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 specializing in this field. Regularly working with partners from Laos, Thailand, Taiwan, China, India, Japan, etc. Vu realized that Vietnam's agricultural export potential was very open, and he decided to return to Nghe An to start a business with the desire to bring Nghe An agricultural products far and wide.
"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 Nghe". Then, by chance, when a 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 the “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 bring Nghe An OCOP products far and wide, Vu is gradually realizing the strategy.
Vu turned the store into an open space, both introducing and selling products and being a place to visit, shop and experience. 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 a stable market share.
Vu shared: “The term “on-site 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. That is the standard production process, the growing area code, the pricing strategy, the communication ecosystem, the packaging, the e-commerce ecosystem...
Vu said: “If Nghe An OCOP products want to be exported, they must identify the product's advantages; must include the story of the region, the cultural value in the product. In addition, it is necessary to 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 the form, so the packaging must also show meticulousness and sophistication; advanced countries prioritize green consumption... With my own accumulated experience, I am willing to share with businesses, willing to support the ecosystem for export, and advise on procedures and policies for the subjects".
And on that “journey”, while accompanying businesses and cooperatives to bring OCOP products to the world and export them to other countries, Vu is also a pioneer 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 deeply into products that are both unique, well received by the markets of other countries and have high export value.
The characteristics of Ky Son ginger are high medicinal properties, hot, fragrant, and can be processed into health protection products such as herbal rollers; foot soak filter bags, shoe deodorant sprays, etc. Currently, herbal inhaler products are available on the market, being introduced to cold countries such as Germany, Austria, etc. 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 distinct tea line. Because according to Vu, the Shan Tuyet tea plant itself is something 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, the tea products are therefore 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 the cultural identity of the community. Therefore, Huoi Tu Shan Tuyet tea products carry the cultural values of the region. 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 the Ky Son Shan Tuyet tea tree; eat, live, take care of, and harvest tea with the Mong people; backpack to all the ancient tea areas in Vietnam; travel 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 journey to the destination is still long, there must be experiences and perfection. But 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.
