The woman who brought Hau Giang pangasius brand to international level

Sharing her entrepreneurial journey with Cong Thuong Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Kim Thuy (born in 1974), Director of Ky Nhu Cooperative - in Thanh Hoa commune, Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province, confided that after more than 20 years of fish farming, experiencing failures, she was always worried and troubled when snakehead fish is a famous product of the Mekong Delta, in which Hau Giang province is the first place to breed and has a lot of development potential, but the product is still struggling in the "village pond". Her deep love for her homeland has urged her to find an outlet for the product.

Ms. Thuy said that there were times when she was extremely difficult, losing almost all her capital due to her lack of experience in raising snakehead fish. However, she did not give up, she continued her second entrepreneurial journey by opening a restaurant specializing in fish dishes, including two signature dishes: snakehead fish cakes and snakehead fish with salt and lemongrass. Luckily, this turning point helped her succeed when her fish products were very popular with customers. Many customers, after enjoying them, bought them as gifts.

“ At first, I only made fish cakes and salted fish with lemongrass, but I was struggling to find better quality products, such as how to remove fish bones while still keeping the fish intact in shape and quality. After many experiments, I finally succeeded, creating boneless snakehead fish products. Ky Nhu Cooperative became the first place to process boneless snakehead fish products in Thanh Hoa commune,” Ms. Nhu shared.

In particular, according to Ms. Nhu, thanks to the benefits and nutrients from the snakehead fish that are good for health such as providing a lot of protein, lipids, minerals, calcium, vitamins A, D, E... and especially the high omega content, it is very good for children in the growing age and the elderly who need nutritional supplements. Many people who use the product have given very good feedback. From here, it has helped Ms. Nhu have the motivation to realize her dream, bringing the snakehead fish of her homeland to a large number of consumers at home and abroad.

To expand the market, first of all, we must build a separate brand for the product. Accordingly, in 2015, after studying the standards, Ms. Thuy determined to register the exclusive brand of Ky Nhu snakehead fish, with some typical products such as: snakehead fish cake, grated snakehead fish, seasoned fish cake, boneless and seasoned snakehead fish. And from there, she began her journey of marketing and promoting her products at specialty stores, supermarkets, fairs, etc.

Once she had some capital, she began to expand the farming area to meet VietGap standards and build a processing factory, register a business license, link with farmers, and create a product supply chain that is strictly controlled from the farming area to the processing stage according to quality control procedures (HACCP, ISO 22000) to storage and preservation.

And the memorable milestone was in 2019, Ky Nhu Cooperative was established - with her wish to create a chain of links to support development, create stability, sustainability, expand the market, bring profits to members and create jobs for many local workers.

Thanks to Ms. Nhu’s boldness, people in the commune and district also “benefited”. Currently, the Cooperative has been the sole consumer of products for many districts in the province and neighboring provinces, while helping many people have jobs and increase their income.

From 11 members at the beginning, after only 3 years of operation, Ky Nhu Cooperative has increasingly grown in the number of workers (now 52 members).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ut, Chairwoman of the Farmers' Association of Phung Hiep District, said: Currently, Ky Nhu Cooperative employs 30 regular workers, and during the crop season, the number can increase by 2-3 times, in which female rural workers have jobs and stable income. The average income of workers is 90 million VND/year.

In particular, Ky Nhu Cooperative has gradually affirmed its brand position in the market as well as in the hearts of customers across the country. Currently, Ky Nhu Cooperative has a raw fish production area of ​​16 hectares, with an output of about 1,000 tons/year (including 400 tons of processed products and 600 tons of raw products).

To meet the requirements of product quality and market, Ky Nhu Cooperative has invested in modern technology, meeting the strict requirements of consumers for quality products, such as: Solar dryer, sausage stuffing machine, quick freezer, pellet machine, sausage boiling machine, packaging machine, stamping machine...

Aware of the increasing demand for clean and safe food, Ky Nhu Cooperative has planned and built fish farming areas that meet VietGap standards. In addition, the Cooperative also applies HACCP and ISO 22000 standards (Food Safety Certification and Quality Management System) in the food production and processing process.

