Show us 8 certificates printed on cinnamon boxes, anise prepared for export, Director of Vietnam Anise Cinnamon Production and Export Joint Stock Company (Vinasamex) – Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen – shared: This is the result of an arduous journey, but thanks to these certificates, Vinasamex is taking confident steps when entering the international market
Dedicating yourself to organic products
For Director Nguyen Thi Huyen, building an organic material area, training farmers to get used to new production processes, and actively spending a large amount of money to maintain certifications … is a story that can be told forever. Ms. Huyen said that before establishing the company, she and Mr. Nguyen Que Anh (currently Chairman of Vinasamex) had many years of collecting cinnamon and anise for export. “In the process of approaching foreign markets, we soon realized that it is also anise cinnamon, but if we know how to produce and process methodically… The value will be a lot higher. Especially, when participating in international fairs, seeing businesses find friends easily thanks to having prestigious brands, I cherished the idea of building a brand methodically for Vinasamex” – Ms. Huyen shared.
With this in mind, in 2013, after being established not long ago, the company embarked on making documents for Vinasamex’s products to obtain prestigious international certificates such as Fairtrade Certificate – international certification of fair trade; EU Organic Product certification; Forlife certification (human protection, environment, social responsibility) …
“However, things are not as simple as imagined, because only by obtaining Organic EU certification, Vinasamex must strictly comply with the set standards, from seeds, soil, care, collection to processing and packaging…” – Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen recalled.
In fact, good products and a reputable brand… will be the basic factor to make revenue and profit for the company. This is also the reason for Director Nguyen Thi Huyen and Vinasamex leaders and technical staff to dive day and night in the cinnamon forests, and anise in Lang Son, Yen Bai, both training and encouraging thousands of farmers to get acquainted with new production processes; At the same time, show them the “benefits” for health, the environment and rising income when organic production is widely applied… As a result, up to now, Vinasamex is the only company in the cinnamon industry, with up to 8 prestigious certificates, which is a “passport” for the company’s organic cinnamon and anise products to be sold directly in supermarkets around the world; are fastidious markets such as Europe, America, Japan, Korea, Canada … accept. Currently, on average, the company exports about 1,000 tons of cinnamon and anise each year with a value twice higher than when organic production processes were not applied.
Brand building and development
Vinasamex’s process of reaching out to the world is more convenient when supported by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade), from brand development consultancy to support in building brand identity…
Ms. Huyen said that at the right time with the intention to build a brand, the company was selected by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency to participate in the project to support businesses to build and develop brands. With this project, you have been able to attend training classes to better understand what a brand is. How is product development? And how to have a reputable brand? At the same time, the company is also supported to perfect the brand identity, build a brand story as well as be connected to participate in specialized exhibitions/fairs at home and abroad.
“Cinnamon, Vietnamese anise is of very good quality, highly appreciated by many scientists, if I cannot build a reputable brand for the product – I feel guilty about that product. Without a brand, not many customers will know about cinnamon, anise in Vietnam, so it will be impossible to remember to decide why to buy that product!” – she said, adding that along with actively building the brand, every year, Vinasamex still spends billions of VND to continue maintaining existing certifications. This cost at first glance is huge, but the gain is not small. In the spirit of having to do well from the root, the value is sustainable.
