Soy-milk retailer Mr Bean has entered into a franchise agreement with EGroup to launch 200 stores in Vietnam.

The stores will be rolled out gradually over the next decade, following the first five locations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which opened yesterday.

“Markets overseas are bigger than Singapore and chuan zong jie dai (carrying on the family line) has always been my dream,” said founder and CEO Loh Jwee Poh.

“What sets [Mr Bean] apart is the fact that [Loh] works with contract farmers in North America to ensure a consistent supply of non-genetically modified soybeans used for their products,” said EGroup’s president and founder Nguyen Ngoc Thuy.

Poh has taken the brand to several overseas locations. Only Japan, South Korea and Singapore have met with success. He launched Mr Bean as a hawker stall in Singapore’s Chinatown in 1995.