New home in Ho Chi Minh

Dunkin’ to enter Vietnam as part of massive Asia expansion

31-Jan-2013 - Last updated on 31-Jan-2013 at 09:16 GMT

Related tags Coffee

Dunkin' Donuts has announced that it has signed a franchise agreement to develop the brand in Vietnam. The move comes only shortly after coffee-and-baked-goods rival Starbucks revealed details of its own move into the South-east Asian country.

Vietnam Food and Beverage Co. will act as local partner to take the world’s leading coffee retailer first to the Ho Chi Minh City area and then across Vietnam over the next few years. Neither company has announced when the first outlet is expected to open.

"We are excited to partner with Vietnam Food and Beverage Co., which has a deep knowledge of the Vietnamese consumer, to open the first Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Vietnam,” said Giorgio Minardi, president of Dunkin' Brands International.

Close to source

The US group's restaurants in Vietnam will offer coffee and baked goods, including Dunkin' Donuts Original Blend Coffee, doughnuts, breakfast and bakery sandwiches, frozen drinks, iced tea and other beverages. Dunkin' said the new eateries won’t just carry traditional Dunkin' fare, but also some regional items.

Dunkin' Donuts currently has more than 10,000 restaurants in 32 countries, including more than 1,450 locations in South-east Asia. In 2012, the brand entered several new markets, including India and Guatemala, and announced expansions in a number of existing markets, including Chile, Colombia and Germany. Dunkin' Donuts' sister brand, Baskin-Robbins, entered Vietnam in January 2012 and currently has 13 locations in the country.

Vietnam is the world’s second-biggest coffee exporter, and has provided Dunkin’ Donuts with its coffee beans for a number of years now.

Wider growth

The country is one of a number of Asian destinations to have seen a dramatic recent expansion of US-based quick-service restaurant chains. From 2005 to 2010, Yum! Brands, the world's largest QSR conglomorate experienced a 54% compound growth rate in Vietnam.

Earlier this week, Dunkin’ Brands announced a major expansion into China for its Baskin-Robbins chain with the help of five new franchise agreements. The plan is to triple the brand’s footprint in the country by opening 249 new locations there over the next decade.

Baskin’ stores in China sell both the brand’s classic flavours and also more locally focused treats, such as green tea ice cream.