Rolld Vietnamese : Connecting Cultures with Food

Have you ever thought what food you eat every day says a lot about where you come from? Have you ever thought about why people from different parts of our planet eat different food? Food and culinary traditions are at the heart of many cultures, and the connection between food and culture is more powerful than you might think.

For many of us, food is the vehicle that carries memories from childhood, celebrations and milestones. Certain tastes and aromas often tie us to specific emotions, and so powerful, they can even soothe the stress and frustrations of the everyday. A crumbly homemade pie, 48-hour simmering soups, the sizzle and smells at the annual family barbecue. Food helps us connect, and great food can bind us for life.

Bao Hoang the founder of Roll’d Vietnamese is one such person driven by food and the opportunities it presents to engage, educate and enhance the everyday. Bao has always craved his mum’s home cooked meals, and over the years has developed into an insatiable appetite not just to eat, but also to share his family’s decades-old techniques, and recipes tried and tested over multiple generations.

Bao Hoang knows, irrespective of race, color, or religion, food can act as the perfect bridge to sharing culture and developing a mutual understanding of cultural differences. Having witnessed Japanese cuisine’s rise in popularity, Bao Hoang always wanted to create a rival to the famed sushi roll.

So, Bao Hoang, a physiotherapist by profession along with his friend Ray Esquires and cousin Tin Ly started the first Roll’d Vietnamese in 2012. With very little knowledge of and zero experience in the hospitality industry, the three of them invested $150,000 and converted a small Italian café in a Melbourne CBD laneway. They launched a range of Vietnamese street food favourites in an innovative quick-service format not yet done for this cuisine.

With his personal goal to share family traditions and use the food as a bridge between Australian and Vietnamese cuisine & culture, Bao Hoang and the Roll’d family have a long-term overarching goal to use food to ‘Do Good’ beyond the restaurants, and enrich the lives of their people, partners, local communities, global communities and our planet.

Food That Touches the Soul

As the name suggests, Roll’d Việtnamese specializes in Việtnamese cuisine, which include their signature Rice Paper Rolls (Roll’d Soldiers®), Noodle Soups, the quintessential noodle soup Phở, Rice bowls (Cơm), Việtnamese salads (Gỏi), Noodle salads (Bún), Steamed buns (Bao), and the traditional Việtnamese Baguettes (Bánh mì). With a range of low and gluten-free, low-carb, vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free meals, and the ability for customisation means that the customers’ dietary needs are covered.

Since its start in 2012, Roll’d Việtnamese has expanded its franchise business in more than 125 restaurants across the length and breadth of Australia. Additionally, customers can now purchase a range of pantry items from all Roll’d Việtnamese stores and Australia’s major Supermarket.

Việtnamese cuisine is considered one of the healthiest in the world, the ingredients are simple and vibrant, making them aesthetically appealing. With this in mind, Roll’d’s founding team made certain from the start that its store design made the food the hero through beautiful visual displays and theater, including: a ‘fresh’ bar full of all the fresh, wholesome ingredients used for all its menu items, a custom soup pot station to show the hot broth ladled before serving, a ‘rolling station’ to demonstrate how they roll, as well as drive home its ‘Fast. Fresh.” message; and, of course it’s ‘jewellery box’ of rice paper rolls, which is the main attraction.

It’s no wonder there was a waiting line of roughly 30 people before the Roll’d team opened the doors of its first business, indicating that there was obviously an audience for fresh Việtnamese food. The success of Thai and Chinese cuisine has introduced comparable flavors to the general public, and while foodies were familiar with classics like Phở and Bánh mì, the remainder of the menu remained mostly unknown.

Hoang says, “We always knew there was a big education piece we needed to include, hence the inclusion of name pronunciations on the menu boards, and how-to-eat cards on purchase.” Overall, however, the vibrancy, and natural healthiness of the cuisine is a major drawcard, and then the taste speaks for itself.

Driven by Love and Passion for Food

Roll’d Việtnamese started its voyage out of a passion for great food and people. Every aspect of the business is deeply rooted in a passion for Việtnamese food, culture, and values, and a love of family. The entire team of Roll’d Việtnamese takes pride in our obsession for the cuisine and culture that transcends multiple borders and generations, highlighting how food can become a medium of sharing culture, understanding differences, and developing a mutual understanding.

