You Don't Know Vietnam

As a sports journalist and editor, Luu Thien knows all about the sports trends keeping Vietnam buzzing with energy. Today, he talks about the current sports landscape in Vietnam, the growth of Esports and niche sports and what's going on with Vietnamese football on the domestic and international stages right now. He also shares his tips for what global sports brands must do to engage a loyal following of super fans in this sports-loving country of 100,000,000 people.  

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If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Meet Jovel Chan, a food and beverage marketer turned blogger, founder and consultant. Jovel landed in Vietnam and quickly made her mark as the go-to authority of Vietnam's evolving food and dining scene in Ho Chi Minh City. She offers insider guides to Vietnam's F&B industry on her website jovelchan.com and is the founder of Saigon Social, the company behind Vietnam’s unique food and drink experiences such as the Saigon Supper Club and Cocktail Cinema. She's also the founder of Banyan Box - a subscription-based snacking box that shares Vietnamese and south east Asian snacks with the world. Today, Jovel explains what's going on in Vietnam's food and dining scene right now, why Vietnam's young and experimental chefs are writing the next chapter of Vietnam's food story, and what global F&B brands should consider when looking to launch in Vietnam.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

"In Vietnam there's a joke... when you say something ridiculous online, people will say it's the consequence of watching more than three hours of TikTok a day," says Bao-Khanh Nguyen, the founder of social audio content platform OnMic.

Drained by his own experience with social media doom scrolling and superficial learning, Khanh decided to tackle it - with an app that entertains and educates with long-form audio content.

OnMic's users create and/or listen to voice-streaming sessions and exclusive audio series about common interests such as mental health, spirituality, travel, business, dealing with parents, and dating.

On the latest episode of #YouDontKnowVietnam, Khanh reveals:

🎤 What 200,000 young Vietnamese OnMic users are talking about right now

🎧 The type of long-form content they're diggin' (and why)

💡 Tips for hiring Gen Z talent in Vietnam

⚔️ Why Vietnam's Lunar New Year (Tết) is 'a bloody battlefield' for businesses trying to grab the attention of consumers

🇻🇳 What he's most excited about for Vietnam (and the country's drawbacks!)

Listen to episode 24 with Khanh - I've linked it in the comments 👇

#YouDontKnowVietnam #Vietnam #consumerinsights

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Nguyen The Cong, or Kelvin Nguyen, is a global talent acquisition expert. In his role as talent advisor at Vinfast, Kelvin is responsible for bringing global talent to Vietnam and hiring for Vinfast in its global markets. He is an angel investor and CEO at YouthPlus, a platform to help young people discover what they want to do, and connect with companies that are hiring. Today, he talks about what foreigners find hard when coming to work in Vietnam, his tips for recruiting and retaining Gen Z talent in Vietnam, and his thoughts on why Vietnam leads the way in Asia for the participation of women in the workforce.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Dang Thuy Trang is the founder of Vietnamese sleep company RU9, which offers young people solutions for better sleep as they look to prioritise their wellbeing. Today, Trang talks about the importance of sleep in Vietnamese culture, how her customers are changing so quickly, the challenges of doing business in Vietnam, and what it's like to be a female entrepreneur here.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

On today's episode of You Don't Know Vietnam, we're talking to Timen Swijtink, the Founder of Vietnamese coffee brand Lacàph. With Lacàph's coffee, coffee shops and coffee experiences in Vietnam, and grand plans to export high quality, branded Vietnamese beans to the world, Timen is on a mission to change the global perception of both Vietnamese coffee and the robusta bean. Today, he talks about what makes Vietnamese coffee culture extra special, traditional "Phin" brewing methods, and what types of Vietnamese coffee you should try. He also explains why the value of Vietnam's coffee is so low despite it being one of the world's largest exporters, what climate change means for Vietnam's robusta bean production, and what he's learned about doing business in Vietnam - a place he loves to call home.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Entrepreneur Nguyen Son is the founder and CEO of electric two-wheeler start up, Dat Bike. He's on a mission! To convert 250,000,000 motorbike drivers in Southeast Asia from petrol to electric, starting right here in Vietnam - the land of the motorbike. Today, he talks about why the motorbike is so important to people in Vietnam, why Vietnam has become the perfect place to kick start his Southeast Asian takeover, the challenges he faces, and what Dat Bike must do to succeed.  

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Meet retail expert Quang Thai, the CEO of direct to consumer (D2C) company DTX Asia. Since moving back to Vietnam from studying in the U.S, Thai has set up a handful of lifestyle brands in everything from fashion, watches and jewellery to men's cosmetics and temporary tattoos. He's seen Vietnam's retail sector move rapidly from social selling to e-commerce and most recently shoppertainment.  Today, he talks about the spending behaviours of Vietnam's Gen Z and Millennials, his tips for selling products on TikTok Shop, and what he thinks about the world class mega malls popping up in Vietnam. 

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Ha Chu is the founder of Cooked.VN - a rapidly growing F&B school that helps its students learn about branding and marketing in the restaurant business. In today's episode, Ha shares what Vietnamese people really mean when they ask "Have you eaten yet?", why she thinks "phở" won't be Vietnam's poster dish forever, and also shares her three must-try dishes. She talks about the importance of communal eating, the changing landscape of home-cooked meals in Vietnam, and the rapidly evolving F&B scene, which she says is unrecognisable from 10 years ago. Ha shares tips on successful marketing strategies for restaurants in Vietnam, and uncovers how global brands can win the hearts and tastebuds of Vietnamese consumers. 

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Ivy Nhi Chau is the CEO and founder of Ivy + Partners - a PR agency based in Ho Chi Minh City that helps global brands share their stories in Vietnam. Today, she talks about how the PR industry in Vietnam is changing. She also shares her tips for winning brand love in Vietnam, what can go wrong, and her five steps global brands should take when entering the Vietnam market to share their brand story and build an audience. I also asked her what she thought about Heineken's global #Ken campaign in Vietnam - a country where Barbie didn't actually make it to the big screen. Was this a wasted campaign by the beer brand? Should they have localised it more? Or not run it at all given the context here? I loved her answer! 

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening.