Journey of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai pottery Last article: Building a brand for Bien Hoa

Lesson 2: Bien Hoa - Dong Nai pottery with low notes in conservation and development

Lesson 3: Bien Hoa - Dong Nai Ceramics Reaches Out to the World Market

Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics are one of the earliest exported products, from the beginning of the 20th century. However, for many years, Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics have not been recognized as a national brand. This will limit the development and expansion of domestic and foreign consumption markets.

Decorative ceramics, decor following new market trends, have more and more export orders. Photo: Ngoc Lien

According to some ceramic manufacturing enterprises in Bien Hoa, due to the early and stable export market, most enterprises only care about product production and ignore the issue of brand building. This affects the sustainable development of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics.

Not yet a national brand

In recent years, Bien Hoa ceramics have not only been highly appreciated for their quality, but also recognized for their timely changes in designs and diverse products, meeting the needs of domestic and foreign markets. However, when the world economy changes and orders decrease, businesses still only wait for their traditional markets to recover without being proactive in finding new markets, as well as finding new directions by enhancing the position of ceramic brands to find ways to approach the market.

As one of the few ceramic enterprises that are making efforts to build their brand to expand the market, Director of Bien Hoa Ceramics Company Limited (Bien Hoa Ceramics) Mai Thanh Xin said that Bien Hoa Ceramics has specialized in trading traditional ceramic products for many years. In the past 3 years, Mr. Xin has started to focus on building the Bien Hoa Ceramics brand and is gradually creating its own brand in the domestic market. Sharing about building a national brand for Bien Hoa ceramics, Mr. Xin said that this is an issue that he is interested in. However, to be certified as a national brand requires many factors and support from functional agencies as well as ceramic enterprises.

According to Mr. Xin, national brands will help local products increase their reputation and position in the market, especially the international market.

“In the context of the current complex global economy, strengthening and building a brand will help products increase their competitiveness. With a brand, businesses will have more opportunities to expand their markets and easily approach partners, especially large partners. I hope that Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics will soon be recognized as a national brand to facilitate the expansion of export markets,” said Mr. Xin.

Qualify to become a national brand

In April 2025, Dong Nai will organize a large-scale Ceramic Festival for the first time. The event aims to honor the values of the traditional ceramic craft of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai; at the same time, promote the unique ceramic products of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai and ceramic products nationwide. The event will take place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30).

Artist Mai Van Nhon, famous for his Bien Hoa ceramic mosaic products, believes that Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics have all the elements to build a national brand. The most distinctive feature of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics is the source of raw materials to create black clay ceramic products as well as decorative ceramics with unique glaze colors.

According to artist Mai Van Nhon, to build and develop a brand for Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics, ceramic makers need to be more sensitive to market consumption trends. Regularly update designs, upgrade works, affirm the Bien Hoa ceramic brand is always of high quality and diverse designs to meet consumer needs. In the current era of digital technology development, the ceramic industry needs to develop the ceramic profession in all aspects, including applying technology in creating ceramic works such as: applying applications to create glaze colors, designing new models... Do not focus too much on having to preserve machines in a conservative way, keeping the old without adapting and creating new ones.

Professor Phan Thi Thu Hien, senior lecturer at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said: “I have studied the values of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai ceramics to advise the province on developing tourism based on the ceramic cultural heritage. Bien Hoa ceramics has a tradition of more than 300 years, is the only Vietnamese ceramic brand recognized internationally, with a characteristic glaze material - green copper glaze with flowers (vert de Bien Hoa)”.

Bien Hoa ceramics is the only case in the country where the ceramic brand name completely matches the local name. Not simply a place name, Bien Hoa ceramic cultural heritage deserves to be an important symbol contributing to the recognition of the local reputation of Bien Hoa in particular, Dong Nai in general. Ceramics in architecture, sculpture, decoration, parallel sentences, large characters... have contributed significantly to the historical value, artistic value, cultural value of many historical relics, many typical works of Bien Hoa.

Sharing about the preservation and development of the pottery profession as well as the goals that the pottery profession is aiming for, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang affirmed that at the upcoming Pottery Festival, businesses and pottery artisans will have the opportunity to connect and share experiences to contribute to promoting the development of traditional pottery in the market economy, promoting the values and brands of pottery to create opportunities for the pottery industry to go further in the international market, while at the same time linking the development of traditional pottery with the development of tourism and services...

Ngoc Lien

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/hanh-trinh-cua-gom-bien-hoa-dong-nai-bai-cuoi-xay-dung-thuong-hieu-cho-gom-bien-hoa-dong-nai-3444106/