Former Commercial Counselor Nguyen Canh Cuong "gives advice" on building Vietnamese product brands in the UK market

Contribute to promoting the signing of EVFTA and UKVFTA

After graduating with a Master's degree in Commerce and Economics from the University of Wollongong, Australia, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong was recruited to the Ministry of Commerce in September 1997. In November 1998, he was sent to Belgium as a commercial attaché. After returning to work at the European-American Market Department and studying the Master's Program in Public Administration at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy - National University of Singapore and the Kennedy School of Government - Harvard University, he was sent to France as a Commercial Counselor (August 2011 - January 2016), to Belgium as a Commercial Counselor (February 2016 - October 2019) and to the UK as a Commercial Counselor (December 2019 - September 2023).

Having been through many important areas for export activities as well as for the economy, performing the role of a Commercial Counselor, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong has spent a long time accompanying businesses and participating in promoting Vietnamese products in the above 3 markets. In particular, he has tried to connect many Vietnamese businesses with foreign businesses and support businesses in resolving trade disputes or handling legal problems in the area.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong (far left) at the Vietnam booth at Balfora Fair 2023. Photo: Vietnam Trade Office in the UK

Right after finishing his term in the UK, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong gave us an interview at his home. Recalling his role as an economic “ambassador” in Europe, he confided that the most memorable honor was to contribute to the effort to promote the signing of the EVFTA and UKVFTA.

" After nearly 30 years of innovation and reform, Vietnam has gradually become an important economic partner of the European Union and the United Kingdom. Vietnam's innovation achievements and open-door policy have helped us gain the trust of international friends and on that basis have promoted their sincere cooperation in Vietnam's economic integration," he shared.

In 2019, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong went to London to take up his assignment. However, less than 3 months later, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the UK. Most direct communication activities were blocked or restricted throughout 2020 until mid-2022. In order not to disrupt the bilateral trade flow between Vietnam and the UK, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong said that the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK has increased the application of technology platforms Zoom, Microsoft team meetings, Cisco Webex meetings to organize online conferences and seminars on the UKVFTA, contributing to promoting the signing of this Agreement.

In addition, the Trade Office has increased coordination with domestic units to organize many online market consultation sessions to provide information for Vietnamese businesses wishing to export to the UK. After the Covid-19 pandemic ended, the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK as well as Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong actively promoted direct trade promotion activities such as participating in fairs, organizing programs to meet Vietnam, and Vietnamese Goods and Cuisine Week in many major cities to connect and create opportunities for Vietnamese goods to reach the UK market.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong - guest of the discussion "Taking advantage of UKVFTA, promoting coffee exports to the UK market" of Cong Thuong Newspaper. Photo: Can Dung

UK Market Access Strategy

The United Kingdom was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam when Vietnam was still fighting for independence and national unification in the 1970s. Over the past 50 years, since the establishment of diplomatic relations (January 11, 1973), Vietnam and the United Kingdom have built a good and developing cooperative relationship.

In March 2008, the two countries issued a Joint Statement to promote the upgrade to a “Strategic Partnership”, Vietnam and the UK have cooperated extensively and effectively, especially in foreign trade relations. In particular, in 2020, Vietnam-UK trade relations were brought to a new level when the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the United Kingdom (UKVFTA) was signed on December 29, 2020 in London.

In 2021, the UKVFTA officially came into effect, creating preferential market access conditions for many Vietnamese products compared to similar products originating from countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the UK.

However, the UK is a market with the most stringent standards and technical barriers in the world. This is a huge challenge for Vietnamese businesses and goods in accessing the UK market. At the same time, this also poses heavy tasks for the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK as well as the commercial counselors in the area.

Faced with the challenges, the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK and Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong himself have made efforts to support and advise businesses on brand building.

Former trade counselor Nguyen Canh Cuong always emphasized that Vietnamese enterprises must build brands and have a market approach strategy that is suitable for the business style and consumer tastes of each market segment with different cultures, religions and origins in the UK. The brand of a product or business must have meaning in English, be easy to pronounce, easy to remember and if it can be associated with a famous film, it can be accepted by consumers.

During his time as a Commercial Counselor in the UK, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong shared that he was very impressed with the way Vinh Hiep Company built the L'amant coffee brand. L'amant means "lover" in French and has the same name as a famous film by director Jean-Jacques Annaud that premiered in 1992. "L'amant coffee has a chance to succeed in Europe if Vinh Hiep Company has a methodical cooperation strategy with distributors in participating in the UK food and drinks Expo, London Coffee Festival and approaching high-end hotels and restaurants in the UK " - Mr. Cuong said.

Some skin care and hair care products under the brand name “Nature Queen” of Sao Thai Duong Company have also been well received by British consumers. According to Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, Sao Thai Duong Company can expand cooperation with major distributors of functional foods and cosmetics in the UK such as Holland & Barrett or Boots to expand market share. "Hopefully Vinh Hiep and Sao Thai Duong will soon choose a specialized distributor to jointly build and implement a correct and targeted brand strategy in the UK market " - Mr. Cuong shared.

The British are generally quite picky, so British businesses are usually only interested in purchasing goods from businesses that have successfully exported to at least one Western European country. Therefore, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong believes that Vietnamese businesses that have successfully entered the German, Dutch or French markets will receive more attention from British businesses than businesses that do not have a product presence in Europe.

The UKVFTA will enter a new phase, with many new opportunities, so Vietnamese goods will be more open. In order to seize the opportunity to develop the market, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong noted that Vietnamese enterprises need to increase market research and analysis to develop products that can meet the expectations of British consumers; design and implement specialized marketing strategies with the participation of local market experts, focusing on digital marketing.

In addition, according to Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, businesses need to participate in major fairs to introduce products and meet buyers; establish long-term and mutually trustworthy partnerships with British businesses; and contact the Association of Vietnamese Enterprises and Entrepreneurs in the UK. "This is the most convenient way to bring Vietnamese goods to the shelves of Vietnamese supermarkets to serve the Vietnamese community in the UK first and then gradually spread to larger supermarket chains in the UK..." - Mr. Cuong emphasized.

Before ending his term in the UK, Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, along with his colleagues and some local experts, completed the book “The UK Market - What You Need to Know” and was published by the Industry and Trade Publishing House at the end of October 2023. Businesses can find branding topics in this book.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/nguyen-tham-tan-thuong-mai-nguyen-canh-cuong-hien-ke-xay-dung-thuong-hieu-hang-viet-tai-thi-truong-anh-304137.html