On August 8, 2026, a Trung Nguyen E-Coffee outlet opened in Garland, Texas. Located on West Walnut street in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, it is one of the coffee chain's latest outlets in Texas, following its first steps into California in 2023 and Carrollton in June 2025, as part of plans to develop 100 outlets in the United States and 3,000 worldwide.

A Vietnamese coffee shop opening in Texas would not normally be a major event compared with an economy handling hundreds of billions of dollars in imports and exports each year. But from a branding perspective, it carries a different significance.

Vietnam has been the world's second-largest coffee producer for years, and Vietnamese Robusta beans are used in millions of cups of coffee in countries around the world. A Vietnamese company taking its own brand and products directly to U.S. consumers represents a more difficult step than simply exporting goods: moving from being a supplier within someone else's value chain to being recognized by its own name.

That has also been the trajectory of Vietnamese goods and businesses over several decades. After the Doi moi (reform) policy, seafood, garments, footwear and furniture gradually entered major markets and became more deeply integrated into global production chains.

From the beginning of the 21st century, brands emerged with ambitions to expand beyond Vietnam's borders: Trung Nguyen launched G7 in 2003; Vinamilk expanded its exports; FPT Software established operations in multiple countries; and Viettel invested overseas.

After 2015, technology, aviation, gaming and digital services opened new routes for companies such as FPT, Vietjet, Flappy Bird, and Axie Infinity.

From production strength to brand ambitions

Coffee is a typical example. Vietnam is currently the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil, accounting for about 8.3% of global coffee exports, of which 97% is Robusta. In 2025, the average export price hit a record $5,633 per ton, with export revenue expected to reach $8.92 billion.

But the strength of a coffee-producing nation and the strength of Vietnamese coffee brands are not the same thing. Trung Nguyen, founded in 1996 in Buon Ma Thuot, launched G7 in 2003 and is now present in more than 100 countries. It is among the companies seeking to narrow that gap through processed products, retail channels, and overseas coffee shops.

Vietnamese rice has undergone a similar shift. ST25 rice, developed by Labor Hero Ho Quang Cua, was named the world's best rice three times, in 2019, 2023 and 2025. Once viewed largely in terms of export volumes and prices, Vietnamese rice is increasingly being identified by specific varieties, quality and names, while creating opportunities for more deeply processed products.

In the cashew industry, Vietnam has been the world's No. 1 exporter of cashew kernels for 18 consecutive years, accounting for more than 80% of global cashew kernel exports. In 2024, exports reached 724,000 tons worth $4.34 billion, and volumes hit another record in 2025. Yet about 65% of its raw material, equivalent to 2.9 million tonnes, still has to be imported. Vietnam's dominance in processing and exports therefore does not necessarily mean it captures the largest share of value in the chain.

Seafood offers another perspective. Vietnam is the world's third-largest seafood exporter, with exports reaching $10 billion in 2024. Pangasius alone accounted for about $2 billion, with Vietnam representing roughly 90% of global pangasius trade. Vinh Hoan led Vietnamese pangasius exporters with a 14% market share, shipping products to 39 countries, while Navico has developed an integrated chain spanning breeding, farming, processing and exports. Production capabilities have advanced considerably, but companies and products remain less recognized by consumers in end markets.

The gap is particularly visible in furniture and wood products. Vietnam has become one of the world's largest exporters of wood products and furniture, behind only China. Furniture and interior exports amounted to about $11.7 billion in 2024-2025, with the United States accounting for about 55%.

Yet about 61% of the industry's value still comes from original equipment manufacturing, or OEM. A table or chair made in Vietnam may end up in millions of homes in the United States and Europe, while the brand known to consumers remains that of the company that placed the order.

Technology offers a different route. FPT Software was the first Vietnamese company to surpass $1 billion in overseas information technology services revenue in 2023 and has set a target of $5 billion by 2030. While coffee, rice, cashews and furniture have to go through a long journey from raw materials to processing and branding, software exports Vietnamese engineering and business capabilities from the outset.

Gaming shows how Vietnamese products can reach global users directly. Flappy Bird, created by Nguyen Ha Dong, was downloaded about 50 million times and became an international phenomenon in 2013. Axie Infinity, co-founded by Nguyen Thanh Trung, at one point reached a valuation of $3 billion. Together with Amanotes, VNG and Sky Mavis, these cases show that products created in Vietnam can reach users in multiple countries without the physical distribution networks required by traditional export industries.

