Sang Vietnamese Coffee Looks to Bridge Asian and American Cultures
As several brands have sought to bring traditional Vietnamese coffee to the mainstream American market, AAPI-owned startup Sang is looking to bridge the two cultures with its line of ready-to-drink iced coffees, which it sampled this week at Natural Products Expo West 2023.
Launched last fall, New York-based Sang Vietnamese Coffee debuted online and in independent retail accounts. The brand was founded by CEO Lan Pham, a native of Vietnam who prior to entering the beverage industry held business development and brand leadership roles in the travel products sector.
Leaving their home country as refugees, Pham’s parents brought her to the U.S. when she was a baby. Speaking to BevNET at the brand’s booth in Expo’s North Hall, she said she was inspired to create Sang in 2021 following the formation of the Stop Asian Hate movement.
“I saw the community coming together and celebrating and unifying, and I wanted to start something specific to Vietnam,” she said, noting that coffee was one of the first ideas to come to mind.
The 8 oz. RTD line features iced coffee sourced from Vietnamese robusta beans and is available in Straight Black with Vanilla, Traditional (with condensed dairy milk) and Oatmilk varieties. At Expo this week, the brand debuted its first line extension – Saigon Cinnamon Latte – available in dairy and oatmilk versions.
According to Pham, Sang’s goal is to bridge the cultures of Vietnam and America. The name means “bright” in Vietnamese, and the label design is intended to invoke American styled branding, but features Vietnamese text along the top of the can: “Cà Phê Sữa Đá,” meaning “Iced Coffee” (the Straight Black flavor says “Cà Phê Đen Đá,” meaning coffee without milk). The crown symbol included in the brand logo, Pham added, is also intended to invoke the yellow star in the center of the country’s flag.
Sang has raised venture capital to fund the brand’s launch and now has nine employees, including part-time chief marketing and chief operations officers, both of whom will join full time later this year, Pham said.
As the brand rolls out to retail, Pham said she is targeting both Asian specialty grocers and conventional channel accounts, noting that she wants Sang to speak to a wide range of consumers – whether it be people who grew up drinking traditional Vietnamese coffee or shoppers who are entirely new to the beverage.
That approach is also reflected in the company’s marketing strategy – Sang’s trade show booth is designed to look like a cafe in Vietnam, complete with short stools. Online, the brand has launched its first digital campaign with a video called “Strong, Yet Sweet,” which provides a playful twist on Asian mothers “reputation as wallflowers with understated strength,” Pham said. Going forward, Pham hopes to bring on younger Asian influencers to help grow brand awareness online.
“It’s all about culture for us,” Pham said. “We’re making it in a way that is digestible for the American consumer, where they’re learning a little bit about Vietnam, but they’re not confused when they pick us up.”
Hint Unveils Cans, Looks to Grow Distribution
Hint Water is looking towards innovation and distribution to open up new channels and drive incremental sales.
The brand showcased several recent innovations at its basement booth at Expo West, including its new line of flavored still waters in 12 oz. aluminum cans. The canned varieties come in Blackberry, Watermelon and Blueberry Lemon flavors and are primarily intended to help expand the brand’s presence in food service accounts which have dropped plastic bottles, CEO Blair Owens said.
While the supply of aluminum cans has been tight across the industry, Owens said the brand did not struggle to find a supplier. The new packaging format launch follows the opening of Hint’s new production plant in Georgia last year.
In addition to cans, the company has also updated its PET bottles, reportedly reducing the amount of plastic by 40%. That move, Owens said, also helped cut costs as it looks for ways to save money while also optimizing sales and the product. As part of that initiative, Hint has consolidated its office space in San Francisco from several buildings into one location, while fulfillment costs for online sales have dropped after moving to new service providers.
This week, the brand will introduce Grape through its online store as the newest addition to its flavored waters line. Owens described Grape’s taste as “bold” with a nostalgic aroma.
Another innovation Owens sees strong potential for is Hint+ Vitamin, which features four flavors (Clementine, Coconut, Blackberry Cherry and Tropical) infused with assorted vitamins and minerals. The line allows Hint to meet new need states as it moves away from its caffeinated offerings, which Owens said did not perform well. In contrast, a vitamin-infused offering, he said, makes more sense for the brand’s better-for-you positioning.
