MONETABRIEF – Vietnam's upmarket 'farm to cup' Arampour coffee brand is targeting Sri Lanka's hotels, restaurant and café market, as the company ventures abroad after building a strong domestic foundation, officials said.

Unlike the Robusta coffee that Vietnam is well-known for, Aramour is focussing on Arabica from the Da Lat and Lam Dong highlands.

"We started by investing directly at the farm level, collaborating closely with local farmers to renovate their plantations," Pham Anh Phuong, Director, AA Coffee Service Trading Production Company Limited which owns the Aramour Coffee Roasters Brand.

"We gradually transitioned from 20-year-old Catimor trees to superior new varieties. Our agricultural approach strictly follows biodiversity principles, utilizing shade-grown systems to ensure the coffee trees develop as naturally as possible."

The firm had started by investing at farm level, helping local farmers to upgrade their farms.

"We gradually transitioned from 20-year-old Catimor trees to superior new varieties," Anh Phuong says.

"Our agricultural approach strictly follows biodiversity principles, utilizing shade-grown systems to ensure the coffee trees develop as naturally as possible."

In 2018, the firm opened its first coffee shop to start is Vietnamese "Farm to Cup" specialty coffee.

"Now s we have grown, we continuously update our team's expertise across all stages: cultivation, advanced post-harvest processing (including honey, natural, and washed methods), slow-drying techniques, and international-standard storage," Anh Phuong says.

The firm now has an R and D and quality control lab, an in-house roasting facility, and a skilled team of baristas who connects the brand to customers.

Aramour baristas were in Sri Lanka this month at the Sheraton Colombo making their product available to Sri Lankan and foreign guests and teaching Sri Lankan colleagues how to make the best coffee.

The individual taste of a Vietnamese coffee cups comes from how they are made and the exacting drying and roasting techniques that have been developed by the brands.

Supported by the Vietnam embassy in Colombo, Aramour had decided to make Sri Lanka one of their first export markets due to several factors.

Sri Lanka had an educated population, especially a younger generation who are eager to try out new global culinary trends.

"Interestingly, we see a beautiful parallel between Sri Lanka’s beloved milk tea culture and Vietnam’s iconic milk coffee culture," according to Anh Phong.

"Both traditions celebrate rich, robust, and sweet daily beverages that bring people together, making us highly confident that our coffee will resonate with local palates.

"Furthermore, Sri Lanka is a world-renowned tourism destination that attracts a vast number of international visitors. We want to enrich their journey by providing diverse, high-quality experiences while they explore this beautiful island.

"To achieve this, we are primarily targeting the premium HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, and Café) segment to serve both locals and international travelers.

"We also envision Aramour as a comforting taste of home for Vietnamese expatriates living abroad, and a hub for tourists who already know and love Vietnamese coffee." (Colombo/Sept26/2026)