Aviation takes Vietnamese brands to the world in an even more direct way. Vietjet, founded in 2011, has carried about 80 million passengers and operates 129 routes, with around 400 flights a day. Vietnam Airlines has for years linked the image of the national carrier with the promotion of Vietnam as a destination. In 2024, Vietnam welcomed 17.6 million international visitors, bringing Vietnamese images, products and services closer to consumers around the world.

The gap between "Made in Vietnam" and Vietnamese brands

Across the nine sectors discussed above, Vietnam has established positions that would have been difficult to imagine several decades ago: it is the world's second-largest coffee producer; the No. 1 exporter of cashew kernels; among the three largest seafood exporters; a leading exporter of wood products and furniture; and home to FPT, which generates billions of dollars in overseas revenue.

Vietnamese games have created global phenomena, while aviation and tourism have become increasingly visible on the regional map. According to Brand Finance, Vietnam's national brand value rose from $507 billion in 2024 to $519.6 billion in 2025.

But those figures also highlight a paradox: production scale does not necessarily translate into value. Vietnam accounts for more than 80% of global cashew kernel exports but imports about 65% of its raw cashews. Its furniture industry has a strong export position, but about 61% of production remains OEM. Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer, yet a large share of its coffee is still exported as a commodity, while relatively few Vietnamese brands have achieved broad international recognition.

The gap between production capacity and brand recognition is also reflected in Vietnam's position in the Global Soft Power Index, where it currently ranks 52nd. An economy can become a major supplier to the world before becoming a country whose brands consumers actively seek out; the two positions generate very different levels of value.

Furniture is perhaps the clearest example. When a company manufactures according to the designs and orders of an international brand, revenue, jobs and production capabilities remain in Vietnam, but much of the value associated with design, distribution, marketing and direct customer relationships accrues to the brand owner.

Moving from OEM to original design manufacturing, or ODM, and eventually to owning a brand requires investment in research, design, intellectual property and distribution networks — costly and risky areas, but ones that determine how much value a company can retain.

For agricultural products, higher coffee prices can push export revenue to records, but commodity-market fluctuations remain beyond the control of individual businesses. By owning processed products, brands and sales channels, companies gain greater control over selling prices and customer relationships. The recognition of ST25 by its rice variety name, or Trung Nguyen opening shops in the United States rather than simply selling raw coffee, reflects that shift.

In technology, the dividing line lies in the ability to own products and intellectual property. A company can export billions of dollars in software services, but the higher-value opportunity lies in creating its own products and platforms. Flappy Bird and Axie Infinity attracted attention because Vietnamese creators stood behind the products themselves that became known to users around the world.

The National Brand Program for 2020-2030 aims to have 1,000 products recognized under the program. So far, 190 companies have achieved National Brand status, while the Top 100 Vietnamese brands were valued at $43 billion in 2026, up 11%. The roadmap seeks to move companies from OEM to ODM, digitise trade promotion and raise the profile of Vietnamese brands in global rankings.

But the ultimate outcome will still be determined at the company level: whether businesses continue to take OEM orders or invest in their own designs; sell raw materials or develop processed products and distribution networks; provide technology services or invest in products and intellectual property they own.

What will the world remember about Vietnam?

Eighty-one years after the August Revolution and the September 2 National Day, Vietnam has moved from a poor economy with limited production capacity to a country whose goods and services are widely present in international markets. Bags of rice, containers of cashews, coffee, seafood and furniture remain important pillars of its export strength. Alongside them have emerged lines of code, games, flights and service brands created in Vietnam.

"Vietnam has demonstrated its manufacturing and export capabilities, but the next step is to demonstrate its ability to create value and build brands that it owns. When a product is not only made in Vietnam but is also actively sought out by international consumers under a Vietnamese name, companies can truly move higher up the global value chain.

The gap between “Made in Vietnam” and a Vietnamese brand recognized around the world is therefore not merely a challenge for individual businesses, but a broader economic challenge for the country."

A Trung Nguyen shop in Texas, a bag of ST25 rice on a U.S. supermarket shelf, furniture made in Vietnam, software developed by an FPT engineer or a Vietjet flight each represents a different stage of the country's integration into the global economy. Some products still sit behind foreign brands; others are recognized by Vietnamese names; and some newer sectors allow businesses to reach global markets directly.

The question for Vietnam's next stage is no longer simply how much it can export. As many industries have already reached globally significant scale, the more important question is how much value Vietnam can retain and what the world will remember about the country.

Moving from being a country whose goods are shipped around the world to one whose brands are recognized and chosen by consumers globally is far more difficult than adding a few million tons of exports or a few billion dollars in trade value. Having demonstrated its manufacturing capabilities, Vietnam now faces the harder task of moving up the global value chain.