TH Group: Crafting a Brand from Authenticity

TH Group's history of authenticity

In celebration of the 16th anniversary of Vietnam Brand Day (April 20, 2008 - April 20, 2024), the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade organized the opening ceremony for the Vietnam National Brand Week 2024 and the Vietnam National Brand Forum 2024. The event was held both in-person and online in Hanoi, featuring the National Brand Exhibition as a sideline event.

These activities aimed to raise awareness among the public and the business community regarding the Vietnam National Brand Program and businesses with products recognized as Vietnam National Brands. They also aimed to equip the business community with additional knowledge regarding the importance of brand building and brand development in business operations, particularly against the backdrop of international economic integration.

This year's forum, themed "Enhancing Core Values,"  featured participation from experts and speakers from state management agencies, RMIT University of Australia, and several businesses with registered Vietnam National Brand products.

During the forum, Arghya Mandal, CEO of TH Milk Joint Stock Company under TH Group, delivered a presentation titled "TH Group - The Process of Building and Developing the Core Values of a National Brand." The highlight of the presentation was TH Group's history of authenticity.

Arghya Mandal recounted that TH Group was founded over fifteen years ago by entrepreneur Thai Huong, known for her determination and compassion. She developed the TH brand, "True Happiness," based on the core value of "For the Community's Health."

Thai Huong is a pioneer in the development of clean and organic agriculture in Vietnam. Additionally, she discovered a crucial component to the development of Vietnam's agriculture through a technological revolution. Her other notable achievements include initiating the Dairy Cow Farming and Milk Processing Project in 2008, and establishing the world's largest high-tech concentrated dairy farm with a scale of nearly 70,000 cows in 2020. Her persistent efforts to innovate has earned global recognition for the Vietnam's dairy industry.

During his visit to Vietnam and TH Group in 2011, the late President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, remarked: "Thai Huong has revolutionized the dairy industry in Vietnam."

Thai Huong has been honored on Forbes' list of 50 Asian women over 50 with great international influence for her contributions to the dairy industry in Vietnam. Ms. Huong was the sole Vietnamese businesswoman to have won an outstanding achievement award for community contributions in Dubai. She has also been granted other prestigious awards, including the Global Trade Ambassador in the United States, the Responsible Asia Leaders of Enterprise Asia, the Empowering Women Award at the World Knowledge Forum, the Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2018 Stevie Awards, and the Top 10 Women for Sustainable Development in Asia in 2021.

In 2020, for her significant contributions to society and the community, Thai Huong was honored as a labour heroine during the economic reforms.

Coordinating personal and national interests

Arghya Mandal emphasized, "TH Group is a patriotic business conglomerate that aims to coordinate personal and national interests. Instead of maximizing profits, we want to rationalize benefits."

The founder of TH Group asserted: 'People are the heart of society, the driving force behind a nation's development. As a result, the physical, intellectual, and spiritual development of each individual is important.

A nation can only prosper when its people are comprehensively developed, both physically and intellectually. This development process requires essential nutrients such as rice, grain, food, dairy products, and a healthy lifestyle.

Consequently, supporting physical and intellectual development is an investment in the nation's future generation, and strategic sustainable development."

"TH Group's projects primarily focus on the application of high technology, technological science and management science to the sustainable development of high quality and healthy agricultural products," said Arghya Mandal.

According to him, all TH products are built upon five core values: For the Community's Health; Completely Natural; Fresh and Nutritious; Environmentally Friendly - Thinking Outside the Box; Balanced Benefits.

These values also represent TH Group's commitment to the cause "For Vietnamese Stature" by providing natural, clean, safe, fresh, delicious, and nutritious food products. Furthermore, TH Group's core values also align with the criteria of a National Brand.

"From fresh clean milk to healthy beverages, natural herbs, and clean foods, TH's products are all associated with the word 'true': True products, truly clean, truly natural, truly nutritious, and truly safe," Arghya Mandal affirmed.

How TH Group achieved authenticity

According to Arghya Mandal, TH Group has invested in a closed loop production chain from green pastures to fresh clean milk, which is complemented by high technology and management science to increase productivity and create products that meet international standards at reasonable prices and costs.

