HIGHLANDS COFFEE

Brand Overview

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE
This document has been issued for the sole use of the recipient and is not to be
reproduced in any way, or circulated in any way, either electronically or in printed form.
Please contact Viet Thai Holdings for any digital artwork files required
copyright Viet Thai Holdings 2006

FOREWORD
This manual has been created to assist partner companies in developing suitable brand association solutions for integration
into Highlands Coffee branded environments. We strongly believe in retaining the integrity of our outlets and that any third
party branded items should not only support their own brand message but also have meaning and relevance within our
space.
As we are sure youre aware, if youre reading this manual, our customers love affair with our brand, like any relationship,
takes many years to build. And, youll also appreciate that it takes just as much effort to keep these relationships fresh and
relevant to consumers everyday. This is why it is critical we must ensure everything we allow into our brand world supports
our story (or philosophy) and reects a certain avour which is unmistakably us. We are sure your brand, or the one you
represent, would also want to ensure nothing less for your brand loyal customers.
If youre reading this, we have already established the potential for some mutual benet in our Companies being associated in
some way and for our brands to have mutual positive association with one another. This may be because of the nature of the
products or services our brands both represent or simply that our customers have similar aspirations and lifestyles.
Which ever it is, we hope this is a useful tool and that it demonstrates our commitment to presenting innovative and fresh
brand integration solutions to our customers which enhance both our brand stories and add value to our customers lives.

BACKGROUND
Understanding Highlands Coffee
Firstly, we thought it would be worth while to take you
through a very brief history of where weve come from as a
company and as a brand. Our past still very much informs
both the way we do business today and what we strive to
become. Were not going to bore you with a lot of statistics
and historical facts but we just thought it of value to paint a
backdrop behind what you see today.

The very first

Highlands Coffee
outlet on West Lake
Hanoi City.

What it is we do
Highlands Coffee is a wholly owned and operated division of
Viet Thai International and a manufacturer of premium coffee
products and services. The Company markets and distributes
its products and services under the trademark of Highlands
Coffee. Currently, the Companys distribution and marketing
efforts are positioned selectively in modern trade, higher end

Coffee growing

Hotels and Cafs, and through our chain of company owned

is an important

Coffee Houses.

part of Vietnams

Highlands Coffee is a premium consumer lifestyle brand

and as such is in the business of serving people a rich and
rewarding experience centred around coffee.

growing economy.
The entire coffee
delivery process is
closely managed by

The Company is looking to continue to grow and assert its

Highlands Coffee

leadership in the coffee category in Vietnam through mass

to ensure ther best

media activities and mass distribution to the general trade.

bean selection

We see our premium grade roasted and ground products as

and consistency of

predominantly image builders which will support and give a

roasting and grinding

quality endorsement to our mass market products. This will

also further support the take up of new initiatives such as a
newly introduced 3 in 1 product developed to generate trial
and to build volume.
Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 3

Our foundations

Our aspirations

Although selectively distributed as packaged roasted and

Highlands Coffee has been positioned as the coffee experts

ground coffee since 2000, the Highlands Coffee branded retail

in Vietnam and are rapidly bringing the Highlands Coffee

concept was conceived by David Thai in 2002 in Hanoi City,

experience to the masses across Vietnam. We will remain

starting out as a small lake side Caf. David, born in Vietnam,

committed to lasting success, building and managing a brand

had experienced the rise of Starbucks whilst growing up in

which will last the tests of time and international competition.

Seattle. Returning at aged 23 with Westernised consumer

focussed visions, paired with a strong sense of traditional
values instilled by his parents, David set about to explore
his roots and build a business. From this humble beginning
David had successfully built a packaged coffee product line
from farm to factory to distribution, having to set practically
everything up from scratch. And, in the process, mastered the
fine art of coffee roasting and grinding from world experts in

Highlands Coffee will be there with the Vietnamese people

through the following few decades of growth and beyond.
Continuing to connect the people with the international
community, reminding them of their past and being a source
Issued
to BAT Vietnam
ongenerations
3rd September
of pride and
reassurance
for new
setting out on
their own2006
ventures on the newly accessible global stage.
And to continue to have fun doing it above all else!

Imagery of Vietnam, consumers, busy,

modern, shopping, consuming

order to develop a unique and full flavour coffee blend distinct

to Vietnamese tastes yet palatable to a global market.

Our customers

Although the packaged coffee is an important part of the Viet

Thais business, its in the ever growing chain of coffee houses

Our customers are the new Vietnamese, the people actively

where Davids passion really lies. In building a progressive

engaged in the modernisation process of Vietnam. Upwardly

world-class coffee experience in Vietnam, whilst retaining

mobile Vietnamese working in down town white collar

links to the still valued traditions of the past, Highlands Coffee

environments. They appreciate quality, service and stylish

is able to very much be a part of the modernisation process of

environments. They are sensitive to their own image and

Vietnam - grown locally and thinking globally

therefore to the brands they associate themselves with in

order to help them project a certain status to others.