While natural and convenience have been strong channels for Hint, Owens said the brand still hasn’t properly tapped the convenience and drug space. Over the coming year, Owens hopes to convert more of the company’s distribution to DSD. Currently, Hint uses a mix of distribution methods, including UNFI and KeHE and direct – a model that has helped it to maintain a 98.5% fill rate. Although the brand does have some key DSD partners in the Northeast with houses like Big Geyser, Polar and Atlas, the goal now is to secure more in order to expand its up-and-down-the-street presence throughout the country.
According to NielsenIQ data for the 52-weeks ending February 25, Hint saw retail dollar sales grow 8.9% to $142.8 million. In that period, volume rose 5.2% while pricing increased around 3.7%. More recently, however, the brand has had to offset volume declines (-6.5% in the two-week period) with price increases (+10.7% in the two-weeks).
At its show booth, the brand shared internal data showing brand awareness tripling over the past three years, while basket sales include 23% more units than the enhanced water category average.
Owens was named CEO of Hint in November 2021 following a board decision to remove founder Kara Goldin and COO Theo Goldin from day-to-day leadership roles. However, Owens said the Goldins remain on the board and are still active in guiding the brand’s strategy.
OoMee Hopes to Bring Seaweed into the Beverage Category
Seaweed, the trending ingredient that made its way onto Whole Foods’ Top 10 Food Trends for 2023, has made a splash into the beverage category with OoMee. The name comes from “umi,” the Japanese word for ocean, as the drink was inspired by the significance of seaweed in Japan.
Founded by social entrepreneur Alissa Miky, OoMee produces a marine plant jelly drink whose main ingredient is agar-agar, a powder extracted from red algae imported from Japan.
According to a brand spokesperson, the gut-friendly drink features two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. The former is a microbiome that slows digestion and may help lower the risk of heart disease while the latter helps food pass more quickly through the stomach and intestines.
The digestive health drinks market is forecasted to increase at a 6.09% CAGR to reach a market valuation of $47 billion by 2032, according to Future Market Insights. Meanwhile, the global commercial seaweed market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% between 2022 and 2030.
Though the drink has not yet launched in the U.S., it was previewed at Expo in three flavors: Blueberry & Elderflower, Strawberry & Hibiscus and Peach & Lemon. While working on finding a distributor, the brand will also switch the product from bottles to cans due to the fact agar agar is prone to mold more quickly in bottles.
BobaBam Debuts Major Packaging Refresh, Announces New Distribution
Manhattan Beach, California-based frozen instant boba kit producer BobaBam unveiled a major packaging refresh at its booth in the Main Hall. The brand has traded in its playful, purple and magenta polka dot packaging for a more refined and modern aesthetic featuring a black background behind brighter, bolder colors and a more prominent updated logo.
The packaging also features a new tagline, “Get Ready to Chew Your Drink,” hoping to excite consumers about the tapioca pearls featured in the kit.
According to Vantage Market Research, the global bubble tea market was valued at $2.7 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach a value of $4.2 billion by 2028.
The move comes as the boba maker works to expand its retail footprint with mainstream grocery stores across the country. According to CMO Chelsea Bialla, the brand did things “a bit backward,” having first landed in club stores following its launch in 2020.
The brand has now launched a new Mango flavor that is exclusive to Sprouts. Additionally, the brand unveiled a new strawberry flavor that will be available at a majority of its existing retailers nationwide.
Elsewhere, Orbitel International showcased its new line of Jelly Popping Boba under its O’s Bubble brand. Available in three flavors – Lychee Oolong Tea, Strawberry Oolong Tea and Melon Lemonade – the drinks feature popping boba and are infused with fruit juice and aloe vera. The drink will soon be available online in 240ml and 480ml cans.
The new product comes on the heels of the brand’s Instant Marbling Boba kit, which launched in October with six flavors: Black Tea, Brown Sugar, Coffee, Matcha, Strawberry and Taro.