From 24 - 26 July 2026, the Vietnam Trade Office in Chile participated in Expo Cafe Chile 2026, showcasing a wide range of Vietnamese coffee products at Chile's largest specialized coffee exhibition, held at the Espacio Riesco Exhibition Center in Santiago.  

Building a stronger brand for Vietnamese coffee

Expo Cafe Chile 2026 brought together nearly 180 exhibitors from numerous countries and territories, attracting approximately 30,000 visitors, including coffee producers, processors, importers, distributors, coffee chain operators, industry experts, and coffee enthusiasts.

In 2025, Vietnam made its debut with a National Pavilion at Expo Cafe Chile, leaving a strong impression on visitors, importers, coffee roasters, distributors, retail chains, and coffee professionals across Latin America. Building on that success, the Vietnam Trade Office in Chile expanded its participation in the 2026 edition, aiming to further strengthen the image of Vietnamese coffee in one of the region's most dynamic coffee-consuming markets.

At Expo Cafe Chile 2026, the Vietnam Pavilion, themed "Vietnam - El origen del cafe" (Vietnam - The Origin of Coffee), was designed to reflect Vietnam's rich cultural identity while showcasing a diverse portfolio of the country's flagship coffee products. These included Robusta and Arabica coffee, roasted and ground coffee, instant coffee, specialty coffee, coffee capsules, drip-bag coffee, and traditional Vietnamese phin coffee filters.

More than 20 leading Vietnamese enterprises participated in the pavilion, including Simexco DakLak, Vinacafe, Trung Nguyen Legend, Shin Ca Phe, Pull's Coffee, and Matthew Coffee, displaying hundreds of coffee and agricultural products sourced from renowned coffee-growing regions such as Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Son La.

In addition to coffee, the Vietnam Trade Office introduced a variety of Vietnamese agricultural products, processed foods, and beverages with strong export potential, including cashew nuts, cocoa, spices, dried fruits, rice, and rice-based products. These displays helped promote the broader image of Vietnamese agricultural products to international consumers and business partners.

On the opening day alone, the Vietnam Pavilion welcomed nearly 1,000 visitors and held business meetings with 21 companies from Chile and Colombia, including importers, distributors, retail chains, e-commerce firms, and businesses operating in the food and beverage sector.

The Vietnam Trade Office also facilitated more than 10 online business matchmaking sessions between Vietnamese enterprises and foreign partners during the exhibition. These meetings enabled participants to discuss import demand, technical standards, consumer trends, and potential areas for future cooperation.

Notably, many Chilean partners highly praised the consistent quality, distinctive flavor, competitive pricing, and large-scale supply capacity of Vietnamese coffee. They also expressed strong interest in green coffee beans, roasted coffee, specialty coffee, instant coffee, value-added coffee products, and products that meet sustainability, traceability, and environmental standards. Several companies reached preliminary agreements to exchange product samples, initiate commercial negotiations, and explore import opportunities in the near future.

As part of the exhibition, the Vietnam Trade Office organized cultural promotion activities, including demonstrations of Vietnam's traditional phin brewing method and coffee tasting sessions at the pavilion. These activities left a lasting impression on visitors while offering Chilean consumers deeper insights into Vietnam's coffee heritage, culture, and distinctive coffee-drinking traditions.

Speaking at the event, Ngo Thu Huong, Trade Counsellor and Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Chile, said that participating in Expo Cafe Chile for two consecutive years reflects the Trade Office's focused and strategic trade promotion efforts to build a strong and sustainable brand for Vietnamese coffee in the Chilean market. While 2025 marked Vietnam's first introduction of its coffee industry to Chile, 2026 represents a new phase of consolidating brand recognition, expanding business networks, and creating tangible trade opportunities.

Creating new export opportunities through trade promotion

Chile is one of the most promising coffee-consuming markets in South America, with steadily growing demand for premium and value-added coffee products. Against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile global trading environment, maintaining a presence at specialized exhibitions such as Expo Cafe Chile plays an important role in helping Vietnamese enterprises sustain business connections, keep abreast of market trends, and identify new commercial opportunities.

The continued presence at Chile's largest coffee exhibition underscores the Vietnam Trade Office's long-term commitment to supporting Vietnamese businesses in strengthening the position of Vietnamese coffee in the Chilean market while enhancing the visibility of Vietnamese coffee in particular and Vietnamese agricultural products in general across Chile and the wider Latin American region.

The exhibition also forms part of the Vietnam Trade Office's key trade promotion initiatives to effectively implement Vietnam's Overseas Market Development Strategy, promote the Vietnamese coffee brand internationally, and assist domestic enterprises in expanding their export markets.

At the same time, it highlights the proactive role of the Vietnam Trade Office in Chile in implementing specialized trade promotion activities, supporting Vietnamese businesses in accessing overseas markets, and helping them capitalize on opportunities under the Vietnam - Chile Free Trade Agreement (VCFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Through these sustained efforts, the Vietnam Trade Office aims to make Vietnamese coffee an increasingly familiar choice among Chilean consumers, deepen trade cooperation with partners throughout Latin America, diversify export markets, enhance value addition, and further strengthen the international reputation of Vietnamese coffee in a sustainable manner.