JETRO's latest report reveals that Vietnamese startup Vietnam Coffee Academy (VCA) has achieved large-scale production of high-quality organic coffee beans and regional development through its proprietary carbon farming technology. Founded in March 2023 with operations in Gia Lai Province and Ho Chi Minh City, the company has built a comprehensive ecosystem covering production, processing, branding, and sales under the "Seed to Cup" concept. In 2023, Japanese VC Genesia Ventures invested in the company's seed round.
VCA's key differentiator is its proprietary carbon farming method using bio-fertilizers while maintaining surface vegetation during coffee cultivation. This agricultural approach maintains and restores soil health while storing carbon in the ground, enabling a 2-3x increase in production compared to conventional farming methods. Furthermore, the company has obtained international organic certifications including Japan's Organic JAS, EU Organic, and USDA Organic, with sales prices 30-50% higher than the Vietnamese average.
Currently, the company operates 240 hectares of farmland comprising 50 hectares of company-owned land and 190 hectares from over 100 partner farmers, with an annual production capacity of up to 8,000 tons. Through the farmers' cooperative (VCSC), the company provides agricultural solutions and utilizes traceability monitoring applications to track detailed information on each farmer's land area, production volume, and quality.
Founder and CEO Nguyen Huu Long overcame childhood poverty with support from his Japanese adoptive father, studied agriculture and coffee in Japan, launched the "Shin Coffee" brand in 2015, and after selling it to Pan Group in 2019, established VCA. Future plans include expanding production area to 5,000 hectares within 2 years and 500,000 hectares within 5 years, with expansion into other agricultural products such as macadamia nuts. JETRO analyzes that VCA's innovative agricultural technology and business model will contribute to solving the structural challenges of low quality, low productivity, and low income faced by Vietnam's approximately 1.4 million small-scale coffee farmers, becoming a new model case for sustainable agricultural development.