Taking advantage of the natural advantages of abundant oyster supply from nature and farming areas in Van Don area, Quang Ninh Seafood Production and Trading Company Limited (Bavabi) has invested in technology and modern deep processing machinery to extract the essence of Van Don sea, increase product value and aim for global export.
Leaving the State to open a company… processing shrimp floss
In early October, CEO of Quang Ninh Seafood Production and Trading Company Limited (Bavabi) Pham Thi Thu Hien had almost no time to rest. She had to travel continuously between Quang Ninh and Hanoi. Therefore, the meeting with us was hastily arranged by her on a rather late rainy afternoon at the coastal production workshop in Van Don.
At the beginning of the story, Ms. Hien said that before "falling in love" with the company, she had spent 10 years researching in the field of food processing for state agencies. It was also during this period that the idea of starting a business emerged when she realized that many research topics were very useful but were just "stuffed in the desk drawer". Born and raised in Van Don, she always had a dream of increasing the value of native oysters. How to bring this specialty into large supermarkets and have a "positioning" of national stature.
Fishermen have long sold only fresh oysters without thinking about deep processing, while Van Don has great potential. Fresh products are immediately sold after being caught, making it difficult to preserve and maintain their freshness. - CEO of Quang Ninh Seafood Production and Trading Company Limited (Bavabi) Pham Thi Thu Hien
By the end of 2014, Ms. Hien decided to quit her job and set up her own business to embark on a project to research the technological process of processing Pacific oysters into dried oysters and seasoned oysters in Quang Ninh. At this time, Bavabi was also the first enterprise to make products from oysters.
Pointing to the old land located right near the factory gate, she said: In the early days, her company only had a row of corrugated iron-roofed workshops with about a dozen workers. Despite being the Director, the "boss" also had to roll up her sleeves and work with everyone. Originally a technical person, when she first started her business, she felt bewildered everywhere, lacking both skills and experience.
Quang Ninh Seafood Production and Trading Company Limited (Bavabi) today.
“I had to learn from A to Z, with dozens of different courses, such as taking CEO classes, learning about finance, human resource management, learning about salaries, managing sales teams, etc. Learning a lot is not to do it directly, but so that when hiring staff, I have enough knowledge to interact well with them,” Hien shared.
Just working, testing and “taking it step by step”, at the end of this year, the first oyster floss product was born in the immense joy of all members. However, almost immediately, that “brainchild” encountered difficulties.
“The biggest problem with oyster floss at that time was to solve the… fishy smell,” Bavabi CEO said as he introduced the product. “Oysters have a characteristic fishy smell, and the meat is soft and easily broken. Therefore, the processing stage requires a very high level of quality to ensure both deliciousness and full nutritional value,” Ms. Hien explained.
Therefore, when introducing the “first generation” product at trade fairs, many customers complained because it did not suit their taste. After each time like that, the production team started to re-create the formula from scratch, adjusting and reducing it to make it more reasonable.
Bavabi, is the name thought up by a businesswoman from Van Don, with the implication of a sea treasure. Bavabi aims to preserve, develop and elevate the specialties of the rich land of Van Don.
By 2016, after many improvements, Bavabi oyster floss product was truly completed and achieved the only product certification ranked 5-star OCOP by Quang Ninh province in 2016. Also during this period, Bavabi became a typical startup unit of Quang Ninh province, receiving a certificate of merit from Quang Ninh province for its outstanding achievements in organizing the implementation of the project "Quang Ninh province - one product per commune and ward".
Bavabi oyster floss was ranked 5-star OCOP by Quang Ninh province in 2016.
Recalling the first challenging period, Ms. Hien said: The greatest luck for her was that Quang Ninh province always created conditions for her to participate in many trade promotion fairs, from the North to the South, even abroad. Each trip added a new lesson.
In addition, in the seafood processing industry, most businesses are only interested in processing and exporting frozen products, not many businesses pay attention to deep processing and increasing product value. "Bavabi is thriving because the market has no competitors", she understands and appreciates that very well.
Now the name Bavabi is very famous, not only in Quang Ninh, but also in the food industry nationwide because it is a pioneer in the field of processing high-quality instant products from seafood. Products such as oyster floss, fish floss, shrimp floss... under the Bavabi brand have quickly won over domestic consumers.
Invest in technology for the long haul
Before entering the processing plant, we were required to disinfect and change our protective gear according to standards. In the “near sterile” room, about 20 neatly dressed workers were working urgently.
