Nghe An specialties and Vu's startup story

Breathing "new life" into the OCOP booth

Born in 1991 in a family in Huong Son (Ha Tinh), Dao Quang Vu was sent by his family to study in Vinh City (Nghe An) since childhood. After graduating from the Academy of Finance, Vu went to Da Nang to work for an import-export company.

In 2015, Vu opened his own company also specializing in this field. He regularly works with partners in Laos, Thailand, Taiwan, China, India, Japan, etc. Vu realized that Vietnam's agricultural export potential is very open, and he decided to go to Nghe An to start a business with the desire to bringNghe An agricultural productsreach out

“Fate” as Vu said, was that in 2019, Vu married a woman from Nghe An. That was the motivation for Vu to return to his “hometown of Nghe”. Then, by chance, when the store introducing local OCOP products in Vinh City needed someone to “take the lead” to effectively revive it, Vu immediately accepted that role.

Vu attached “Nghe An OCOP product display and introduction store” with a close and familiar name: “Nghe An specialty store”. Vu convinced the people involved with a 5-year strategy with the journey to bring Nghe An specialties far and wide. Careful and dedicated, with the desire to bringOCOP products of Nghe AnGoing far, Vu is gradually realizing the strategy.

Vu turned the store into an open space, both introducing and selling products and being a place for sightseeing, shopping and experiencing. The store gradually became a destination for tourists and a familiar address for consumers, in 2023 alone, it welcomed 40 international delegations, 200 domestic delegations and tens of thousands of consumers. The store has also contributed greatly to supporting OCOP product manufacturers in Nghe An province to build distribution channels and gain stable market share.

Vu shared: “The term “on-the-spot export” used by Thailand has helped their country export many products to many countries around the world. I want to apply it to promote Nghe An OCOP products through tourism channels and from there the products will gradually spread to other provinces, cities and countries. That way helps suppliers save costs on building distribution channels and is very effective.”

With 5 years of experience in the field of agricultural product import and export, comparing competitive advantages with Thailand, Vu realized that Nghe An agricultural products have many advantages for export: quality, design, output... However, there are also many weaknesses. These are standard production processes, growing area codes, pricing strategies, communication ecosystems, packaging, e-commerce...

Vu said: “If Nghe An OCOP products want to be exported, they must identify the product’s advantages; must incorporate stories about the region and cultural values ​​into the product. In addition, they must grasp the tastes and consumption habits of each country.

For example, countries with fast consumption habits should have the simplest and most convenient packaging; Japan and China are fussy about form, so the packaging must also show meticulousness and sophistication; advanced countries prioritize green consumption... With my accumulated experience, I am willing to share with businesses, willing to support the ecosystem for export, and advise on procedures and policies for entities."

Realizing the dream of earning foreign currency from Nghe An specialties

And on that “journey”, while accompanying businesses and cooperatives to bring OCOP products far and wide, exporting them to other countries, Vu also took the lead in realizing the goal of “earning foreign currency from local specialties”. Vu chose Ky Son ginger and Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea (Ky Son) to process them into products that are both unique, well-received by foreign markets and have high export value.

The characteristics of Ky Son ginger are high medicinal properties, hot, aromatic, can be processed into health protection products such as: herbal roller; foot soak filter bag, shoe deodorant spray... Currently, herbal inhaler products are available on the market, being introduced to cold countries such as Germany, Austria,... and receiving positive feedback from customers.

“If the deep-processed ginger products are successfully exported, it will not only diversify the products from a local specialty with geographical indications, but also help people consume raw ginger more easily at a higher price,” Vu shared.

Another of Vu’s passion products is to develop Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea into a classy and unique tea line. Because according to Vu, the Shan Tuyet tea plant itself is special, few places have suitable soil and climate for growing it. In Vietnam, Shan Tuyet tea is present in some localities such as Ha Giang, Son La, Yen Bai, Dien Bien, Nghe An… And each place, with different climate and soil characteristics, so the tea products are also different.

“Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea has a unique flavor that few other regions have. It is a beautiful tea product with a long-lasting sweet aftertaste. In particular, Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea trees are associated with the lives of the Mong people, with their industrious, hard-working nature, and strong cultural identity of the community. Therefore, Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea products carry strong regional cultural values. We have now launched two lines of tea processed from Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea trees, which are green tea and black tea,” said Vu.

To bring Shan Tuyet tea products far and wide, Vu himself has taken the trouble to learn about the characteristics of Ky Son Shan Tuyet tea trees; ate, lived, cared for, and harvested tea with the Mong people; backpacked to all the ancient tea regions in Vietnam; traveled to countries with unique tea cultures such as China, Japan, Taiwan, etc. to study and seek export opportunities.

During the research process, Vu realized that the opportunity to export Shan Tuyet tea has great potential and brings high value. However, the road to the destination is still long, there are still experiences and improvements. However, when green tea and black tea processed from Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea have become gift items of many units; participating in the Tea Festival in Taiwan 2023, it is a "big step" in bringing Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea to the world market.