“ THE STORY OF SINOUK COFFEE ”
Discover how Sinouk pioneered the development of the Lao Coffee sector and today continuously contributes to its expansion
Chapter 1
The Humble Beginning
After 30 years spent in France, where he emigrated and studied, Sinouk decided to come back to his fatherland, Laos, in 1994. His deep motivations were to develop more activities in Southern Laos, where he was born, by creating job for communities, and identifying a unique product that had potential for export, which would contribute to the fame of Laos: COFFEE which actually matched the mentioned criterias. This is how Sinouk embarked on his coffee journey, starting by trading and exporting green beans.
During the same year, he co-founded the Lao Coffee Association (LCA) with his father, Sisouk Sisombat, which focuses on promoting the welfare of Lao coffee farmers, businessmen and women. The establishment of LCA recognizes the importance of the Lao coffee industry development, and unifying the stakeholders to speak and act as one, so to create more impact for the country.
2 years after coffee exportation and trading, Sinouk was equipped with the knowledge of the main coffee processing and hence, started his own coffee plantation on a plot of land located 82 km from Paksé, in Thateng Village. The fertile virgin volcanic forest soil and all year-round cool temperature of the plantation gifted Sinouk with the finest quality of coffee beans, which prompted him to start his own coffee production for the country.
Chapter 2
The Birth of Sinouk Coffee and Local Recognition
Sinouk created “Sinouk Coffee”, the very first Lao coffee brand as he developed coffee roasting skills. In parallel with mastering coffee roasting, Sinouk Coffee ventured into opening its first coffee shop under “Café Sinouk” in his hometown Paksé, hoping to cultivate and expand the coffee culture in Laos.
To further support the development of the Lao coffee industry, Sinouk actively participated in assisting the LCA coffee producers to package and brand their products. The selflessness act of Sinouk in promoting the local coffee industry was recognised by the lao government, which awarded him with the Labour Award and appointed Sinouk Coffee as the country’s official Coffee Brand Partner during the 10th ASEAN Summit in 2004.
During the following year, Sinouk was elected President of the LCA due to his active involvement, expertise and numerous achievements in the coffee industry.
To find out more about our Sinouk Coffee’s local and overseas recognition, you can visit our dedicated page.
Chapter 3
The Great Rise of Sinouk Coffee
With the ambition to expand the retail activities of the company, and leveraging on the opening of the first ever shopping mall in Vientiane, Café Sinouk - Talat Sao Mall 1 opened within this brand new in 2007. The coffee shop received numerous attentions from the Lao community, also widely covered by the media.
Following this success, the coffee shop chain expanded to Café Sinouk - Khemkhong, the most happening city areas in Vientiane, thus providing a fresh Parisian style Café Bistro concept to the city. Subsequently, the group expanded the Café Bistro style into a full Café Restaurant with the opening of Café Sinouk - Phonesinuane a few years later.
Not forgetting about the goal to contribute back to the society of Laos, parts of the company coffee plantation on the Bolavens Plateau was transformed to a Sinouk Coffee Resort, Sinouk Coffee Resort, with the willingness to driving more experienced-based tourism to Southern Laos.
Find all Café Sinouk Coffee Shops here.
Chapter 4
New Direction, New Synergy
As Sinouk Coffee company was expanding tremendously, the group underwent a reorganisation and rebranded all of its activities in 2015, strengthening the bonds and synergies within the different entities: Sinouk Coffee - Roasting Company, Café Sinouk - Retail Shop, Sinouk Coffee Resort. Pursuing its expansion and leadership on the Lao coffee industry, early 2016 witnessed important events for the family business, including :
the Grand Opening of Sinouk Coffee Pavilion, the Coffee Leaning Housen :
During the same year, Sinouk’s daughter, Sirina, joined as Managing Director, introducing a new dynamic in line with the regional ambition of the group.
Concurrently, Sinouk decided to bow out of his chairmanship from the LCA to invest more time and efforts into working with Sinouk Coffee’s massive growth and development. Leaving behind a proud legacy, Sinouk also initiated the first-ever Lao Coffee Festival in Pakse, an immense success that spanned across two days. Coffee connoisseurs from around the world flocked to the festival to celebrate the historical change of eras for Lao coffee.
While fully assuming its leadership over the years, Sinouk Coffee represents today one of the successful SME in Laos.
Chapter 5
Innovation and Excellence
Believing strongly in innovation, Sinouk Coffee continues to pioneer in the Lao coffee industry. One of the many initiatives to promote innovation is to introduce new ways to appreciate Lao coffee to the world.
In order to continuously provide to its customers new coffee experiences, Sinouk Coffee launched a collection of Sinouk Nespresso compatible Capsules and Sinouk Drip Coffee over the recent years. Both new products aim to freshen up the experience of drinking Lao specialty coffee while remaining the full goodness of its aroma and taste. The success of both products elevated Sinouk Coffee's profile internationally and acts as a huge motivation for the company to continue their pursuit in bringing innovative and pioneering products and service to its consumers.
Over the last months, Sinouk has been collaborating closely with farmers from the Bolaven plateau to source the best Lao Specialty Coffee beans and develop a brand new range putting the spotlight on Lao Specialty Coffee, premium coffee beans from Laos.