Following this information, Nguyen Thai Ly, founder of the Bonga Bong tea brand, wrote an “open letter” asserting that she did not steal or plagiarize from Molly or any other brand. Specifically, the female founder stated that the Bonga Bong project has been in development since early 2023.
“Over the past year and a half, each step in the journey of building the brand has been taken slowly, carefully, and meticulously. The Bonga Bong logo was created from the image of a flower, with the two ‘B’ letters symmetrically stylized – an exclusive, subtle, and strongly branded design,” said Nguyen Thai Ly.
Nguyen Thai Ly, founder of the Bonga Bong tea brand.
The female founder also emphasized that all ideas and creations of Bonga Bong originate from its unique brand positioning, based on market research and the needs of Vietnamese consumers.
What caused controversy for Bonga Bong on social media recently was the fact that their TVC advertisement bore a resemblance to that of a Chinese tea brand. However, Nguyen Thai Ly confided: “We shot 3 TVCs in 1 day with a lot of sources, 3 completely separate stories, expressing the positioning of ‘Thanh Tra Det Huong.’ Some shooting angles or mood boards are popular in the industry and cannot be avoided, but the message and story of Bonga Bong are entirely independent.”
The similarities between Molly and Bonga Bong’s TVC advertisements, as pointed out by netizens.
Thai Ly also added that the green color used by Bonga Bong is one of four colors inspired by Jacquemus, a luxury fashion brand. This color was chosen after a market survey and has no connection to Molly.
Direction Agency, the brand identity designer for Bonga Bong, has also spoken out about this rumor. They confirmed that they only designed the brand identity and did not participate in other categories such as brand strategy (concept, business model) and communication strategy (TVC, video, advertising photo/video…).
“The Bonga Bong brand identity was designed entirely independently and did not copy from any other brand, including Molly Tea, which has been mentioned recently. Elements such as the logo, colors, and font were developed based on unique and highly creative ideas,” the agency stated on their fan page.
As of now, the similarities in the brand identities and promotional programs of the two brands continue to spark debates on social media.
Previously, on November 24, a social media post accused the Bonga Bong tea store of “plagiarizing” Molly Tea, a Chinese tea brand. The post received about 2,000 interactions and nearly 300 comments. Subsequently, a series of similar posts with the same content quickly spread.
These posts pointed out that the two brands are almost 80-90% similar in concept, vibe, visual, and packaging. Both use pastel tones, minimalist designs, and pay attention to small details like the tag on the cup lid. Meanwhile, the campaign to give away “Bong Thom,” a small gift for customers to check in at Bonga Bong, was also compared to the fragrant bag gift that Molly Tea had implemented.
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