also aim for the characteristic flavors of lands around the world.”
He added: “KATINAT has developed to the present thanks to the efforts of the entire staff in the company. In particular, the strategic support of the shareholders in the company is very important, and because everyone is passionate about tea and coffee, KATINAT has found a clear development direction as it is today.”
Oolong Ba La – One of the brand’s core milk tea products, using premium oolong tea picked from tea hills over 1000 meters high. Photo: KATINAT
Asked more deeply about product development strategy, Mr. Le Ngoc Khanh shared: “Where to develop a product is one thing, but to stand firm in the fluctuating FnB market, businesses must constantly innovate, always aim for development, and constantly change to survive”.
Especially with the B industry (Beverage: beverage), the industry development speed is very fast & intense. Each new beverage trend, in my opinion, can only hold its “spotlight” for a maximum of 3-4 years if there are no improvements. Moreover, changing a customer’s habits, making them want to try a new drink and feel like it, is a success in this Beverage industry.”
He believes that continuous improvement of products is a decisive factor in the success of an FnB business:
“In the KATINAT menu, some key heroes, although they are signatures at this time, can still be removed from the menu in a few years, even changing the brewing method to make water. We allow everything to be open, flexible to change.
For example, we find that Bo 034 Da Lat is one of the most valuable agricultural products in Vietnam, but it has only appeared purely in drinks such as sidewalk smoothies. We think this agricultural product probably needs a larger investment to highlight its deliciousness. Therefore, KATINAT chooses to combine Bo 034 with young coconut milk and a layer of roasted cashew nuts on top, creating Bo Gia Dua Non with a sweet and sour taste, crunchy with cashew nuts. The result is very well received by KATINAT customers, even with sales that at times surpass the “time-honored” dish, Chom Chom Milk Tea.
Bo Gia Dua Non – The drink just launched in summer and autumn 2023 at KATINAT is loved by young people.
