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At 67 years old and 43 years in the industry, Mr. Van Nguyen, a senior engineer in food technology, currently living and working in Australia, is still working hard to create ice creams that are loved by many people.
According to SBS, Mr. Van Nguyen’s “creative journey” began in 1974, when he came from Vietnam to Australia to study food technology at the University of New South Wales, with a scholarship from the Australian Government. Immediately after graduating from university in 1980, he was invited to work at Unilever, the world’s leading company in the food industry.
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Van Nguyen, the man who "loves" ice cream |
In his early days at work, Mr. Van Nguyen had only been in Australia for about 5 years. Despite some language barriers, he quickly settled into his job at a multinational company. At first, he worked in quality control, then transferred to the ice cream production department at Streets Ice Cream (an Australian ice cream brand owned by Unilever). After that, he had the opportunity to do many different jobs, from factory technology engineer, process control, quality control, to research and development of new products (R&D). “R&D is the field I love the most because it gives me the opportunity to learn and research new technologies to produce new products for consumers,” Mr. Van Nguyen recalled.
Working at Streets Ice Cream in Minto, not far from Sydney, Van Nguyen said his team is researching initiatives to reduce plastic use, reduce sugar content in ice cream and incorporate plant-based ingredients. An ice cream is considered perfect when it meets the needs of consumers, such as a cool block to help them feel refreshed on a hot summer day, or a Magnum ice cream covered in crispy chocolate to satisfy a chocolate craving. Meanwhile, technically, a good ice cream must have a true, balanced and dense flavor so that it does not melt quickly on the way home from the supermarket. Mr. Van Nguyen shared: "I still eat ice cream as a dessert after dinner."
Van Nguyen was instrumental in creating Unilever’s iconic Magnum ice cream (first launched in 1989), as well as subsequent classics such as Bubble O, Bill, Koala and Olaf. His contributions to Magnum included choosing a chocolate that was thin and crunchy when people bit into it. He says the most important thing is understanding the tastes and preferences of customers and creating the best product. Now, ice creams with less sugar and smaller servings are becoming more popular.
When asked about his advice for the younger generation, the 43-year ice cream master shared: “Whatever you do, you should try to do it well, always pay attention to learning and be an active member when working in a team.” Mr. Van Nguyen is currently training a team of successors to continue developing his proud career after retirement.
Born in Ho Chi Minh City, whenever he has the chance, Mr. Van Nguyen still visits his hometown. Sharing a memorable trip to Vietnam, he said: “In 1996-1997, the company sent me back to Vietnam to support the construction of Unilever's first ice cream factory in Cu Chi. That trip left me with many memories as I met many people working in the engineering industry in Vietnam.” He got married in 1977 and has 2 daughters, both of whom are married. Mr. Van Nguyen's eldest daughter has a 5-year-old son.
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