Debbie Wei Mullin launched Copper Cow Coffee with a bold mission: to bring Vietnamese coffee, made with Robusta beans, into the global spotlight. What began as a personal project rooted in heritage and international development has evolved into the first certified organic Vietnamese coffee brand in the US—now sold at Walmart, Whole Foods, Neiman Marcus, and more. Learn how Debbie validated her vision, landed major retail accounts, built an organic supply chain from the ground up, and scaled a company across continents.
Validating a misunderstood category with data and persistence
When Debbie first introduced Vietnamese coffee to investors, she was met with skepticism. “Everyone just kept hearing ‘Vietnamese coffee brand.’ They assumed that meant coffee for Vietnamese people,” she says. Investors viewed it as too niche, but Debbie was confident the product’s bold flavor and rich heritage had mass appeal.
Instead of arguing, she focused on building undeniable proof. Two years later, that proof arrived—when Walmart called and invited Copper Cow into 300 stores. The retailer saw a trend toward Asian-inspired premium products.
The call didn’t just unlock distribution—it changed perception. “No investor can say this is gonna be too niche if Walmart is literally calling you,” Debbie says.
Breaking into retail through experimentation and hustle
Copper Cow’s early growth didn’t hinge on big-name partnerships—it came from craft fairs and in-person sales. Debbie walked into specialty shops, identified competing products, and pitched her own. She says, “I would find the closest competitor and mention them when I walked in: ‘I just came from a meeting there.’” That scrappy approach got her in the door.
Trade shows later became an essential growth lever. “If you’re trying to get into stores, trade shows are a wonderful way,” she says. She recommends volunteering at a friend’s booth to get a sense of how they work before investing. Now she mentors emerging entrepreneurs and invites them to join her team at trade shows to get that firsthand experience.
Debbie’s advice: Test everywhere and treat feedback like gold. “We were always going to fairs, craft markets, and places where we could be with people—to hear their reactions, see what confused them, and learn what they were excited about.”
Building a certified organic supply chain from scratch
Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee producer, yet its Robusta beans were virtually absent from the specialty and organic coffee sectors. Debbie saw that gap not only as a market opportunity, but as a mission. She offered to pay her farmers double the market rate, a practice she says no one was doing in Vietnam at the time.
Organic certification, however, was no small feat. “Everyone said to just search the organic database and find a farm. But what I want doesn’t exist in Vietnam.” Copper Cow had to build the system from the ground up—including helping processors get certified and working directly with farmers on new harvesting practices.
“It was really impossible for us to go in the direction of Fair Trade because it had failed the farmers before,” she says. Instead, Debbie chose to start small, converting just one line to certified organic to ensure she could fulfill consistently and keep farmers’ trust.
Years later, she’s seeing the payoff. “We have almost three times the productivity in our organic farms compared to a typical Arabica farm … and it requires less water and labor.”
Balancing business growth with family and international operations
Running an international coffee brand while raising two kids isn’t simple, but Debbie makes it work by blending business and family. She and her husband (who also works at the company) bring their kids and Debbie’s mom on annual two-month trips to Vietnam.
“It’s become this pretty special work and life experience,” she says. “My son talks about Vietnam all the time, and he loves it. He speaks a little Vietnamese now, too.”
Still, the juggle is difficult. “I have two completely all-consuming things,” she says. “If we’re not talking about kid stuff or CPG coffee world stuff, it’s hard for me to get on another wavelength.”
Her advice to other entrepreneur-parents? Prioritize alignment over perfection. Instead of striving to do it all, she prioritizes what matters most in each season of life. For her, that means accepting trade-offs—like skipping a favorite yoga class in order to do school drop-offs. The day-to-day may feel compressed and chaotic, but choosing how and where to show up helps her stay grounded. “ It’s an ongoing journey, but it’s been really incredible.”
Copper Cow Coffee’s trajectory is a reminder that niche products can scale nationally when you lead with mission and discipline. “If you have a product that you think the world needs,” Debbie says, “go and show the world and see what they say.”
To learn more about Copper Cow Coffee’s growth and expansion into the certified organic market, check out Debbie’s full interview on the Shopify Masters Youtube Channel.
