According to an article on April 11, 2025 on the property website - one of the world's largest e-commerce platforms - the Vietnamese community in the US is creating a wave of sweeping innovation in American consumer culture, starting from the kitchen. From cheese, fish sauce to coffee, chocolate, the generation of Vietnamese-American entrepreneurs is bringing traditional cuisine to the mainstream market, while affirming Vietnamese identity through each product.
In Seattle, Duke Pham - founder of Pho'nomenal Foods - started with the days when his mother's support took spring rolls to sell at the weekend market. His love for his hometown's cuisine and entrepreneurial spirit gave him the bold idea: Turning pho into a high-quality instant food product.
Duke's Pho'nomenal Foods brand was born from that, carrying the desire to bring the flavor of the homeland into the modern rhythm of life. Unlike popular instant noodles, Phonomenal uses natural ingredients, no artificial flavorings and retains the traditional broth that takes hours to cook.
Fo is the dish of every moment - morning, noon, and evening. Now everyone can enjoy a bowl of Vietnamese pho in an American kitchen in just a few minutes," Duke shared.
Duke Pham's products have been available in hundreds of supermarkets and are highly appreciated by food critics, not only for their convenience but also for the cultural message it carries.
Another symbol of Vietnamese cuisine - fish sauce - is also being repositioned in the US through the Red Boat Fish Sauce brand, founded by the family of Ms. Tracy and Tiffany Pham in California.
The journey began when their father, Mr. Cuong Pham, returned to his hometown of Phu Quoc in 2005 and discovered that the quality of original fish sauce was superior to that of popular mixed products in the US. A drop of authentic fish sauce moved my whole family, it was a hometown scent that had been forgotten for too long, said Mr. Tracy Phams daughter.
Red Boat was established in 2011 with a commitment to producing traditional fish sauce from anchovies and sea salt, without sugar, without preservatives, without diluting. After more than a decade, Red Boat has been present in large supermarket systems such as Whole Foods, Walmart and became the first Vietnamese fish sauce brand to appear in the kitchens of famous chefs in the US. American consumers are increasingly looking for truly original products. We dont just sell fish sauce, we share heritage, insists Tracy.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Sahra Nguyen - founder of Nguyen Coffee Supply - is re-writing the story of Vietnamese coffee in the Western market. As the world's second largest coffee exporter, Vietnam is forgotten in the US high-end coffee industry, where roasters only favor Arabica beans. I went to American coffee shops to ask about Vietnamese coffee, but they made it with Arabica. That was not the coffee I grew up with with my parents, Sahra said.
She decided to build a coffee brand from Robusta beans - the main coffee variety of Vietnam, with rich flavor and high caffeine content - and cooperate directly with Vietnamese farmers to ensure quality as well as transparent supply. Her mission is not only to sell coffee but also to "break prejudice that Robusta is of poor quality".
Currently, Nguyen Coffee Supply's products have been present across the US and are reported by leading culinary magazines as a representative of the "new generation coffee" wave.
If coffee, coffee sauce or fish sauce are still associated with the traditional image, Wendy Lieu - founder of Chocola Chocolatier in San Francisco - chose a breakthrough: Combining Vietnamese flavors with Western handmade chocolate technology. Instead of following a standard formula, she decided to "tester" her own Vietnamese identity: own durian chocolate, even... pho. At first, everyone thought I was joking. But then they tried it and came back to buy more, said Wendy.
Chocolate is not only outstanding for its creativity, but also for its courage to enter the high-end market with Asian flavors - something that few brands dare to do. The more specific the culture is, the more it touches the hearts of consumers, she said.
According to the article, there are currently more than 300,000 businesses run by overseas Vietnamese in the US, most of which are associated with the service, culinary and retail sectors.
