Although they are traditional products in the countryside, if the products are not promoted or communicated creatively, not many people will know about them. Recently, many producers have cleverly "breathed life" into their products with many stories that arouse curiosity and exploration. From there, the producers not only create more cultural and spiritual values in their products but also help their products reach further and even penetrate the international market.
From raw materials such as moi, sea fish and salt, combined with the experience of salting and fermenting, many production facilities in the province have produced traditional fish sauce and fish sauce products. Among them, Le Gia Food and Trading Service Company Limited in Hoang Phu Commune (Hoang Hoa) has early registered the label, implemented food hygiene and safety requirements and promoted the product. With the message "Mam Le Gia - the essence of the mother sea" printed on the label as a guide for consumers to learn about the quality and production process. "Mother sea" evokes the closeness, vastness and contains eternal values for coastal people. The "essence" in the product easily arouses users to learn about the product quality by buying and trying it. Then, through the information printed on the label and product box, customers continue to be introduced with visual images and information about the pressing method, then the fish sauce salting technology learned from Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet. Along with that, there is an abundance of rich and stimulating information that is widely spread on the internet platform. From there, more and more customers see the clean production process, the "care" to create drops of amber-colored fish sauce, a light aftertaste and a gentle aroma, completely natural.
According to Mr. Le Ngoc Anh, Director of Le Gia Food and Trading Service Company Limited: “As a brand developed from a family with a long-standing traditional fish sauce making profession in Hoang Hoa district, Le Gia always positions itself as one of the elements of the homeland, region and traditional fish sauce. Our mission is to preserve and develop the traditional fish sauce profession of our ancestors, promote local resources associated with improving and elevating a product that is considered the national soul, which is traditional fish sauce. One of the successes in developing the brand and market is to “breathe life” to create intangible values, elevating the product”.
After nearly 6 years of starting a business, Le Gia fish sauce has been present in major supermarket chains nationwide such as VinMart, Big C, Aeon, Mega Market, Co.op Mart... This is something that no other Thanh Hoa fish sauce and fish sauce brand has been able to do. Notably, at the end of 2023, the company successfully exported batches of shrimp paste to the two most demanding markets in the world, Japan and the United States, becoming the first Vietnamese shrimp paste product to be officially exported to these two countries with very strict food criteria.
In Tho Xuan district, Luan Van grapefruit products have become famous throughout the province and beyond. In recent years, many traders have collected and sold them in many provinces, even the southern provinces, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City markets... But going back to the story more than 10 years ago, this precious grapefruit variety was in danger of extinction. Because in Luan Van village, Tho Xuong commune - the origin of this grapefruit variety, there are only a handful of purebred trees and not many hybrid grapefruit trees. When the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development had a restoration project, the people and Tho Xuan district had quite creative promotion plans for this unique crop. Being named "royal grapefruit" has helped Luan Van grapefruit go from a little-known product to a famous one. The grapefruits are associated with legends related to King Le Loi and the later Le dynasty kings. In addition to the beautiful red color of the ripe gac fruit, many people are certainly curious and want to try the quality of a product that was trusted by ancient kings. From there, the good news spread far and wide, the press joined in, and the market for the product grew further and further.
Similar to Luan Van grapefruit is the development of Bao ginseng products in Vinh Loc district. The phrases "Dai Viet De Nhat Danh Sam" and "Products offered to the King and Lord" are attached to medicinal products on Bao mountain in Vinh Hung commune. Since then, the ginseng raw material area has been expanding, and the market has also grown. Realizing the development potential of the product, recently, businesses have entered into deep processing of the product, organizing the planting and development of Bao ginseng raw material areas. Obviously, simple stories, associated with old stories, when "breathed into life", will help many rural agricultural products have new vitality, creating new values. In fact, both Luan Van grapefruit products and refined products from Bao ginseng have become OCOP products with high sales in the province.
The story of successful market development can be told from a series of other examples of rural products thanks to the addition of stories. The bronze drum product of Thieu Trung commune (Thieu Hoa) is like an additional mission to carry the 4,000-year drum sound of the nation's history. The sedge plants on the sour and salty soil of Nga Son district are breathed into life to become handicraft products that travel throughout the country and are exported to the United States. The product of Banh La Rang Bua in Minh Son commune, Trieu Son district is associated with the story of Ba Trieu using it to reward the army and as food to bring to battles... Currently, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Program also requires production entities to have a "product story" as an appraisal criterion. That is the condition for rural products of Thanh Hoa to integrate multiple values: the crystallization of indigenous resources with advanced processing techniques and technologies, and cultural and social identities, creating a brand for agricultural and rural products. Bottles of fish sauce, rice grains, grapefruits, ducks... are not only tangible products but also contain cultural depth, historical stories... which if we know how to exploit, will bring more added value.
Article and photos: Le Dong
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