TH Group is a strong advocate of sustainable development and recognizes that sustainability requires authenticity. Accordingly, the company's sustainable development policy consists of six pillars: Nutrition and Health, Environment, People, Education, Community, and Animal Welfare. Moreover, TH group integrates the concept of sustainable development into all of its operations, thereby creating "true" value, "true" products, and "true" quality. As a result, the company's effort has been recognized with the National Brand title for several consecutive years.

TH Group's ongoing commitment to authenticity has also been reinforced by its current green economy - circular economy model. The company's exemplary model has been visited and studied by various agencies, departments, companies, and organizations. Visitors of TH Group's model are greeted with a large herd of 70,000 dairy cows, vast fields of corn and grass, a fully closed loop production process, among other sights and features.

"Our farm cluster has been recognized by the World Record Union in 2020 as the world's largest high-tech concentrated dairy farm with the most comprehensive production process. It is a system of concentrated industrial-scale dairy farms, complemented by the world's most advanced cattle care and management processes. Namely, our cattle enjoy various amenities such as music, pure water filtered by modern technology, and daily cool baths," said Arghya Mandal.

Arghya Mandal recalled a scandalous event in 2008, whereby melamine-contaminated milk posed a severe risk of kidney hemorrhage to millions of children in China. Following this event, the founder of TH Group resolved to produce fresh, clean, internationally standardized milk for the stature of Vietnam.

At the time, 92 percent of the Vietnamese milk market consisted of reconstituted powdered milk, with ambiguous and questionable labeling practices. Notably, TH Group participated in numerous workshops and discussions advocating for transparent milk labeling. Subsequently, TH milk became the first brand permitted to label its packaging as "clean fresh milk."

Consequently, Vietnamese consumers were given access to additional information to differentiate between fresh milk (labeled as sterilized milk) and reconstituted powdered milk, giving them the freedom and knowledge to select fresh milk products tailored to their needs.

With TH's pioneering efforts, Vietnam's dairy industry gradually shifted towards development based on healthy competition. Accordingly, processed liquid milk products currently account for nearly 48 percent of its market, with TH holding a 45 percent market share in this segment.

Arghya Mandal asserted: "With a development journey structured by our core values, we want to continuously research, develop, and innovate while maintaining product quality. We plan to pioneer the introduction of new products that meet customer needs and consumption trends, which will include clean fresh milk, healthy beverages, natural herb products, clean foods and so on."

TH currently offers nearly 200 product categories suitable for various age groups, preferences, and health conditions. Notably, natural products, low or no sugar options, calcium-rich or low-fat varieties are trusted choices among consumers.

Arghya Mandal strongly suggested businesses to accompany the program for the National Brand of Vietnam in promotional and communication activities, with the aim of developing and elevating the National Brand of Vietnam.

"Corporate brands are the foundation of National Brand. A nation that gathers multiple reputable and credible branded businesses can greatly enhance its image and position on the global stage. And for a brand to tell its story and the nation's story, it needs to communicate with integrity, seriousness, and authenticity.

This is also why TH Group and I have committed to accompanying the program for the National Brand of Vietnam, with the aim of promoting the true value of Vietnamese products, and extending the reach of Vietnamese brands," concluded Arghya Mandal.

As of 2023, TH Group has been awarded the National Brand of Vietnam for four consecutive terms, meeting the criteria for Quality, Creativity - Innovation, and Pioneering Capacity.

Most recently, five of TH product groups were awarded with the National Brand title, including TH true MILK, TH true ICE CREAM, TH true NUT, TH true WATER, and TH true JUICE. These are flagship product lines created with clean, fresh milk from TH dairy farms, and pure water from Phu Quy's million-year-old volcanic regions.

Furthermore, TH Group has been a companion of the National Brand TV program for two consecutive years. The program provided a platform for the company to promote the core values of the National Brand of Vietnam:

- In 2022, the National Brand TV program made a remarkable first impression on the VTV1 national television channel with its unique color and identity. Accordingly, TH Group, under the leadership of Thai Huong, was the only business to be awarded the National Brand of Vietnam. The program was associated with standards of healthfulness, authenticity, and seriousness.

- In 2023, TH continued to accompany the program with a new version, leaving a profound impression on viewers and consumers.