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| A diverse range of HCF products made from Hue-grown figs |
Leveraging advantages
After nearly seven years of planning, in 2023, Tran Huy Cuong launched his startup project, HUE COOKING FOOD - Innovation to Elevate Hue’s Specialties, from figs - a fruit grown widely across Hue. With over 20 years of experience in the culinary industry, along with his skills, creativity, and grasp of customer preferences, he was able to fast-track the startup process and bring products to market more quickly. In less than five months from ideation and testing, by April 2024, HCF Trading and Production Co., Ltd., founded by Cuong, officially went into operation.
Today, HCF has offered five fig-based products catering to different customer segments: va luoc (boiled figs), va tron tom thit (fig salad with shrimp and pork), va cuon tom thit (fig rolls with shrimp and pork), va cuon tom thit (vegetarian fig rolls), and mam va (fermented fig sauce). Though rustic, these innovative and nourishing startup products - closely associated with Vietnamese cuisine - helped Cuong’s team secure third place at the 2024 Hue Innovation Startup Competition, an encouragement prize at the National Green and Sustainable Startup Contest, and a spot in the Top 20 of the 2024 National Innovation Startup Competition.
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| HCF’s product lines made from figs |
From the outset of his entrepreneurial journey, with a community-oriented and environment-oriented goal, Cuong has strictly adhered to quality standards to create nutritious products that benefit public health. Therefore, HCF prioritizes figs, a signature fruit of Hue, grown according to eco-friendly standards, ensuring a firm texture, delicious taste, and natural sweetness as the core ingredient.
According to the jury of the 2024 Innovation Startup Competition, HCF’s fig-based products exemplify a fusion of creativity and new technological applications to products while preserving the essence of Hue’s traditional culinary cultural value.
"Each month, HCF produces an average of 2,000 product units. To secure a stable supply of raw materials, the company currently sources figs from various local orchards in Kim Long, Thuy Bang, Thuy Bieu, and through traders from fig-growing areas like Phu Loc and Huong Tra," Cuong shared.
Mr. Cuong also plans to cultivate approximately 2 hectares of figs in the sandy rural areas of Phong Dien or Phu Vang in line with organic standards. He aims to guide local farmers in expanding fig cultivation in their gardens. He estimates that to produce 2,000 product units, 700-900 kg of fresh figs are required.
To prevent raw material shortages during off-seasons, the company stockpiles fresh figs in summer, and then processes and freezes them for year-round production. This year, he aims to access industrial promotion funding to invest in freeze-drying and vacuum-drying machines, supporting the diversification of fig-based products and other traditional local fruits.
Bringing products to the international market
As a young startup, Huy Cuong, the founder and director of HCF, has actively participated in trade promotion events across Vietnam. Through various startup competitions, he has leveraged connections with the community, experts, and peers within the startup ecosystem to expand the reach of his products both domestically and internationally. The company has successfully entered the supply chain of 65 Kingfoodmart supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong and major restaurants in Quang Binh and Hanoi. Additionally, HCF is awaiting approval to supply products to the Go! Supermarket chain.
In Hue alone, besides supplying fig-based products to several restaurants, HCF has also partnered with organic food stores such as Hue Viet and Que Lam to distribute its products. Within less than a year, HCF's fig-based products have been exported to the U.S. not only through informal channels but also officially, thanks to partnerships with major frozen food exporters like Banh Canh Hue Thuong (Beloved Hue Thick Noodle Soup) and Banh Sen Hong (Pink Lotus Cake).
With a 10-year product commercialization roadmap, Mr. Cuong meticulously oversees every step of the process from production to marketing and distribution. From selecting organic ingredients to implementing closed-loop, safe manufacturing, and premium packaging, HCF ensures that its products are not only nutritious, safe, and convenient but also well-positioned to bring Hue’s traditional specialties to global markets.
Mr. Cuong initially projected a 10-year timeline for full product commercialization. However, after he presented the project at city-level and national-level startup competitions, many experts asserted that HCF’s products could succeed in just five years. This is because these products are highly creative, naturally wholesome, well-suited to both Vietnamese and international tastes, and competitively priced for multiple market segments.
To further enrich Hue’s specialty products, beyond fig-based products, Mr. Cuong has planned to develop an HCF ecosystem focused on organic products made from indigenous, naturally-grown fruits and vegetables with minimal exposure to chemicals. In the near future, he intends to create new products from saba bananas, dwarf bananas, jackfruit, bamboo shoots, starfruit, wild greens, pennywort, and siam weed, while delving deeper into the application of spices in food production.
With a highly creative approach that preserves the traditional flavors, each HCF product embodies the essence of Hue, enriching the list of Vietnamese dishes on the world culinary map.