Trương Nguyễn Thiên Kim
"The quiet F&B powerhouse" — the woman behind the billion-dollar empire of Katinat, Phê La, D1 Concepts
Notable Quotes
“Katinat chose HCMC as its primary market, while Phê La opened its first store in Hanoi — a strategy of dividing markets to avoid internal competition.”
Advice
Build a diversified portfolio
Don't depend on one brand. Simultaneously operate fine dining, casual, and mass market concepts.
Divide markets to avoid self-competition
Katinat focuses on HCMC, Phê La targets Hanoi first. Each brand gets its own playground.
Leverage social media power
Phê La exploded thanks to the "dawn coffee" trend on TikTok — understanding and creating trends is the key.
Key Highlights
- ✓Owns Katinat (84.21%), Phê La (51%), chairs D1 Concepts
- ✓Katinat became the leading premium coffee chain in HCMC
- ✓Phê La created the "dawn coffee" phenomenon — most viral F&B brand on social media (2024)
- ✓Combined assets of 6,000 billion VND (~$240M) with husband (Tô Hải, Vietcap Chairman)
Biography
Trương Nguyễn Thiên Kim was born on November 28, 1976 in Đà Lạt and holds a Master's in Finance from the University of Economics HCMC. She began her career in securities (Bảo Việt, Đông Á) and served as Head of Supervisory Board at PNJ. With D1 Concepts (est. 2012), she built an impressive F&B portfolio: San Fu Lou, Sorae, Dì Mai. The real breakout came from Katinat Saigon Kafe — a premium "made in Saigon" coffee chain — and Phê La, which created the viral "dawn coffee" phenomenon on social media. Together with her husband Tô Hải (CEO of Vietcap Securities), they hold assets of nearly 6,000 billion VND (~$240M). She is an extremely private entrepreneur — rarely gives interviews.
Articles & Resources
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Đào Thế Vinh
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