Building brands and enhancing the value of Nghe An's agricultural products.
Building brands and improving the quality of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products has been a focus of the Sub-Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development in recent years, significantly contributing to increasing the value of agricultural products and boosting income for producers.
Create processed products, spread the brand.
Established in 2021, the Ban Ve Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative (Tuong Duong) initially focused on developing livestock farming, concentrating on locally raised products such as pigs and fish. After some time, realizing that pig farming was unsuitable due to the large capital investment, technical expertise, and strict farming procedures required, the member households almost entirely switched to fish farming in the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir.
With support from the district, providing 15 million VND per fish cage, and utilizing natural food sources from the hydroelectric reservoir, the local people have planted bananas and elephant grass, developing organic fish farming which is highly favored by the market. However, according to Mr. Luong Van Dong, the cooperative's director: Selling only fresh fish without processing limits preservation and sales, and the product's value hasn't increased as expected.
In 2024, the Cooperative received advice and support from the Sub-Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development to further develop its processed products.
“We received support in designing attractive product images and packaging, including labels and tags with barcodes and QR codes, guidance on investing in necessary equipment such as bone grinders, pelletizers, and vacuum packaging machines, as well as assistance in processing cleaned, vacuum-packed, and frozen goby fish for long-distance transport and making fish cakes,” said Mr. Luong Van Dong.
Currently, the cooperative is still receiving focused support from the local agency in promoting its brand and selling processed products at trial prices, consuming 1-2 tons of fish cakes and 1 ton of sliced fish (including snakehead fish, goby, and other fish fillets) annually.
As a traditional and specialty product, Nam Dan soy sauce has long been known and favored by customers near and far. In 2019, the "Sa Nam Huong Duong" brand soy sauce product of the Sa Nam Agricultural Production and Processing Cooperative was recognized as meeting OCOP 4-star standards and was also certified by the Provincial People's Committee as a typical provincial-level rural industrial product.
However, due to the simple packaging and the lack of investment in branding, labels, and packaging, the product has not yet achieved widespread popularity.
Ms. Ho Thi Xuan Huong, Director of the Sa Nam Huong Duong Agricultural Production and Processing Cooperative, shared: "Previously, the product didn't have labels or trademarks, so we just made and sold it as is. The product was mixed with other products, lacked a brand, and was mostly recognized and trusted by regular customers."
Since receiving support from the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development in packaging design, labels, stamps, participation in trade fairs, product promotion, and supply-demand connection, Sa Nam soy sauce has spread widely, with consumption increasing 2-3 times compared to before. Currently, production is 200-300 liters/day; not only consumed domestically within the province but also distributed to many other places. We have established our brand, and many people buy it as gifts to take to various provinces and cities, thus increasing customer awareness, acceptance, and preference.
Ms. Ho Thi Xuan Huong - Director of Sa Nam Huong Duong Agricultural Cooperative for the production and processing of soy sauce, shared:
Expanding the consumer market
With its vast area, diverse topography, and climate, Nghe An possesses abundant and diverse agricultural products. However, processing and branding remain limited and inadequate, affecting the improvement of product quality and value. Production is mainly fragmented, manual, and small-scale; the number of establishments paying attention to product design and branding is still small, and they lack dynamism in developing consumer markets.
To build brand recognition and ensure product traceability, the Sub-Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development has focused on numerous activities in recent times. In food safety training courses organized by the sub-department (40-50 classes per year), businesses and establishments have been educated and informed about the importance, necessity, and benefits of investing in brand building and product design.
At the same time, select facilities with good production capacity but whose products have not yet reached the market to provide advice and support in creating eye-catching product branding, equipping them with bottles, plastic bags, designing and printing labels, issuing QR codes, and supporting product traceability... so that consumers are aware of the products and can make better choices; invest in and improve infrastructure and equipment to meet requirements such as water lines, sanitary facilities, etc.
As a result, businesses have been equipped with knowledge and awareness of the importance of ensuring food safety and hygiene. Many establishments with disorganized facilities have been equipped more properly and systematically; some establishments that did not have labels or had them but did so poorly and incorrectly have been guided and supported in creating QR codes and attractive labels with complete information for lookup.
Some traditional products, after receiving support, have expanded their market, being sold in supermarkets and used as gifts thanks to their attractive designs. Since its implementation in 2021, the local branch has supported 12 establishments and businesses in the province in building product brands.
“We focus on surveying and assessing the current state of infrastructure to develop scientific and technical transfers in the processing of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products, and organize training courses to support the transfer of processing procedures, build product brands, and develop models for processing agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products for businesses. We also support the design of packaging, labels, and brand building for these businesses,” said Mr. Nguyen Thai Tuan, Head of the Professional Affairs Department, Sub-Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development.
Over the past period, the sub-department has supported the creation of 162 QR codes, printed and distributed 262,000 QR code labels, 29,000 product labels, and 824 kg of packaging and trays for agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product production facilities. Specifically, since the beginning of this year, it has supported the printing of 122,500 QR code labels for identifying safe products for various units; and provided support for 10 QR codes, bringing the total number of codes issued to 162 for 129 establishments.
Along with supporting the development of agricultural product brands, the sub-department focuses on supporting units participating in trade promotion and product consumption activities through various distribution channels, coordinating with provinces and cities to boost product consumption, such as participating in trade fairs, introducing and promoting products, and working to get them into supermarket systems.
Since the beginning of the year, safe agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product production facilities have participated in trade fairs such as: the Trade Conference and Trade Promotion of Agricultural, Forestry, and Aquatic Products between Hanoi City and Nghe An, Ninh Binh, and Lam Dong provinces; the Hanoi 2024 Agricultural and OCOP Product Trade Promotion Fair; and the Tuyen Quang Province Trade and Tourism Fair 2024. It is expected that in 2024, the sub-department will support participation in 20 trade fairs with nearly 100 booths showcasing almost 200 product groups.
It can be affirmed that, although not yet implemented on many models, the initial results have shown certain changes, supporting the development of businesses and production and processing facilities, contributing to the successful development of OCOP products.
In reality, businesses and production facilities that consciously focus on building product brands and promoting trade to expand their consumer markets tend to develop very well, with increasingly improved products and stable, strong sales.
Mr. Nguyen Van Ha - Head of the Quality, Processing and Market Development Sub-Department of Nghe An Province