Billionaire's classmate tells story of bringing Vietnamese spices abroad

Mr. Nguyen Trung Dung - founder and General Director of Dh Foods Joint Stock Company - is a classmate of billionaire Nguyen Dang Quang in middle and high school. He has lived, studied and worked in Poland for 30 years.

After 3 startups, Mr. Dung said he once had millions of dollars in foreign countries and also sold his company to a Vietnamese billionaire in Ukraine. But after the 2007-2008 global economic crisis, he was left with nothing.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year 2010, Mr. Dung stepped down from Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, starting a new journey. The nearly 50-year-old man at that time did not imagine that he would start a business for the fourth time.

And now, he is called the "boss" of specialty spices. He is still continuing his journey to bring Vietnamese spices around the world , with a burning desire to affirm the quality of Vietnamese products to international friends.

13 years ago, when you returned home, how did you feel when you set foot on the airport on a New Year's morning when everyone was happily gathering?

- I started a business 3 times and the 3rd time failed, not financially successful along with a crisis in my personal life. In 2009, I accidentally met my high school friend online. After about half a year of talking back and forth, we decided that at the age of 50, we had nothing left to lose so we would try a new life, a new environment.

In Poland, before becoming a millionaire, I did many jobs. When I decided to return to Vietnam, I thought I was healthy, hard-working and would find a job. So I bought a ticket to fly back. It was a coincidence that I returned on the first day of Tet, because I only had the ticket at that time.

I was a little nervous when I landed at the airport, knowing that my life would turn to a new page, in a rather strange environment. Although I am Vietnamese, I studied abroad since I was 19 years old, and lived in Poland for 30 years, so the Vietnamese environment was relatively unfamiliar to me.

But with my daring and courageous nature, I am not afraid. I believe that whether I work for someone or become my own boss, I will be able to take care of myself.

I know that you studied with Mr. Nguyen Dang Quang, Chairman of Masan , in middle and high school. You also sold instant noodles, and so did Mr. Quang. And now Mr. Quang is a billionaire, and he is still starting a business. Do you ever feel sad when thinking about that?

- I was Quang's classmate, and we still see each other now. However, you are a billionaire, and I am still a small entrepreneur. But if you ask me if I feel sad, I say no.

When I first started my business, I made a lot of money, owned a 2-hectare garden villa, had 24/7 security, had my own gardener, my own cook, but I didn't feel happy, I didn't feel joyful.

After that, I sold the company to a Vietnamese billionaire in Ukraine, took a few years off, and then started a third business. At that time, I wanted to do it big right away because I thought that with experience and a lot of money, I would definitely succeed, but at that time the world fell into an economic crisis and that start-up was not successful.

After 3 startups, I realized that happiness is not when you have a lot of money. Having a lot of money makes you busy, you don't have time to spend money, enjoy life. Now, I still play football 2 times a week, have my own happiness, life and work are both very happy.

In the past, I thought that I had to buy a big villa and drive a luxury car to be happy. Now that I am back in Vietnam, I ride an Attila motorbike or a Grab, but I am very happy because I feel free and unattached. Freedom is more important to me, but I still have to make sure I make a living.

Today, I think about it and do not regret my decision to return to Vietnam that year, do not feel jealous of my friends, and still enjoy my daily life. For the past 11 years since Dh Foods, I have been going to work every day and I am happy.

I hope young people today also feel happy when going to work, don't take money as the main goal, know how to balance then life will be more sustainable. Tech billionaires initially started their businesses because of passion, they were creative, made new things to serve the community and then the money will come. If you do it because of passion, when you succeed you will have both money and joy.

With the belief that "whether working for hire or being a boss, you can take care of yourself", what job will you do after returning home?

- Before returning home, I met a university friend who was then the controlling shareholder of a large food company in Vietnam. When he heard that I wanted to return to Vietnam, he invited me to join the board of directors.

During my 2 years of working, I had the opportunity to travel all over Vietnam and found that Vietnam has many interesting things, each region has its own specialties.

During my 2 years of working, from the position of Deputy General Director to General Director and then Chairman of the Board of Directors, I contributed to the nearly doubling of sales growth. After that, I decided to quit my job to do what I love and that was starting my 4th business.

So what opportunity led you to decide to open a spice company in this fourth startup?

- During 2 years of traveling across Vietnam, I realized that there are many types of specialty spices in different regions, but consumers only commonly use soy sauce, chili sauce, seasoning powder, and MSG.

In Poland for 30 years, I saw that Europeans use a lot of spices, especially herbs. In Vietnam, it is less. I believe that as Vietnam develops, the need for delicious food and delicious spices will increase.

