Star fruit, from snack to branded product

Soc Trang Mr. Ngo Tuan Thanh, a young and enthusiastic person, has turned Soc Trang star fruit from a popular snack into a high-quality product, becoming a valuable specialty.

Soc Trang Mr. Ngo Tuan Thanh, a young and enthusiastic person, has turned Soc Trang star fruit from a popular snack into a high-quality product, becoming a valuable specialty.

Increase the value of star fruit

When mentioning star fruit, many people will immediately think of the image of a shiny green, oval-shaped fruit that often grows along the banks of rivers and canals in the West. When fresh, star fruit has a characteristic sour and astringent taste. However, when processed into star fruit soaked in sugar, star fruit soaked in salt and chili or star fruit jam, the flavor becomes more attractive, blending sour, sweet, salty and spicy flavors.

Previously, star fruit was often considered a popular snack, few people thought about raising the value of this fruit. However, in Ward 7, Soc Trang City, Mr. Ngo Tuan Thanh (36 years old) spent a lot of time, effort, and money to invest in machinery, turning star fruit into a branded product, known by many people across the country.

Mr. Ngo Tuan Thanh processes star fruit into a branded specialty of Soc Trang province. Photo: Kim Anh.

In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Thanh's family's star fruit garden was laden with fruit. At this time, the consumption of star fruit was facing many difficulties. Seeing the star fruit falling all over the ground, Thanh had a thought: "Why not process star fruit into a product that can be preserved longer and is easier to consume?". From this initial idea, Thanh decided to research and launch his first product, salted star fruit.

“Previously, star fruit was only considered a popular, cheap snack. I want to change that, to turn it into a specialty that is known by many people, has good quality, is processed properly, is safe and has a clear brand,” Thanh shared.

With that determination, he continued to research the market and consumer tastes in many regions. According to Mr. Thanh, sweet and sour star fruit products are still new to consumers in the Northern and Central regions. Meanwhile, the processed star fruit products on the market today are not in sufficient supply due to the disadvantage of being difficult to preserve.

Soc Trang star apples are seeded, better meeting consumer demand. Photo: Kim Anh.

Therefore, Mr. Thanh decided to invest more systematically and accurately in the product. He spent hundreds of millions of dong to import machinery, research processing formulas and test different preservation methods to process crushed canarium fruit, ensuring that the product maintains its quality for a long time. His goal is to turn Soc Trang canarium fruit into a high-quality product that can reach far and wide, not just stopping at the local market.

The beginning was not easy, the crushed canarium fruit product was born, he brought it to introduce at markets and stores in Soc Trang province. However, because the price is higher than the traditionally processed canarium fruit, finding an outlet is not without difficulties.

Flexible in his approach to the market, Mr. Thanh continues to exploit the strengths of social networks to introduce and open more stores to introduce Soc Trang ca na products, located in Can Tho city.

These efforts have brought positive results, compared to the previous consumption of a few boxes per day, the number of orders for crushed star fruit has increased.

The processing of star fruit at Mr. Ngo Tuan Thanh's facility is carried out in a closed process, with the support of machinery, and the preservation time is longer than the traditional processing method. Photo: Kim Anh.

Continuing to record feedback from customers, realizing that customers are reluctant to eat star fruit because the seeds are hard and difficult to eat, Mr. Thanh continued to research and separate the seeds for the product.

At first, the separation of seeds was done entirely by hand, which took a lot of time and effort. He approached mechanical engineers to order the manufacture of a seed separation machine.

After more than 2 years of testing with many different versions. Finally, the complete carambola seed separator was born, helping the processing process to be faster, the product has a beautiful design and retains its freshness for a long time.

Product commercialization

Currently, the products processed from star fruit of Mr. Thanh's facility are carried out in a closed process, from the stage of selecting raw materials to packaging finished products. Fresh star fruit is purchased from gardens in the West, then brought to the factory to separate the seeds; washed with an ozone machine to ensure food hygiene and safety; followed by stages such as: sugaring, freezing and packaging.

Thanks to this process, the star fruit is not astringent but still retains its crunchiness, harmonious sweet and sour taste, and beautiful green color. In particular, the product when stored in the refrigerator will last for more than 1 month, and can be frozen for up to 12 months.

On average, each month, Mr. Ngo Tuan Thanh produces more than 2 tons of seedless star fruit and many other products made from star fruit. Photo: Kim Anh.

With prices ranging from 80,000 - 90,000 VND/500g box, the seedless star fruit product quickly won the trust of customers. Each month, his facility produces more than 2 tons of seedless star fruit. Not stopping there, he also continues to expand production to include dried star fruit and seedless star fruit. After deducting expenses, his monthly profit is up to about 100 million VND.

In the future, Mr. Thanh hopes to bring Soc Trang's canarium fruit products to the international market, especially markets with a large Vietnamese population. On the other hand, he is looking for opportunities to cooperate with large distributors to bring products to supermarkets, gaining a solid foothold in the market.

From a rustic fruit, seemingly only associated with the childhood of people in the West, Soc Trang's canarium fruit has now become a branded specialty, contributing to promoting the culinary beauty of the river region to a large number of domestic and foreign diners.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/ca-na-tu-mon-an-vat-thanh-san-pham-thuong-hieu-d420400.html