Have you met the masterminds behind Nopa, the folks who have been working tirelessly to make Nopa the incredible brand it is today? Today, let's grab a seat and have a heart-to-heart with our CEO, Ms. Mai Trinh, to delve deeper into the story behind Nopa and Nopa Move!

Q: Why do you have "Expert of None" as your title?

A: As we were looking for our corresponding titles, we wanted labels that better embrace our true selves. As of myself, I've always been a generalist, i.e. really an expert of none. My understanding of a founder is that you have to be a jackie of all trades (grasp an overview of marketing, operations, finance, you name it) but you do need to become an expert of your product/service. So I intend to grow into an expert of transforming habits into lasting change through design. Until then, wish me luck! 😉 PS: conventionally, I am what people call CEO.

Q: What is the driving force behind you and your team in developing Nopa

A: We are believers in the power of design for behavioral change. And the problem we wanted to tackle first is single-use plastic waste (that's how Pierre and I met). Personally, it pains me to watch beautiful Vietnam dwindled by a waste pandemic. Yet, we knew tackling this giant is no easy feat. That's why we decided to start small, approaching the single-use problem one consumer habit at a time. With our backgrounds in consumer insights, design, and sustainability plus the innovations around the world, we believe change is just a matter of the right approach to the right market.

Q: Can you share some of the challenges that Nopa has faced in the process of development?

A: Timeee. On the one hand, we've loved every step of the bottle development process, from ideation to design, and the many prototyping steps. But I'll be honest, we underestimated the time it would take to get this baby off the ground. So, our biggest challenge now is to maintain our cool and keep our eyes on the prize. Hope you're as excited as we are to be holding Nopa Move in hands!

Q: Can you share Nopa's plan for the future?

A: Our first step is to demonstrate that Nopa Move can get more people into reuse with (1) a frictionless product, (2) adapted to consumer trends (3) enhanced with rewards. Along with that, we want to continuously be improving and optimising our product experience (e.g. better material, design, a digital add-on, customer service). Next on our list when it comes to reuse, I think, household cleaning containers. Ultimately, with Nopa, we're not limiting ourselves to the behaviour of reuse, we're out to prove that product design can be a powerful tool for creating a better future.