Explaining the process in more detail, Ms. Hien said that to ensure a supply of quality fresh oysters, Bavabi has participated in a local chain model. During the entire farming process, the owner must commit to following the correct process. Water and oyster samples are sent to the competent authority for inspection every two months.
To ensure a supply of quality fresh oysters, Bavabi has joined a local chain model. During the entire farming process, the owner must commit to following the correct procedures. Water and oyster samples are sent to the competent authority for inspection every two months.
“After 4-5 months, the oysters are harvested. At this time, the product will be cleaned of parasitic algae and the meat will be separated. The oyster meat is rinsed through an ozone tank and then washed many times with diluted salt water to remove the slime before being put into the stir-fry machine,” the owner continued.
Oysters are stir-fried for about 15 minutes at 140-150 degrees Celsius, the oyster meat is dried, shredded and mixed, weighed, bottled and then sterilized by hot pressure for about 3 hours at 121 degrees Celsius, then labeled and shipped to the point of consumption.
Bavabi workers put oyster floss into the machine.
Almost 100% of the steps are done by machine, so it ensures food safety and hygiene and does not lose nutrients in oyster meat. Although no preservatives are used, the product has a shelf life of up to 12 months.
In addition, Ms. Hien added that in recent times, the company has also promoted technology to be able to… go the long way. Specifically, the company has proactively invested in automatic, closed washing, cleaning, and bottling lines, ensuring absolute food hygiene and safety, replacing the previous manual methods to improve productivity and product quality.
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[/caption]The company also regularly changes packaging, diversifies products, and optimizes convenience for consumers. Thanks to that, the company's products have been well received and highly appreciated by the market. Many products have been distributed to large domestic supermarket systems. Some products are also under contracts with partners to supply and consume in foreign markets.
In addition, through training courses and instructions on applying productivity and quality improvement tools organized by the province, the Company has changed its facilities to meet ISO 22000 and HACCP standards.
With the purchase price of oysters ranging from 4,000-12,000 VND/kg of all kinds of oysters, the oyster floss product through deep processing technology has a selling price of up to 135,000 VND/jar (100g). From there, raising the level of local agricultural products.
Ms. Hien added that the company currently needs to purchase a lot of fresh ingredients every day for processing. Compared to the market, the owners of the establishments when selling through Bavabi benefit about 10% in price. Currently, oyster floss products are mainly distributed through supermarkets and food stores nationwide. In addition, Bavabi products are also distributed through social networking sites and e-commerce platforms.
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[/caption]Temporarily “relaxed” with the first stage, but Ms. Hien said, the challenge for Bavabi has actually just… begun. The first 9 years of life were actually just the period when Bavabi asserted itself on the “home field”. In the long term, she wants to bring oyster products in particular, and Van Don seafood in particular, to the world.
In the long term, I want to bring oyster products in particular, and Van Don seafood in particular, to the world. CEO of Quang Ninh Seafood Production and Trading Company Limited (Bavabi) Pham Thi Thu Hien
In the near future, the Company is continuing to research and launch many other products such as oyster floss, stir-fried oysters, oyster sauce, instant oysters. In addition to the above products, Bavabi is also interested in producing products with high economic value and high technology requirements, which are oyster essence as raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry. This is a product with great economic value, requiring large investments in technological lines.
Further, the female CEO of Van Don wants to build a stable raw material area to prevent risks from nature; at the same time, improve the quality of product input.
“I think, to be able to ‘go the long way’, we need to raise standards, first of all starting with standardizing the legal corridor, re-planning the farming areas from the government. We have to find a way to stand firm on our own home ground, before starting to… swim out to the big ocean”, Ms. Hien worried.
I think, to be able to 'go the long way', we need to raise the standards, first of all starting with standardizing the legal corridor, re-planning the farming areas from the government. We must do something so that we can stand firm on our own home ground, before starting to... swim out to the big sea. CEO of Quang Ninh Seafood Production and Trading Company Limited (Bavabi) Pham Thi Thu Hien
Sharing more about her future plans, she said that the company will continue to research and update machinery and technology lines to gradually modernize oyster processing and seafood products, meeting export demands and approaching the standards of demanding markets.
Evaluating further the significance of the OCOP program, the businesswoman commented: “This is a very humane target program, contributing to changing products from street vendors, unlabeled products to products with regional and even national brands.”
Organized by: XUAN BACH Content: SON BACH Photo: THANH DAT Presented by: SONG THU-NGOC BICH
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