I love food, and spices are the soul of food. I want to promote regional spices to domestic consumers, then introduce them internationally.

The first spice I chose was Tay Ninh shrimp salt, during a business trip to Cambodia.

When passing through the border gate, the marketing staff went down to buy shrimp salt and chili salt as gifts. I was surprised because Tay Ninh has no sea, so there is no salt. But because they have no salt, no sea, they have to make salt that can be kept for a long time.

10 years ago, consumers could only buy Tay Ninh shrimp salt in Tay Ninh or Ho Chi Minh City, but now it is available anywhere, partly thanks to our company's contribution.

After that, we developed 4-5 more spices and now there are more than 100, but that's nothing because Vietnamese spices are very rich.

From the beginning, I aimed for the company's products to be natural ingredients, without additives or preservatives. I aimed to distribute to domestic supermarket systems, where consumers could accept a slightly higher price but guaranteed quality.

Our product prices are often higher than those of other companies in the same industry, because we prioritize the use of natural ingredients, no additives, and no artificial preservatives.

The product has been exported since 2016 to 10 countries, mainly Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, European countries such as UK, France, Netherlands, Germany; and even to the US.

The new company has a kumquat sauce product, which is a dipping sauce for beef steak, sold from October 2022, and has been introduced to some supermarket systems. I noticed that China has plum sauce, Thailand has very famous mango sauce.

As for Vietnam, being a tropical country, there are many kinds of fruits such as kumquat, mango, orange, lemon, grapefruit, avocado, gac fruit… All of them can be used as spices. Not to mention, every year, we occasionally hear calls to rescue fruits. If fruits can be used as spices, it would be both fun and proud. Foreigners love creativity and also love fruits.

The company has tried more than ten types of fruit and selected 4-5 of the most special ones. Hopefully this year, the company can introduce these products to the market.

Making products without additives or preservatives, has the company encountered any "accidents" with the products?

- In the first 3-4 years, the company had to recall and destroy many products because they were damaged before the deadline and accepted the loss during that time. Later, when the production process was more complete and experienced, the rate of defective products was lower, currently only less than 1%.

If a product is defective, we recall it. The company chose the chemical-free path and accepted that it would be more difficult than other paths.

Why did he choose the difficult path?

- I don't like chemicals. I lived in Poland for 30 years, people prioritize natural products that are good for health.

I also want to make products with such guarantees, so that Vietnamese consumers have the opportunity to use good products, to conquer large and demanding markets in the world.

What percentage of total revenue does export revenue currently account for?

- Exports account for 10% of revenue, of which Japan accounts for half. The goal is that in the next 3-5 years, exports will account for 30-40% of revenue.

For me, exporting requires perseverance. To export to Japan, we had to negotiate for 2 years, to the Netherlands for 1 year. As for France, from October 2022, we brought goods to the exhibition in Paris, before that, there was a connection from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, so in December we had orders.

In April this year, the products were available in the two leading French supermarket chains, Carrefour and E.Lerclerc. In addition to Dh Foods, Vietnam also has products from Loc Troi and Acecook sold in those two supermarkets.

After participating in the Natural Expo West exhibition last March, we are negotiating with a number of major importers and distributors in the US, some of whom have flown back to Vietnam to inspect and visit the factory.

We promote participation in exhibitions in countries where we want to sell our products. Normally, when we send emails and samples, they don’t care, but when we go to exhibitions, they are willing to listen to our presentation and introduction.

About 1 month ago, we participated in the SIAL Shanghai exhibition in China, many buyers and distributors in supermarkets were very interested in Vietnamese spices.

Currently, the economic difficulties affect domestic consumption and exports. How is the situation at your company?

- Before 2022, my company's sales grew by an average of 50% per year for 6 consecutive years. By 2022 and into 2023, this rate will only be about 10%.

But according to many Supermarket Buyers, this is a fairly high growth rate compared to the industry in the current context, in the supermarket there are many product lines that have decreased by 30-40%. We have grown thanks to efforts to expand distribution channels such as exporting and developing new products.

Previously, the company focused on modern distribution channels, namely supermarkets and convenience stores. Currently, the company's products are available in traditional channels such as markets and grocery stores.

Regarding exports, as I said, the company is diligently going to exhibitions to find customers and has achieved remarkable results, gaining more customers in France and is negotiating with customers in the US.

My company chose the path of sustainable development, slow but sure. The result after 10 years went from zero to 160 billion VND in revenue. I realized that starting a business is like running a long distance, being careful, slow and sure but going far. It also gives me and the company a sense of sustainability and certainty. Starting a business is a journey, not about achieving a really big goal.

