With the aim of introducing, promoting and bringing OCOP products closer to consumers, from 2019 to present, dozens of OCOP product display and introduction points have been built in districts, towns and cities in the province. Despite the active support of local authorities and the increasingly diverse ecosystem of OCOP products in the province, many stores displaying and introducing OCOP products are still struggling to find a direction for development and have not yet exploited their potential and advantages.
Booth displaying and introducing OCOP products and regional specialties of Vinaco Production and Trade Cooperative in Thanh Hoa City.
After 5 years of implementation, the OCOP program of Thanh Hoa province has been quite successful in spreading and arousing the will and passion for developing OCOP products among the people. The whole province has 485 OCOP products, including 1 5-star OCOP product and 3 potential 5-star products. Most of the products are highly appreciated by consumers for their quality, widely consumed in domestic and foreign markets and nearly 30 products are exported. However, in reality, one of the consumption channels and consumption connections for OCOP products is the fairs and trade promotion programs organized and connected by departments, branches and units. Through these programs, many products find stable consumption markets, contributing to significantly increasing revenue and profits. Ms. Quach Thi Anh, head of the Huong Que medicinal herbs production cooperative (Thuong Xuan), said: Through fairs and investment promotion conferences, producers can reach out to many potential customers. Thereby, connecting more product consumption contracts and agents inside and outside the province. This is an advantage that when the subject introduces and traditionally trades OCOP products, product display and sales points do not have.
According to statistics, there are currently 16 points and stores introducing and selling OCOP products in the province supported by the budget and dozens of other points invested by entities, enterprises and cooperatives. The reality is that most of the points introducing and selling OCOP products supported by the budget are located in cities, district and town centers, with many advantages, but their operations are not as expected. Some points and stores have even stopped operating not long after receiving support. Meanwhile, most of the business models of OCOP products and other regional specialties, such as: OCOP product stores of Vinaco Production and Trade Cooperative, clean food stores and regional agricultural products Ngoc Diep (Ba Thuoc) ... invested by private sector are still maintained and developing strongly, despite having to bear a lot of pressure on rental fees, staff... Ms. Nguyen Thi Van, Director of Vinaco Production and Trade Cooperative, said: "To maintain the store displaying and selling OCOP products, we have to diversify products, not only trading OCOP products of Thanh Hoa but also of other localities across the country, with a rate of 80% of products of the province and about 20% of products from other provinces. Along with that, the store must create a difference, arrange goods scientifically, beautifully, and package products in accordance with the needs of most customers".
Surveying the actual display and introduction store of OCOP products in Hoang Phu commune (Hoang Hoa) of OCOP Huong Viet Joint Stock Company, it was found that there are hundreds of OCOP products from all districts, towns and cities in the province on display, but they are arranged and cared for neatly and scientifically. The service staff is professional and enthusiastic... With those factors, consumers have the feeling of entering a supermarket selling specialty products. Although the investment cost for premises and staff is quite large, the store operates stably, with revenue of hundreds of millions of VND/month. Mr. Le Van Bac, director of the company, said: "Established at the end of 2023, with the criteria of selecting and trading products suitable for different customer segments, the store is still operating stably and creating good attraction for consumers. In particular, we always count and control the goods sold, thereby identifying the types of products suitable for the tastes of local customers. For new products, which are assessed to have consumer demand, the store imports small quantities, surveys specific needs... and then expands. In addition to direct sales, the store also promotes online sales, with many attractive promotional programs...".
Surveys by professional agencies show that consumer demand for OCOP products, especially products in the food and beverage group, is very high. Therefore, if there is a suitable business strategy, product selection and promotion, stores introducing and selling OCOP products and regional products still have a lot of "room" to develop.
Mr. Phan Xuan Hung, head of the OCOP Program Management Team, under the Provincial New Rural Development Program Coordination Office, said: Building and developing OCOP product display and introduction stores aims to promote propaganda and promotion of brands, quality production processes of OCOP products and specialties of the province to customers, contributing to changing consumers' awareness and approach to using products. At the same time, this work also creates motivation to promote creativity for businesses, cooperatives and people, creating pride in regional and hometown specialties. With the existing system of OCOP product display and introduction stores, the consumption of OCOP products in the province is expected to have many breakthroughs. However, to operate and promote the advantages of OCOP product display and sale stores, store owners must be proactive and flexible in applying digital technology in promoting, marketing and boosting product consumption. At the same time, closely link with production entities along value chains to reduce distribution costs and increase profits in business operations.
Article and photos: Le Hoa
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