During the 4 days of the Vietnam Bread Festival (from March 21 to 24 in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), while many stalls were packed with customers waiting in line to buy bread, there was a "luxurious" stall, which only had a few loaves of bread available to introduce to customers, not for sale.

Some employees took the opportunity to hand out flyers next to the modern and convenient designed barrels. Those are the bread shelves that will appear on the streets of Saigon in April 2025.

Vietnamese Bread with Hawaiian Flavor

Mr. Vuong Hoang Minh, the owner of the Hawaiian Bread stall, is a Vietnamese American who is in his 70s. Slowly taking a hot loaf of bread from the barrel, he happily introduced: "All the chicken pies with sauces are imported directly from the US. The land of Hawaii is famous for its chicken dishes, which is also a characteristic of this brand when it comes to Vietnam.

Inside this white painted barrel are three bread compartments and a heat retention system to ensure the bread stays hot and crispy.

Born and raised in Saigon, banh mi is a dish associated with his childhood with the characteristic mayonnaise flavor of Mr. Minh's generation. He said that when he was young, eating a loaf of banh mi felt very luxurious! Because the bread was sold right at the oven, the filling had the secret recipe of each shop. But now, many people say that the taste of banh mi is no longer the same as before. "That's why I want to bring back that exact flavor, the taste of the past, so that anyone who eats it can reminisce about the taste of banh mi in the past," said Mr. Minh.

Inspired by the renovation of barrels, he designed them into identification shelves to sell bread on the sidewalk. Those who join the system as agents or sales people will not need capital, no experience, no fear of risk or failure, no distinction, age..., just need to register and will be given a barrel truck.

Every day, from 5am, bread will be delivered to points of sale to serve students, workers and office workers. Each vehicle is designed in a uniform way, the staff wears neat uniforms, ensuring food hygiene and safety.

Hawaiian style bread also does not use pickles or onions, suitable for office workers' taste, can be carried without fear of the smell affecting people around.

"In particular, I order bread from production facilities with my own recipe. The crust is crispy and the inside is soft. The elderly will find it familiar, while the young will enjoy this nostalgia," he introduced the project.

With the Hawaiian bread project, he does not simply sell bread, but cherishes the plan to build a system, a business model that both helps the community and ensures a stable source of income for many people.

"I want to cause trouble, not make money"

The Hawaiian sandwich project was nurtured by him and his friends for 3 months. Up to now, the implementation team has completed the sandwich cart system, staff uniforms, and executive office, with the expectation of launching the chain in April 2025. This model does not stop at one city, but the founder also wants to replicate it throughout the country.

With each loaf of bread costing around 25,000 VND, the seller will receive 5,000 VND for each loaf, this profit will help them cover their living expenses, Mr. Minh expects each point of sale to sell around 50 loaves of bread within 3-4 hours. In addition, if anyone has a good location, they can register to place a bread cart in front of their house to take advantage of the business.

The bread project is going quite well as it has received a lot of attention. Mr. Minh admits that any business model has risks, but more importantly, he wants to spread the message that there is a group of people willing to help those in difficult circumstances and contribute to society.

"At this age, I returned to Vietnam to make trouble, not to make money, with the hope that this new sandwich chain will support the disadvantaged, create jobs, and preserve a unique culinary culture of Vietnam," Mr. Minh shared.