The tiny salted coffee startup stand of the newly-arrived Vietnamese international students in Finland includes 17-year-old Phan Minh Uy and Phung Gia Phat along with 15-year-old Pham Minh Quan.

In August, three young people left Vietnam to study at Sulkava High School in Sulkava city. Business ideas are always running in the minds of three young people pursuing economics majors. Initially, the group planned to supply campfire and grill services in the summer. However, the small table with salted coffee brought them unexpected success.

Plan ahead

After three months of research, Minh Uy learned that Finns quite fond of coffee, especially milk coffee. However, they often drink machine-brewed coffee, which is thin and a bit bland.

Both Minh Uy, Gia Phat, and Minh Quan, when they were in Vietnam, loved salted coffee because of its density and rich aroma from the salt-foam. Instead of selling the same type of coffee that Finns drink every day, the group turned to salted coffee to bring them a new breeze.

These young people decided to sell salted coffee - a typical Vietnamese drink in Finland. Photo provided by characters

"I think salted coffee is a drink that suits the taste of Finnish people. I use coffee from Vietnam, brewed with a filter, only cream and sugar have to be bought in Finland. Salted coffee is has a unique flavor," Minh Uy said.

To do business in Finland, a group of young people must make a detailed plan with budget, revenue and expenditure, raw material sources, and food safety and hygiene. Finally, they presented the feasibility to the Sulkanva city Council and the principal of Sulkava High School.

After presenting the idea, the group received approval from the city Council and the principal and provided maximum support in terms of temporary premise, tables, chairs, necessary raw materials, and machinery.

Before opening for sale, Uy, Phat and Quan spent two weeks learning how to make coffee online.

Every day, the group brewed and drank it themselves at home. "I reduced the density of the coffee to suit the Finnish taste, but still kept the original salty and sweet taste. I also found three similar types of cream to those in Vietnam to use in our coffee," Uy shared.

In addition to creating joy and small pocket money, selling salted coffee also helps the group gain more business knowledge and improve their Finnish.

The group set up a coffee stand next to a supermarket near their home. Photo provided by characters

Sudden popularity

According to Minh Quan, on the first day of opening, the group only set up a table and displayed the ingredients. In front hangs a handwritten menu "Vietnamese salted coffee".

Some Finns came to see it out of curiosity, bought it to try it and complimented it on its deliciousness. However, salted coffee only really spread when Norway recorded a video and posted it on social networks.

The first video reached 900,000 views, and subsequent videos also received a huge amount of like and share. Finns, the number of international student community and Vietnamese people in Finland come to visit also increased their sales.

The group did not expect salted coffee to be well-received. "Most Finns praise the unique and delicious drink. They buy it for the first time and come back to enjoy it many times. Not to mention, some older aunts and uncles also recommend it to their children, grandchildren, and friends to try," Gia Phat said.

The local residents gradually got to know Vietnamese salted coffee. Tiina Kolehmainen, a resident of Sulkava city, was one of the first guests to enjoy the group's salted coffee. Tiina described the coffee's taste is so delicious, the coffee is just right mixed with the creamy layer of milk. "Worth a try," she added.

Each cup of salted coffee in the group sells for EUR 2 (about VND 53,000). Milk coffee and black coffee alone cost EUR 1.8 (about VND 47,000) and EUR 1.5 (about VND 39,000), respectively.

To ensure study time, the group only sets up a sales counter from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Finnish time) on weekends.

Finds joy in their work

Successful in spreading Vietnamese drinks in foreign lands, but the group could not escape hardships in these first days of starting their business. Language barriers and subzero temperatures were challenges the three youth faced.

The popularity on social networks pulled a large number of customers to the smal stand. Photo provided by characters

The area where the group lived was quite sparsely populated, so the first few days were sluggish with no customers. Even the whole day, the group only sold about 10 cups. Besides, communicating with native people is also not very convenient because of their limited Finnish.

Since Vietnam is a tropical country, the biggest difficulty for the group lies in the autumn weather in Northern Europe. The group had to sell outdoors in subzero temperatures, with tables and chairs dyed white by a thick layer of snow. The ingredients and tools also were freezed.

Occasionally, Uy, Phat and Quan had to come inside the supermarket and wash their hands under hot water. Uy confided that he thought he selled salted coffee while sitting in the freezer.

In return, the group of young people receive delight, and smiles from customers along with many other positive things in the process.

3 Vietnamese international students started a tiny business with salted coffee, appeared in a Finnish newspaper. Photo provided by characters

Sharing about plans to develop a salted coffee stall in the future, Uy revealed he's waiting for the school to make a small kiosk to sell on winter days. Currently, the snow density is quite thick, greatly affects their sales.

In addition, in the spring and summer, the group will upgrade the salted coffee stall, possibly to a small shop.

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