Roll’d Việtnamese provides strong support for its franchisees. Each of the franchisees receives a personalized 8 week training plan. This comprehensive training plan covers everything from groundwork to management.

That’s not all, the entire ecosystem of the restaurant chain works in tandem to create a successful store. The property team works on location, lease requirements, and shop building. Roll’d Việtnamese uses Go1, an online training platform with interactive web-based modules, that helps new franchisees with standard operating procedures, culture guide, how-to guide, benefits, and policies.

Additionally, Roll’d provide extensive post store opening support and an area manager for each franchise. Regions are then assigned Franchise Business Coaches who are dedicated and responsible for the development, growth, and profitability of the stores, as well as providing live feedback to the Support office to allow for growth and innovation.

Tackling the Pandemic

In 2020, Roll’d adapted to bring forward future strategies and bolstered the business model by focusing on delivery and takeaway rather than in-store dining, which moves away from the traditional business models that depend on foot traffic. The focus on delivery also allowed lucrative catering partnerships with quarantine hotels. Along with opening 125 store locations across Australia, Roll’d Việtnamese was able to establish a strong presence in over 800 stores of one of Australia’s leading and largest supermarket chain, whose trade hours were unaffected by the pandemic. Roll’d quickly expanded its grab-and-go offering of fresh, tasty, and affordable Vietnamese food at various consumer touchpoints, and saw a 950 percent spike in sales in 2021. The Roll’d products are freshly cooked, packaged, and delivered to various supermarket locations, supporting local franchisees and maximizing sales opportunities.

Additionally, Roll’d lauched it’s first batch of its FMCG range. The range of pantry items, sold in-store and across supermarkets includes Roll’d branded rice paper, vermicelli noodles, and four traditional Vietnamese sauces, which allowed all the home cooks to create their own Roll’d experience at home. Recently, in 2022, Roll’d announced drone delivery with Wing (a Google subsidiary) across the Australian capital territory and Queensland, Australia, as well as a cutting-edge drive-thru concept set to change the ‘fast food’ landscape.

Innovation is a cornerstone of Roll’d’s business and values, with a number of forward-thinking strategies in the pipeline at any given time. “Our customer is always front of mind in all our decisions, so we’re always looking at new ways to enhance the experience and exceed expectations.” says Bao Hoang.

Motivating Employees

With more than 20 new stores planned for 2022, and a new omnichannel strategy including B2B sales and drone delivery, the team is investing generously in providing strong career pathways and opportunities when it comes to onboarding new staff and franchisees.

Since the inception of Roll’d, it has offered continuous support to its franchise network, which includes everyone from first-time business owners, to big multi-site investors. This support includes everything from short upskilling courses to equipping employees with skills that are immensely valuable for them.

To create more job opportunities for the young Australians Roll’d have teamed up with The Institute of Training and Further Education to create a range of qualifications that suit every employee. This strategy is entirely focused on creating stronger career development pathways that help the hospitality community by upskilling them through various short courses.

Rolling for a Better Future

Bao Hoang is very excited about the future of Roll’d Việtnamese, with good reason. The global fast-food category had a market value of $797.9 billion in 2021, a figure predicted to climb to $931.7 billion in 2027. The local growth in the Australian market has been a huge achievement for the brand, even during the extreme uncertainties of 2020, and 2021, during whichthe founder and CEO, Bao Hoang made it a personal mission to keep most of the Roll’d staff employed and not to fire anyone.

With the recent innovations and successes of its omni-channel strategy in the Australian market, Roll’d Việtnamese is now all set to take advantage of a growing market that desires fast, flavour-packed food that is convenient and economical.

Roll’d’s first move into the global market looks to be the US, with a store set to launch within 12 months. As Roll’d continues to drive growth with sights set on other foreign markets such as China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Canada, France and the UK.

Well-positioned to take significant market share away from the traditional ‘fast-food’ businesses, they do so in a global industry with almost no direct competitors. Leading with one of the world’s naturally healthy cuisines, its nutritiously fresh and vibrant offering provides Roll’d with a competitive advantage in an increasingly health-conscious and diet-driven world.

Without a doubt, the multi-billion dollar fast-food sector will continue to set new records, and Roll’d is sure to ride a wave of success with its strong foundations in food and culture, and more importantly, family. Foundations that transcend and connect all cultures.