Y Pot Nie is one of the few young Ede ethnic entrepreneurs who boldly started a business and succeeded with the Ede Café brand. After two years of operation, Ede Café has been recognized as a 4-star OCOP product, providing employment for dozens of workers and helping dozens of ethnic minority households increase their income from coffee cultivation.
Building a brand through differentiation.
Growing up in the capital city coffee, Accustomed to inhaling the aroma of coffee roasted by his mother over a fire and savoring a cup of rich, traditional coffee, Y Pốt Niê (born in 1988), from Kla hamlet, Dray Sáp commune, Krông Ana district, Đắk Lắk province, nurtured a passion for coffee processing with the desire to enhance the value of coffee for the people in his village.
After graduating from Da Nang Medical College in 2014 with a major in general medicine, Y Pot worked at a hospital in Da Nang while simultaneously pursuing further studies. He then moved to Ho Chi Minh City to work at Hospital 175. There, he often brewed coffee traditionally roasted and ground by his mother, sending it to colleagues and friends to enjoy, receiving much positive feedback. Some coffee connoisseurs placed orders, and this is how Y Pot began his coffee business.
In 2019, Y Pot returned to Dak Lak and continued his career as a doctor. Outside of work, he took the time to learn how to roast and grind coffee using the traditional methods of the Ede people. That coffee season, Y Pot personally selected ripe coffee beans from his family's plantation to make ground coffee, which he then sold on social media. Unexpectedly, his handcrafted coffee received attention, encouragement, and support from many people.
“"I just want to do something to increase the value of coffee beans, help the local people sell coffee at a higher price, and make their lives less difficult thanks to the product they are so attached to. At the same time, I want to promote the traditional flavor of coffee and the coffee-drinking style of the Ede people to everyone," Y Pot shared.
Having decided to leave the medical profession, Y Pot started a business in coffee, establishing a company called Ede Cafe Co., Ltd., and obtaining exclusive trademark rights from the Intellectual Property Office. After 3 years of establishment, the "Ede Cafe" brand was well-received by domestic and international markets and became a 4-star OCOP product.
Helping farmers increase the value of their coffee.
Leading us on a tour of the plantation, amidst the lush green coffee fields, were wide open spaces filled with neatly dug planting holes ready for sowing. Y Pot said, “My greatest wish is to export coffee to many countries around the world, increasing its value and contributing to higher incomes for the people. To improve product quality and stabilize production, I am always ready to work alongside farmers in actively replanting coffee.”.
Recalling the early days of his business, Y Pot shared: "When I first started, I faced many hardships. Capital was limited, and roasting and grinding was done manually in a field. The quality of the coffee was inconsistent; on calm days, the coffee was evenly roasted and delicious, but on windy days, the fire would burn some beans while others were undercooked, causing constant customer complaints. To overcome this, I built a shed and covered the roasting area with tarpaulin. With customers returning, business improved, and I was able to build a small house to make coffee processing more convenient. The quality of the coffee depends on the roasting and grinding process. Roasting over a low, steady fire, with consistent technique, is essential to preserve the natural flavor of the coffee beans.".
Not stopping there, Y Pot actively participated in exhibitions, fairs, and events related to organic agricultural products, introducing his products on online channels and social media to find markets. Several companies in Japan and the Middle East also sent representatives to learn about, survey, and discuss purchasing and cooperating in the development of organic coffee.
Conquering the bitterness, Y Pot reaped sweet rewards. In 2020, Ede Cafe Company was awarded a certificate by the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises Research for being "Top 10 - Reputable Brands and Trademarks in the Three Regions, High-Quality Products and Services". In 2021, Ede Cafe Company's Robusta coffee was awarded a certificate for "Typical Provincial-Level Rural Agricultural Product" by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Lak province.
In December 2021, Y Pốt's Robusta ground coffee product was awarded a 4-star OCOP certificate by the People's Committee of Dak Lak province. Currently, Ede Café products have reached many countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Netherlands… “Many customers are delighted with the taste of Ede coffee and come to visit, buy it to take back to their countries, some customers buy several hundred kilograms,” Y Pốt said.
To ensure a sufficient supply of raw materials for processing ground coffee, in addition to the coffee produced by his family, Y Pốt purchases coffee from local people at a price higher than the market price. At the same time, he encourages villagers to switch to organic farming methods to ensure coffee quality. To date, Y Pốt has partnered with 25 households in the village to expand the raw material area to over 35 hectares of Robusta coffee.
Besides purchasing coffee at a price 5,000 VND/kg higher than the market price, Y Pot also invested capital and provided fruit tree seedlings such as durian and avocado to local people for intercropping in their coffee gardens. Currently, Ede Café employs dozens of unskilled laborers, all of whom are Ede people, with an average income of 5 million VND per month.
Besides roasted and ground coffee powder, Y Pot explores and researches product diversification and differentiation. Currently, Y Pot has launched a line of coffee products combining familiar roots and fruits, which are favored by many customers.