“By daring to try and dare to make mistakes, we created the Khoi (Smoke) Bread brand with the desire to bring one million good-quality breakfasts to people who are pursuing their dreams," Le Duc Nguyen, 30, the founder of the chain of ‘Khoi’ Bread stores in Da Nang, he opened his brand building story with the business philosophy “dare to try, dare to make mistakes”.

Le Duc Nguyen (left) presents flowers to congratulate a ‘Khoi’ facility in Tam Ky City that does business in the form of franchise. Photo: K.N

Nguyen said, the story started in 2020, when Da Nang stepped up the implementation of COVID-19 prevention solutions. In a room of about 20 square meters, he spent time thinking and planing for his new business project. With a passion for food and a desire to create a unique bread brand, Nguyen started by researching types of bread, as well as current tastes and consumer trends.

‘Banh mi’ is  a world-famous Vietnamese dish consisting of a baguette typically stuffed with cold cuts, paté, vegetables, mayonnaise, and optional chilies. 

The young man spent many days testing the filling recipe in the small kitchen. In addition to the traditional bread with pate, pork rolls, cold meat, eggs and minced meat, he tinkered with ‘Khoi’ spices and experimented with Phan Rang ‘cha ca’ (fish cake) bread.

Having a background in marketing, Nguyen quickly applied his skills and knowledge to creating a brand and developing a business strategy for the bakery. He realised that to succeed in the culinary industry, especially in a difficult economic context, a quality product is necessary but not enough. Therefore, Nguyen took advantage of technology to woo customers.

He built a website and became a partner in online sales channels so customers can easily order and track the delivery process without leaving home.

At the same time, he also diligently updates product information on social networks, posting pictures and interesting stories about the baking process, trips to search for ingredients, or customer feedback after enjoying the drinks.

It can be said that, in addition to product quality, Nguyen's smart and dedicated marketing strategy has helped ‘Khoi’ bread not only survive but thrive during a difficult economic period due to the impact of COVID-19.

“I had a difficult start when at first I only sold 10-20 loaves of bread every day. At that time, I had to get up at 4 a.m. to prepare ingredients and finish work at 11 p.m. But thanks to dedicated service and adjustments, just one month later sales jumped to 300 loaves of bread/day. The initial success was the basis for me to open the first branch in Da Nang and develop the ‘Khoi’ brand across the country.”, said Mr. Nguyen.

By continuously innovating and improving, Nguyen's bakery gradually becomes a familiar destination for food lovers. With the goal of bringing ‘Khoi’ bread beyond the city, in December 2021, after only one year of building the brand, Nguyen decided to “step out of his comfort zone” and start implementing the franchise model.

Since then, ‘Khoi’ products have been present at nearly 50 franchise points in Da Nang and the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Thua Thien Hue, and further afield in Ha Noi, Nha Trang, Thai Binh and Quang Ninh.

In fact, the success does not come naturally, because according to Nguyen, to expand the market beyond Da Nang, he and his team spent a lot of time researching the market and culinary culture of each locality.

Focus was placed on conducting field surveys, interviewing potential customers, and even researching local cuisine to promote their products’ popularity. Along with careful product preparation, ‘Khoi’ marketing strategy was also adjusted to suit the new market. One of the most important steps was to redesign the menu and packaging, including the introduction of bread that combined traditional flavours and new ingredients.

Through many ceaseless efforts, Nguyen's Smoke bread system has gradually affirmed its position in the market, attracting a stable number of customers year after year.

According to this talented guy, the secret to success when franchising the ‘Khoi’ bread brand is that his team directly participated in supporting the search and evaluation of selling points, as well as support for opening, communication, recruitment, staff training, especially in monitoring quality and standards of ‘ Khoi’ bakeries. Thanks to that, Khoi's reputation is increasing and this brand promises to continue to have long trips to new lands.

Reporting by KY NAM – Translating by A.THU