Highlands Coffee now boasts 34 modern coffee houses

strategically located across Vietnam in prime retail sites, and

They aspire to international prestigious brands and constantly

is set to triple this figure to 100 outlets in the 24 months to

look to international markets for new ideas and trends.

come.

However they are also fiercely proud of their own countrys

heritage and ever growing place on the international stage.

The Vietnam market

The moderisation process of Vietnam

Enjoying an annual GDP growth rate in excess of 7.5% over the

past 5 years, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing markets
in South East Asia. With a rapidly growing middle class within
a population of some 88 million people, market conditions
reminiscent to that of Chinas 5 to 10 years ago.
Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 4

The Highlands Coffee

Brand
Brand Philosophy
At Highlands Coffee, we believe its the way we go about things
that makes the difference, and this is what our customers
appreciate. A part of this is simply ensuring that we do
everything really well - great quality coffee - ground, brewed
and served to the highest standards every time, great places
to enjoy these premium coffee moments in, and great people
attending these great places. From our company culture
to how we deal with our suppliers and our outlook on our
community and country.. Essentially everything we do, say,
and think demonstrates every day what we stand for. To help
us articulate to ourselves and to people such as yourselves we

East meets West,

have distilled this down into a written Philosophy. We hope

modern day traditions

this helps you better understand what guides us.

Its also worth noting here that we may not always succeed in
bringing to life this philosophy. But at least with this defined,
we are able to gauge where we have succeeded and where we
have not, giving us the ability to improve, fine-tune and build
a strong brand story over the coming years which speaks with
a single voice.

Our Philosophy
The Highland Coffee philosophy is about combining the
best of the fast paced trend driven modern world with the
traditional charm, comfort and familiarity of yester-year. By
doing this we hope to present a brand that is always relevant
in rapidly changing times, yet retains some of the familiarity
and comfort of a favorite caf on the corner from ones
reminiscent memories.

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 5

Below we have outlined how anything Highlands Coffee

should make us (or our customers) feel, what it might make us
think and how it should be put together or made;

Emotional - How it makes me feel

Comforted ; reassurance of traditional, trusted values in a
modern, rapidly changing, and often impersonal, world
authentic, natural, warm, rustic, worn, honest, premium,
fusionist, organic, comfortable and sensible.
Connected ; A feeling of being a part of modern (youth)
society movement / of the modernisation process of Vietnam.

Rational - How it makes me think

Bringing our brand

I appreciate the extra thought and effort thats gone into

customers at each

(making) it. This relates to anything from the coffee product

experience level

visio to life for or

quality the material used for our packaging, individual dcor

elements across our outlets, service touches (such as covering
parking costs), uniforms changeovers, choice of food offer etc
Its traditional (familiar) at first glance but has modern attitude.
(Relates to Unique locations, traditional look & feel with
modern music / dj, standard packaging with valve feature, etc

Physical - How its made

Of obvious (but understated) quality. Premium not luxury
Timeless materials, typography & imagery (traditionally
inspired but not old fashioned). Will not easily date over time,
does not directly following trends.
Handcrafted, hand made feel, takes the best of traditional
ancient arts & crafts and presents them in a modern context.

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 6

Visual identity
The Highlands Coffee visual identity has been inspired by our
philosophy. It is made up of two distinct parts. The first we
call the corporate identityand the second the brand identity,

A Sample set of

together they make up our visual identity. These terms do

photos showing our

overlap somewhat but our intention is to distinguish between

visual identity

the parts of the look & feel of Highlands Coffee which are
consistently applied, the foundations of the brand if you like,
and the parts that we allow to be more fluid, to adapt and
change, reflecting or enhancing environmental circumstances.
These changing parts we see as a kind of palette of elements
which we are constantly updating and changing to remain
totally relevant, in context and fresh. It is a part of our
philosophy to appear hand crafted, to avoid the rubber
stamp approach seen by a lot of mass produced brands
today. However there does need to be a careful balance struck
between consistency and individualism.

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 7

Logos
Logo symbol.
The logo symbol is the key identifying mark of Highlands
Coffee. This has become highly recognizable in the

Logo Symbol. The

Vietnamese market and represents everything we are about,

main identifying mark

everything we have discussed in our brand philosophy.

of Highlands Coffee

Gold Outer band

Gold Swirl

It is therefore very important to us that this symbol is treated

with the respect it deserves and is consistently applied

Inner band

where ever it is seen. Below are some basic specification and

guidelines.

