Introducing Thuy Thanh Huong Com Rice to Distributors
Opportunities
After participating in the conference on market development, YesHue Co., Ltd. (YesHue), which is located at 75 Le Duan Street, Hue City and came into operation in early July 2017, have sold 2,500 jars of paste for Hue traditional beef noodle soup. Among them, 2,000 jars were sold to Tu Son Supermarket, and the rest was distributed to supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and local stores in the area of Hue City.
Sales Manager of YesHue - Ms. Le Thi Kim Hang says that the paste for Hue traditional beef noodle soup is a brand new product, which has just been on the market for more than a month, so they were worried about the consumption of their products. After participating in the conference, and directly marketing their products to major distributors across the country, they had more chance to promote, introduce their products, and sign many business contracts. Currently, the company has signed contracts of regularly providing Son Tra Supermarket with more than 2,000 jars per month, and distributed their products to stores selling specialities in cities of Hue, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi and Da Nang.
Coming on the market for more than 10 years, Tam Hue Food Production Center in Thuy Duong Ward (Huong Thuy Province) is considered as a “big brother” in the field compared to YesHue, though only when they had participated in a program linking the consumption of agricultural produce with one of specialties did they take their first step in the supermarket system for mass consumption. At present, such specialties as mam dua (pickled cucumber), tom chua (fermented shrimps), ruoc (Vietnamese fermented shrimp paste), banh loc hut chan khong (vacuumed tapioca dumplings), black garlic, banh chung (sticky-rice cake, crystallized ginger ... have been displayed at Tu Son supermarket, Co.opMart Supermarket chain in Central Vietnam and 36 stores of Big C supermarket chain nationwide. Each month about two tons of products are consumed.
The business owner, Ms. Pham Thi Khanh Tam, said: "Developing a product is difficult, and gaining a firm foothold on the market and generating steady sales is even harder. After signing long-term contracts with large distributors like Big C supermarket chain, and Tu Son supermarket, etc. we have made investment in modern technology and placed orders with local fishermen to increase our scale of production. At the same time, we focus on quality inspection, trademark registration and investment in packaging process to compete with products from other provinces and cities."
According to Ms. Tam, pitching their products to the supermarkets requires high costs of product testing, ranging from 3-5 million VND per product, and the retesting period is every 6 months. If tested products are only for local supermarket supply, gaining profits cannot exceed these testing costs. Cooperation with big supermarket chains such as Tu Son and Big C is a good start allowing the business to confidently invest in machines and technologies to produce and create new products.
Introducing A Luoi specialties to distributors
Links
Manager of Tu Son Supermarket, Mr. Ta Minh Son, said: "After 2 days surveying production facilities in the province, we believe that Thua Thien Hue, which is a land of various famous specialties, attracts many tourists. Thus, local products like me xung (chewy sesame candy) , tom chua (fermented shrimps), ruoc (shrimp paste), melaleuca oil, Hue Royal Tea, turmeric powder ... are good-quality, delicious, and beautifully- packaged gifts that are suitable for tourists to choose. However, to get into larger markets, these businesses need connection with distributors, and support from other departments."
Mr. Son said that many valuable specialties, which were targeted for distribution, did not meet the requirements since products from household production were unregistered and untested. Currently, there are about 15 types of Hue specialties being sold at supermarkets and distributed to Cambodia.
Manager of Big C supermarket chain in Hue - Ms. Vo Thi Thu Thuy stated that so far testing costs have always hindered businesses and local facilities. However, product testing is “a must" for earning business reputation and ensuring consumers’ rights. To solve this problem, Big C supermarket chain in Viet Nam has worked with suppliers and signed business contracts with the Big C store in Hue and with other stores nationwide to increase sales, and create chances to get these brand names publicly disseminated. Big C Hue have signed business contracts with 5 production facilities, including Tam Hue, Phu Ho Farmers’ Rice Cooperative, Chuong Trang, etc. raising the total number of businesses having their products displayed in Big C supermarket chains to nearly 30 in 2017.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh, Director of Department of Industry and Trade, said that establishing connections for selling safe agricultural products and Hue specialties in early July 2017 was a major breakthrough in promoting local products on larger markets.
Story and photos: Thanh Huong