With the view of going slow and steady, it seems like you will only start a business for the 4th time?

- I hope so too. I have started three successful businesses and paid the price for my haste when I was young. I could have taken out quick loans and high interest loans to help the company grow quickly. But in the long term, it was not as sustainable as it is now.

What is sustainability? It is building a team of close-knit associates who together create long-term values ​​for consumers. In previous startups, in 3 years the company achieved sales like it has in 10 years now. But now is the time that makes me feel happiest.

But if you go too slowly, when will you become a millionaire?

- Do you think 50% growth for 6 consecutive years is slow or fast? During the current crisis, the company still maintains a growth rate of 10% and hopes to reach 30% after the economy recovers.

The world market is vast, the number of Vietnamese goods sold abroad is still very small. Supermarkets in the US and France do not have Vietnamese goods. There is still a lot of room for export.

As a spice company, what is your dream?

- First, I hope the company develops sustainably and continuously, has good income to pay decent salaries to employees, has money to invest in development, and brings Vietnamese spices to the world.

More than 20 years ago, when I was in Poland, having just graduated from university, an economics professor, who was also an acquaintance, told me: "Vietnam has no exportable products". At that time, in the early 90s, I felt heartbroken when I heard that because it was the truth. Only when you live abroad can you understand the feeling of how to affirm that you are Vietnamese, and how valuable Vietnamese products are.

When I see Vietnamese products on supermarket shelves abroad, I feel very proud. When we exported spices to Japan, many Vietnamese people living there texted me to share that they were very proud to see Vietnamese products on supermarket shelves.

In the past, Vietnamese products were only sold in Vietnamese stores or Asian stores. Therefore, exporting is not only about profit, it is also about joy and pride.

It seems that the professor's words have left a deep impression on your mind?

- Definitely! And that is also the motivation for me to prove that Vietnamese products are of good quality.

To bring Vietnamese brands to the world, one must be persistent, patient, and willing to invest at first. Currently, Vietnam produces many good quality products but they do not carry their own brands.

Branding is a long-term process. Nowadays, it is not difficult to produce good quality products, but it is difficult to convince consumers around the world that it is a good product.

To be successful, I think you must first be meticulous from the smallest things, unless you can't do it, you have to accept it. Vietnam always says exporting to Japan and Europe is difficult, but I don't find it difficult if you do it meticulously from the beginning.

During exhibitions, we translate and print media publications in the local language, such as SIAL Shanghai in Chinese, Thaifex in Thai, Seoul Food in Korean, in addition to English throughout.

Personally, when I attend a Vietnamese exhibition, if a foreign company has packaging in Vietnamese, I also like and have sympathy for that company. When our products are exhibited in France, we also translate the catalogue (documents, advertising publications) into French. The partners said that they appreciate us for the little things, thanks to that, we had a contract within a few months.

Supermarkets in Japan also require companies to sign a commitment that if anything happens, they must compensate according to the requirements of the host country. We signed it right from the start. Our Japanese customers also told us many cases where the sample products were good, but the delivered goods were not up to standard. They asked for a new shipment, which was also not up to standard.

They asked for their money back, the Vietnamese company replied that Vietnamese law does not allow banks to return deposits. They asked us to ask the Vietnamese bank, but that information was incorrect. The other company was willing to ignore a big customer for small profits. That also partly reduces Vietnam's reputation in the eyes of foreign customers.

Many people started calling you the "boss" of specialty spices. Do you like this title?

- Being called the Vietnamese spice tycoon sounds nice, but I know I'm still very young and still trying very hard to live up to that title. I think being called the Vietnamese spice old man is probably more appropriate! (laughs loudly)

In your fourth startup, do you think you will become a billionaire thanks to spices? What is your current goal?

- Starting my 4th business, I don't think I'll become a billionaire (because if I accept a job offer from a large corporation with a high salary, I'll become a billionaire sooner). I want to do the job I like, work with a young team I like.

Our current goal is to bring Vietnamese spices to supermarket shelves in Europe (currently on supermarket shelves in France), the US, Canada, Australia, Korea, China. I will try to make Vietnamese spices popular with consumers around the world like Thai and Indian spices...

Thank you for the chat!

Content: Khong Chiem

Photo: Hai Long - Design: Tuan Huy

Content: Khong Chiem

Dantri.com.vn

source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/ban-hoc-cua-ty-phu-ke-chuyen-dem-gia-vi-viet-sang-nuoc-ngoai-20230613171545361.htm