“Sa Ren Vitality Village” - the startup miracle of Yen Bai students

(PLVN) - With a majority of hills and mountains, and residents mainly working in agriculture, Yen Bai possesses many unique local products. From the green identity of their homeland, many Yen Bai students have created valuable product lines and "started their own businesses" while still in school.

The magical drink “Zets” by 5 Yen Bai students won third prize in the National Startup Competition. Photo: Contributor.

Start a business from local agricultural products

In late May 2025, a refreshing drink called “Zets” is becoming a sought-after keyword among students in Yen Bai. What’s special is that this strange drink was developed by a group of 5 Yen Bai “startup” students from natural products of the locality.

Gentle, cool, and pure are the adjectives that Gen Z followers in Yen Bai use to describe the product line “Zets Perilla”. Meanwhile, Perilla Extract and Tea Bags are also gradually becoming a search trend for parents.

It is known that the above products are part of the project "Ban Sa Ren Vitality" of 5 students from Quang Trung Secondary School, Yen Ninh Secondary School and Nguyen Tat Thanh Specialized High School. Under the guidance of Meritorious Student Nguyen Thi Oanh - a teacher at Tran Nhat Duat High School, the project entered the final round and won the third prize in the 7th "Students with Startup Ideas" Contest - 2025.

The products are processed and developed by the students themselves from raw materials of Yen Bai. Photo: Contributor.

This third prize winning project marks a new development step for Yen Bai as for the first time all the students participating in the project are secondary school students. The achievements of the 5 students are proof of the quality of STEMeducation and the innovative direction that Yen Bai education sector is actively implementing.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh - instructor, shared that the project was developed from the perilla plant of the Sa Ren people in Nghia Lo town. From the popular vegetable grown organically on a large area by the Thai people in Nghia Lo, the development team created products including Perilla zets, a soft drink with ingredients of perilla + kumquat + stevia + mint, along with Perilla extract and tea bags.

These products are considered safe, beneficial to health and contribute to the sustainable development of the local people's typical raw material sources. The project of the students who won the third prize is not only a source of personal pride but also contributes to spreading the spirit of innovation and creativity among secondary school students in particular and high school students in the province in general. - Ms. Oanh shared.

Yen Bai is happy because the "startup" products of secondary school students have high applicability. Photo: Contributor.

The report of the Yen Bai Department of Education and Training noted that in the provincial round, the 2025 startup competition had more than 100 startup ideas from students participating. Of these, 29 ideas were selected for the final round, an impressive number showing the creative aspirations and innovative spirit of Yen Bai youth. From there, the Department selected and introduced 4 excellent projects to participate in the national competition and the project "Ban Sa Ren Vitality" convinced the judges to win the third prize.

Spread the spirit of creativity

The 7th “Students with Startup Ideas” Contest – 2025 is a practical activity to recognize the efforts in scientific research, innovation and startups of students in the mountainous areas of Yen Bai. The Startup Ideas Contest for Students is an annual competition organized by the Ministry of Education and Training on the basis of implementing the Government’s Project 1665, especially within the framework of the National Startup Festival.

Dang An Nhien, a student at Quang Trung Secondary School, shared her joy when she and her friends won the third prize in the 2025 National Startup Competition with the project “Ban Sa Ren Vitality”. Stemming from curiosity and determination to conquer, Nhien and her friends researched and explored to create products that suit the general tastes of the majority of customers, using local products.

The owner of the miracle water “Zets” hopes to contribute to spreading the determination to conquer to students. Photo: Contributor.

Nguyen Lam Huy, a student at Yen Ninh Secondary School and a member of the “Ban Sa Ren Vitality” project, expressed his hope that the group’s “start-up” project would contribute to spreading the spirit of creativity to students in Yen Bai. Huy also hopes that products like “Tía đác Zets” will gain a foothold in the market and become a popular drink. From there, Thai farmers will have income from providing clean ingredients, consumers will have an additional nutritious drink, and businesses will have the opportunity to develop.

Discussing this issue, Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong - Deputy Director of Yen Bai Department of Education and Training, said that Yen Bai education sector will continue to improve the quality of integrated teaching, scientific research, start-ups, and strengthen the organization of playgrounds to discover and nurture talents. For projects that have been recognized and assessed, schools and instructors actively cooperate closely with businesses, research institutes, organizations and individuals to create a bridge for technology transfer, market consulting and product commercialization. From there, students' start-up projects are not just drawings on paper but become practical solutions, bringing benefits to the community.

It is known that in 2024, Yen Bai students had 2 projects, "Xuan Long Hoang Tra" and "Huong Dai Minh", which excelled over 700 projects of authors and groups of authors nationwide to win the second and third prizes at the 6th "Students with Startup Ideas" Contest. In which, the "Xuan Long Hoang Tra" project belongs to the field of agriculture, forestry and fishery, while the "Huong Dai Minh" project belongs to the field of industry and product manufacturing.

In 2024, the "Xuan Long Hoang Tra" project of Yen Bai students won second prize in the National Startup Competition. Photo: Contributor.

Previously, Yen Bai also won the "startup" award in the field of developing agricultural products. Typically, the project "Conservation and development of the black chicken breed of the Mong people" by Nguyen Thanh Binh in Van Chan also won the first prize at the National Startup Competition in 2017, the third prize at the Provincial Youth Startup Ideas and Project Competition in 2019 and 2023.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Ngoc Huyen - Deputy Director of Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, Yen Bai has great potential in terms of geographical location, infrastructure, connectivity, smart agriculture, logistics, financial services, trade, technology application and innovation. Research and startup programs are meaningful activities for Yen Bai students. At the same time, these activities will continue to arouse the will, passion and desire to start a business so that students have a ready foundation to go far and conquer the future on the path of establishing a career.

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Source: https://baophapluat.vn/ban-sa-ren-vitality-ky-tich-khoi-nghiep-cua-hoc-sinh-yen-bai-post549703.html