Bac Kan vermicelli has potential in the European market

Brand boost Bak Kan vermicelli

Con Minh commune (Na Ri district) is the capital of arrowroot growing and vermicelli processing of Bac Kan province. The craft of making handmade dong vermicelli has been passed down through many generations and is closely associated with the culture and economic life of the people here. Like many other traditional professions, making vermicelli in Con Minh has ups and downs and times when it seems like it will disappear.

Born and raised on this land, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoan (Con Minh commune) did various jobs to make a living, from raising a few pigs to doing small business, but life was still full of difficulties.

"In 1991, after many years of saving, the family decided to buy a dynamo to grind arrowroot starch to sell to small businesses in the area. This was a milestone in changing my life to a new business direction," Mrs. Hoan recalled.

Mrs. Hoan said that grinding arrowroot powder was difficult at that time. The machinery was rudimentary, and the output was not much. Call it profit making, but at that time, I didn't think about making vermicelli and developing the brand like I do now.

After about 3 years, I saw that grinding arrowroot powder was not profitable but difficult. I also went to many places to learn, so I was determined to produce vermicelli. Then, the first batches of vermicelli were born. In the early days, vermicelli was made in small quantities; the quality and design were not good, so it wasn't easy to sell.

At that time, she had to carry kilos of vermicelli to sell. At first, she only marketed it in small grocery stores in the area, then gradually sold it in some neighboring provinces.

After decades, her Tai Hoan Vermicelli brand has gradually gained a foothold in the market, and its consumption is increasing. To meet demand, Mrs. Hoan invested in machinery and hired more human resources to switch from manual production to assembly lines.

In 2015, the price of arrowroot was at a record low, sometimes only VND 800 per kg. Arrowroot growers were fed up. Many households abandoned their fields without harvesting. Many families switched to growing other crops. At that time, there seemed to be no more raw materials to process vermicelli next season.

However, during this period, Mrs. Hoan made a bold decision, investing in more machinery, building a raw material area, and signing a commitment to purchase arrowroot at VND 1,200 to VND 1,500 per kg for arrowroot growers. Thanks to this decision, her processing factory has enough raw materials, and Tai Hoan Vermicelli products continue to develop.

2018 was a time to recognize the growth of the Tai Hoan Vermicelli brand. For sustainable development with more participation of people in the area, Mrs. Hoan established Tai Hoan Cooperative, of which she is the Director and has 16 members. Also, from here, the Tai Hoan Vermicelli brand is increasingly reaching out to many markets.

The export route of Tai Hoan vermicelli

After establishing the Cooperative, Tai Hoan Vermicelli received attention and support from the budget for machinery, equipment, packaging, and labels for several projects in the province.

Tai Hoan Cooperative has increased its maximum capacity to 2.5 tons of vermicelli per day from a production capacity of only a few tons. At its peak, the cooperative employed 35 to 40 working continuously.

2020 was important when Tai Hoan vermicelli was exported to the Czech Republic for the first time. The first order was 5.3 tons, worth USD 15,000.

Since then, the Cooperative exported more than 10 tons of vermicelli to this market each year. Tai Hoan vermicelli now has beautiful packaging and labels that are full of information according to regulations. The product has been tested for food safety criteria and has no additives or preservatives.

Along with increasing output, Tai Hoan Cooperative focuses on product quality. Tai Hoan vermicelli is the first 5-star OCOP product in Bac Kan province.

Director of Tai Hoan Cooperative said that the export orders to the Czech Republic are the cooperative's tireless efforts, which confirms the quality and brand of Tai Hoan vermicelli products accepted by fastidious markets. This is also the premise for the cooperative to access other markets in the future.

Currently, every year, Tai Hoan Cooperative produces more than 300 tons of vermicelli, with a revenue of over VND 16 billion, creating stable jobs for dozens of local workers.

Tai Hoan Cooperative pays special attention to raw material areas to achieve today's success. Currently, the cooperative is linked with hundreds of arrowroot-growing households in the district to build organic material areas. The cooperative provides arrowroot residue for farmers to participate in making organic fertilizer, thanks to which the input materials are of high quality, and the arrowroot vermicelli products are qualified for export to markets that require strict quality.

Households participating in growing arrowroots with the cooperative are trained and transferred techniques on plant, care for, and harvest, so arrowroots have high starch content and outstanding productivity.

In addition to export, Tai Hoan vermicelli is consumed nationwide at supermarkets, participating in retail supply chains on many online trading platforms.