Logo type

Clear space
1/3 X

Logo Symbol. May

sit on coloured
backgrounds other
than colours close to
the gold outer ring

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 8

Logos
Logo Signature.
The logo signature was developed to compliment the
main logo symbol to ensure that it is not overused on to

Logo Signature. Can

many elements requiring HLC badging. Where there is

be used in various

already a main logo symbol branding a space, or piece of

situations to prevent

communication and there is still a requirement for additional

over bradging of main

badging, then the signature is used.

logo symbol

Logo type.
The logo type is used as part of the signature and next to
the main logo symbol only for large coffee house signage
applications where visibility is critical.

Logo type used

mostly for signage
applications where
greater visibility is
required

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 9

Colour palette
Primary corporate palette.
The primary colour palette exists for the corporate identity
part of our visual language - the foundations of our brands
look & feel. Therefore these colours above all others should
be matched to as precisely as possible.
These colours are used in the logo symbols and signatures,

Primary Highlands
Coffee corporate
colour pallette

packaging, uniforms and anywhere else where the Highlands

Coffee brand needs to be quickly identifiable

Highlands

Highlands

Highlands

Secondary Extension Palettes

Coffee Red

Coffee Gold

Coffee White

There are a range of other colours available for use for

PMS 1805C

PMS 8005C

PMS White

Plumb

Egg Plant

PMS 195C

PMS 5185C

supporting and extending the primary palette. These should

not be used on their own but within , next to or around the
primary palette
Secodary colour
pallette identified
to support primary
palette

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 10

Type styles
These font sets have been chosen to represent Highlands
Coffee in most typographic communications.

Odense Font set is the

main font set used in
the logo types

We have identified 2 font sets.

Odense has been used for the Highlands Coffee Logo Symbol

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
abcdefghijklmnop

logo type. Any Odense font may be used for main headings
through to body copy

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
abcdefghijklmnop

The Dialog font set has been identified for use mainly in body
copy where a cleaner more modern look is required. Please
use in combination with Odense if possible or include the
Odense logo type
There are no particular rules on what weight or size to use
but just keep it balanced, easy to read and consider the order
of importance of information that the reader needs to take
taking in

Dialog font set is used

for blocks of copy and
titling within copy as
seen in this manual

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
abcdefghijklmnop
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
abcdefghijklmnop

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 11

Tone of voice
The way Highlands coffee talks in person or through copy
reflects what a great bunch of people we are aswell. So we try
to be Warm, honest, personal, friendly, confident, welcoming,
young, vibrant and all those great qualities you find in young
companies such as ours

Photography & illustration

Photography
Photographic style is generally very much dependant on the

Photography is
generally taken up
close with tight depth
of field to create a
very personal one on
one experience with
the subject matter

subject matter and on what you are trying to communicate.

However its worth considering how our philosophy may
relate to photographic style, composition, areas of focus,
background, lighting used etc.
Some examples opposite show how we have taken images of
subject matter in a very up close intimate way, using depth of
field to keep areas of the photograph which arent important
out of focus
Generally Photography should be real and in context,
ie not appearing staged. Use natural warm lighting and
even exposure; no glaring over exposed areas or shadowy
underexposure. Theres no need for colour washes or special
effects, just honest, clean images in rich coffee colour inspired
from the world of coffee

Illustration
Though we have not ustilised a lot of illustrated imagery for
our communication to date certain styles could work very well
where inspired by our philosophy. Hopefully well have many
great examples for inspiration in future issues of this manual

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 12

Motifs and pattern

There has been several graphic devices created to further
extend visual language of highlands coffee beyond purely the
use of logos and colour.

Various graphic
enterpretations have
been created using

These can be utilised in many ways within compositions or

motifs created from

overlaid on top of photography to help tell a story or to give

the swirl

added depth to a composition

The intention was not to have create one or two motifs which
could then be used everywhere from here on in but as a
starting point for a continual visual exploration of Highlands
Coffee. This may sound a bit high-brow or artsy but in fact
what were saying is that our visual language allows for our
design partners individual creative expressions and styles
keeping the end look broadly within our visual language
and always inspired by our philosophy. This allows for us to
continually be fresh, never stand still, adapt to environments
we are in and have a lot of fun doing new stuff all the time.

Context and relevance

Doing something well with a good reason is what we mean by
being relevant. Beyond just the use of words to try and get
across a message we believe that visual elements should also
all be used for a reason, and ideally to further back up what we
are trying to communicate

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 13

Motifs and pattern

A few further examples of motifs used to create brand
expressive graphics

Viet Thai Holdings 2006. Brand Integration Manual - Pg 14