WORDS ON THE STREET 70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / Economy / Trade - Service
Vietnamese brand branches out to the world
Translated by Anh Dat 19:05, 2016/12/30
Many Vietnamese enterprises have branched out to the world and made contribution to bringing Vietnamese brands closer to international consumers.
Quality improvement, joint-venturing or direct investment in constructing plants, merger & acquisition, etc. are strategies that domestic enterprises are applying to branch out to the world.
Products “made in Vietnam” sold in U.S. supermarkets
In late June, at the Summer Fancy Food Show (New York, United States), Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) introduced two dairy products manufactured in Vietnam, including condensed milk and creamer in the United States. Immediately after the Fair, the two products were present in supermarkets in Arizona and California State, marking a new progressive step in the plan to bring dairy products “made in Vietnam” to the world market.
To be able to bring dairy products “made in Vietnam” to supermarkets in one of the world's dairy powers, Vinamilk has utilized its subsidiary company - Driftwood Dairy in California State.
The acquisition of a dairy manufacturing plant in the United States (Driftwood) surprised many people because the United States is a power in manufacturing and processing dairy products with thousands of brands and fierce competition. That a dairy company of Vietnam acquires a U.S. dairy brand which has existed for hundreds of years and is suffering loss is an adventurous investment.
According to the leaders of Vinamilk, the time when this Company purchased 70% of the share of Driftwood Dairy at US$ 7 million in 2013 was when this company encountered financial difficulty.
However, this brand has a long history and is one of the key school's dairy product supplier in North California. Therefore, through the survey and assessment, Vinamilk still decide to invest and believe that it can bring this company through difficulty and will soon earn profit.

 
Photo for illustration
Photo for illustration
To acquire 70% of the share of Driftwood and continue the school's dairy program, the Company will have to meet the local educational managers to present the plan on development and production as well as quality undertaking and finally it is approved. After 2 years of investment, Driftwood started to earn profit and in late 2015, Vinamilk negotiated to buy 100% of the share of this Company.
"Driftwood is a buffer step for Vinamilk to bring Vietnamese dairy products to the United States and is also the place for manufacturing specialized dairy products such as organic dairy products to sell back to Vietnam” - said Mr. Do Thanh Tuan - Head of the External Relation Division of Vinamilk.
In addition to the United States, the dairy products manufactured in Vietnam of this Company have appeared in over 40 countries and territories. However, few people know that to be able to bring the dairy products to the world, leaders of the company have coped with numerous difficulties, or even the threat of losing their life.
The core is quality
Having just completed orders for a partner in the Korea Republic for products related to kitchen utilities, the General Director of Duc Thanh Wood Processing Joint Stock Company Le Hong Thang is in a hurry to deploy orders which have been signed in two new markets, including Colombia and Myanmar. “We have just been able to exploited this market through Vietnam's Commercial Counselor Trade Offices in those countries. Despite being new, the potentiality is very optimistic because our products are suitable for the demands in these markets” - said Mr. Thang with eagerness.
With the experience of over 20 years of "exporting" to over 45 countries, to date, Duc Thanh has gained a firm foothold in about 20 countries, including countries which are famous for absolute-safety quality standard for NTD such as Japan, EU, Korea Republic, etc. “We have appeared and obtained very stable orders” - Mr. Thang revealed.
I am also ambitious to branch out the international market, said Mr. Nguyen Than Trung - Chairman and CEO of Ton Dong A Corporation said that the Company had exported 8,000 tons of galvanized steel, worth about US$ 5.5 million to the United States in the mid week of August. This is one of the lots in the total contract signed by Ton Dong A with the U.S. partners, with the value of up to US$ 60 million in 2016.
At the end of the first 6 months of 2016, the export value of Ton Dong A reached US$ 45 million. With the target to obtain the export value of over US$ 100 million in 2016, Mr. Trung said optimistically: “We will be able to realize it with the growth of 40% compared to last year”.
After the success in the domestic market, over the past year, Vinamilk has taken specific steps in the investment overseas with all the projects having brought in success. Not only the direct investment in foreign markets, the Company has also boosted the products made in Vietnam to the world market.
To date, the Company's products have appeared in over 40 countries and territories in the world, with the total revenue of US$ 250 - 270 million/year which has constantly increased year by year.
According to Ms. Mai Kieu Lien - General Director of Vinamilk, to realize the plan of becoming one of the top 50 dairy groups in the world, the Company considers the oversea investment to be the main strategy in the coming time. “Every company wants to conquer the domestic market - where it was born and then branches out to the world.
To compete with other countries, the most important factors are the global quality standard, reasonable price and service style. To be success outside the border, we need to become an expert in our field” - said Ms. Lien.
Sign contract in bombs
In 1998, a trade promotion delegation of Vietnam, including 27 people with the businesses such as dairy, cooking oil, detergents, garments, etc. led by the Deputy Minister of Industry - Mr. Le Huy Con visited Iraq to seek for export contracts. When the delegation reached Dubai (UAE), there was information about the war in Baghdad, so there was dispute about whether to proceed or not, finally they decided to enter Iraq.
To assure the safety, Iraq's Ministry of Commerce organized the negotiation with Vietnamese delegation in a bomb shelter. Dairy product is the product which required the longest duration for negotiation and had the contract signed for the latest because the price offered by Iraq was very firm.
After exchanging to nearly 2 AM, the contract to sell diary products to Iraq was signed with the value of over US$ 100 million out of the total value of US$ 700 million of the Vietnamese delegation. “It is a great turning point for Vinamilk when being able to sign a big export contract to the world. This contract created a premise for the strong development of the Company latter” - said Ms. Lien.

 
Other news
22:57, 2024/11/29
Hanoi controls fruit traders to ensure safety
By encouraging all stakeholders to co-operate, Hanoi aims to improve food safety standards and protect public health.
18:45, 2024/11/28
Vietnam, Hesse (Germany) promote high-tech cooperation
Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Hesse has reached around EUR1 billion (US$1.05 billion) annually, accounting for one-tenth of total trade between Vietnam and Germany.
15:34, 2024/11/27
Big discounts on offer at Hanoi's November Promotion Festival
The event is part of the Hanoi Concentrated Promotion Program 2024, held in May, July, and November, attracting up to 2,000 businesses.
17:23, 2024/11/26
Hanoi unveils 150 most popular Vietnamese products and services for 2024
The "Most Popular Vietnamese Products" voting program is part of the city's broader efforts to encourage the consumption of local goods.
16:50, 2024/11/23
Hanoi hosts the Vietnam Regional Specialties Fair 2024
This year's fair will contribute to the promotion of trade and the expansion of typical regional products, especially agricultural and food products that meet export standards.
14:06, 2024/11/20
Hanoi strengthens export competitiveness and trade protection measures
Hanoi will work with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to ensure that businesses and manufacturers are ready for new challenges.