Starting a business with red bean pennywort powder, a drink with the flavor of Tien Phuoc countryside

Ms. Thuong's red bean pennywort powder is made from wild pennywort from Tien land. Photo: THUY HIEN

Early in the morning, Ms. Thuong stirs up for her family cups of sweet, fatty, aromatic, warm red bean pennywort powder for breakfast. This is also the creative startup product - green transformation for which she won second prize at the district level in 2024.

From the nutritious and cooling water of pennywort, in the summer of 2024, Ms. Thuong came up with the idea of ​​producing pennywort powder with red beans. “In the countryside, wild pennywort grows a lot, I often pick it to make a drink. Many people also like the fragrant, sweet, slightly bitter aftertaste of wild pennywort but don't have time to make it. Taking advantage of locally available raw materials including two main ingredients, wild pennywort and local red beans, I started to realize my long-cherished passion for starting a business,” Ms. Thuong said.

A 200g box costs 70,000 VND, Ms. Thuong's red bean pennywort powder is continuously ordered by customers. Photo: THUY HIEN

Buying wild pennywort (including leaves, stems, and roots) from people at the price of 40,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, buying red beans for about 45,000 - 55,000 VND/kg, Ms. Thuong has so far produced and sold more than 1,000 boxes. The product is favored by middle-aged and elderly customers in Tien Phuoc district, Tam Ky city.

Gotu kola is carefully soaked and washed before processing. Photo: THUY HIEN

According to Ms. Thuong, in addition to ensuring delicious and nutritious quality, food hygiene and safety criteria are top priority. With wild pennywort and red beans grown entirely organically, Ms. Thuong washes them thoroughly with salt water. Pennywort is freeze-dried, red beans are dried and roasted. Then the pennywort and red beans mixture is ground into powder. And when it reaches consumers, customers just need to dissolve it in hot water and enjoy it like a cereal powder.

Ms. Thuong brought the red bean pennywort powder product to women's startup competitions, displayed and promoted at exhibitions, fairs... Photo provided by the character

Investing more than 80 million VND to buy machinery and being passionate about products made from local materials, Ms. Thuong not only sells to regular customers but also joins the digital transformation trend of selling on social networks and towards e-commerce platforms. However, the woman Tien Ngoc still struggles with the story of finding output and limited supply of raw materials.

[VIDEO] - Ms. Phan Thi Hoai Thuong shares about red bean pennywort powder:

Passionate about starting a business, Ms. Thuong shared her plan: “In the near future, I will research and produce other products from Gotu Kola such as green bean Gotu Kola powder, pure Gotu Kola powder, wild Gotu Kola tea, etc. At the same time, to ensure raw materials for processing, with the support of the local government, I will mobilize people to grow more Gotu Kola on abandoned rice fields, and purchase raw materials so that people can feel secure in their farming.”

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/khoi-nghiep-voi-bot-rau-ma-dau-do-thuc-uong-vi-que-tien-phuoc-3152150.html