Thanks to the good quality from the farming area to the production process, Ky Nhu Cooperative has been granted many certificates and awards by state agencies such as the Certificate of exclusive industrial design of product labels for Ky Nhu facility; 2 Certificates of typical rural industrial products at the regional level with boneless and spiced snakehead fish products and fresh snakehead fish cakes; Certificate of typical rural industrial products at the national level with fresh snakehead fish cakes issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade; typical OCOP products of the Mekong Delta region. The "Cooperative Star" Award in 2024 and Ms. Nguyen Kim Thuy was honored to be voted as an Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer in 2024. In May 2024, Ky Nhu Cooperative was honored to receive a certificate of merit from the Prime Minister for being an excellent farmer...

As of September 2024, Ky Nhu Cooperative has 30 agents in 20 provinces and cities nationwide; has distributed to large supermarket systems such as: Mega supermarket system, Bach Hoa Xanh supermarket system, Tu Son supermarket system...

The cooperative has also cooperated with Phan Ton Trading Company Limited (Ho Chi Minh City) to process export goods to the US market; opened a distribution branch on Au Co Street, Ho Chi Minh City. Notably, in October 2023, she exported a shipment of 20 tons of sliced ​​​​catfish patties and boneless seasoned sliced ​​​​catfish to the US market and in May 2024, she exported a second shipment of 20 tons.

In 2024, with the support of Hau Giang province in investing in infrastructure, Ky Nhu Cooperative invested in expanding the factory with a total investment of 15 billion VND. According to Ms. Nhu, after the factory is completed, the maximum capacity of the factory can produce 12 tons per day with about 100 workers. The factory investment is the basis for Ky Nhu to aim to improve product quality, meeting enough standards to be able to export products from the Ky Nhu brand itself.

Ky Nhu Cooperative not only brings domestic consumers quality products but also increasingly expands production and advances to foreign markets. Ky Nhu Cooperative always maintains its development orientation, focusing on diversifying markets and products associated with sustainable development; innovating on the basis of ensuring product quality, reasonable prices, meeting market demand.

Up to now, Ky Nhu Cooperative has both raw material areas (fish fry, fish farming ponds), preliminary processing, processing and canning areas. There are up to 14 products made from snakehead fish, of which 7 products from snakehead fish named Ky Nhu are recognized as achieving 4-star OCOP at the provincial level; in addition, there is also a product of dried striped snakehead fish (dried peanuts) achieving 4-star OCOP.

Following the initial success, Ky Nhu Cooperative is currently promoting registration to recognize two products of Ky Nhu seasoned boneless snakehead fish and Ky Nhu fresh snakehead fish cake that meet 5-star OCOP standards, reaching the export level.

To improve product quality and production scale, according to the Director of Ky Nhu Cooperative, the Cooperative will continue to invest in more facilities, tighten the closed, clean and safe processing process so that all products meet 5-star OCOP standards. With the motto of continuous cooperation and development, our Cooperative will strive to create increasingly high-quality products. This is not only the pride of Ky Nhu but also the pride of Hau Giang when our products not only conquer the domestic market but also the international market " , Ms. Thuy affirmed .

However, according to Ms. Thuy, one of the current difficulties is the competition of similar products on the market when the quality is not uniform, leading to difficulties in output for quality products. Accordingly, Ms. Thuy recommends that state agencies need to have specific regulations on safety policies for consumers, and at the same time have orientations to help quality product brands develop sustainably, bringing high value to clean products.

Hau Giang has advantages in terms of land, climate, water resources... so it is very favorable for developing aquaculture areas. Pangasius is one of the five main agricultural products of Hau Giang province. Up to now, the pangasius farming area of ​​the province has reached about 100 hectares, concentrated in Phung Hiep district, Long My town... The province strives to have a pangasius farming area of ​​150 hectares by 2025, with pangasius output of 13,500 tons.

With the contribution of Ky Nhu Cooperative with many products recognized as OCOP, it has contributed to improving the value and quality of snakehead fish in Thanh Hoa, thereby helping the local fish farming industry develop.

Regarding the output orientation for the product in the coming time, according to the Director of Ky Nhu Cooperative, in addition to continuing to expand investment and diversify distribution channels, the members of the Cooperative hope that the product will be linked to eco-tourism, garden tourism or community tourism. Therefore, the Cooperative is currently orienting to build a specialized farming area associated with processing snakehead fish so that tourists can directly visit the production process and feel secure when buying the Cooperative's products.

Do Nga

Graphics: Hong Thinh

Do Nga - Hong Thinh

Source: https://congthuong.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-dua-thuong-hieu-ca-that-lat-hau-giang-vuon-tam-quoc-te-353636.html