DREAM OF INCREASING THE VALUE OF VIETNAMESE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Graduated from university majoring in aquaculture, Ms. Le Thi Minh Tam worked for many years in Ca Mau province. After accumulating experience and capital, she and her husband decided to return to their hometown, bought 1 hectare of land in Binh An hamlet to plant 600 green-skinned grapefruit trees - a variety favored by the market because of its high yield and good quality.
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Ms. Le Thi Minh Tam performs the steps of fermenting grapefruit juice. |
“At first, my husband and I only thought about growing grapefruit to enjoy our old age, both to earn money and to preserve the garden for our children and grandchildren. But the more we got involved, the more I realized the great potential of green-skin grapefruit, especially when the clean fruit market is increasingly attracting consumers’ attention,” Ms. Tam said.
In 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, the couple returned to their hometown earlier than expected. From then on, the opportunity to work in agricultural processing began. Thanks to proper care, the grapefruit garden yields over 10 tons/year, with stable quality. During a conversation, a relative suggested that she try using grapefruit to make fermented juice - a product that is still quite new on the market. That idea inspired her to start researching and experimenting for months.
Ms. Tam said that the first batches of fermented grapefruit juice were given to relatives and friends to try. Unexpectedly, the product received positive feedback: sweet and sour taste, natural aroma, easy to drink. From then on, she boldly invested in more equipment, expanded the production scale and officially launched the product on the market under the brand name "Mrs. 10 Buoi".
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Ms. Minh Tam checks the fermentation process of grapefruit. |
“Grapefruit is a nutritious fruit, and many parts can be used. I simply thought: Instead of selling fresh fruit, why don’t I process it to increase the value of my hometown’s agricultural products?”, Ms. Tam confided.
To make a bottle of delicious fermented grapefruit juice, the process is not complicated but requires meticulousness in each step. After 7-10 days of harvesting, the grapefruit is peeled, separated from the segments and mixed with rock sugar in the appropriate ratio. The mixture is incubated anaerobically in a glass jar for about 3 months, then extracted and colored for another 3 months before bottling.
“The ingredients must be ripe grapefruit, not unripe. The processing must ensure food safety. I consider each jar of fermented juice as my “brainchild”, taking care from selecting the fruit to closing the bottle,” she smiled gently.
Not only stopping at fermented grapefruit juice, she also developed green-skin grapefruit wine - a drink with a low alcohol concentration, a characteristic sweet and sour taste, easy to use for many customers. From the initial small dream, her product gradually won the trust of customers in and outside the province.
PRODUCTS WITH A STRONG COUNTRYSIDE SOUL
After the initial success, Ms. Tam continued to experiment with using grapefruit peels - an ingredient that is often discarded - to make crispy dried grapefruit peel jam. At first, she made soft jam, but customers preferred the crispy jam. Undaunted, she persisted in experimenting dozens of times, tinkering with the recipe until she found the "golden secret":
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Three products: Fermented grapefruit juice, green-skin grapefruit wine and crispy dried grapefruit peel jam all have 3-star OCOP certification. |
“To avoid bitterness, the peel must be shaved very thinly, rinsed many times with clean water and then dried. In particular, I still maintain the manual peeling step - although it is hard, it ensures the thinness and retains the natural aroma of the grapefruit peel,” Ms. Tam shared.
Persistence, carefulness and creativity - these 3 factors have helped her reap the "sweet fruit" from her hometown grapefruit garden. Up to now, 3 products including: fermented grapefruit juice, green-skin grapefruit wine and crispy dried grapefruit peel jam have all been certified with 3-star OCOP.
According to Ms. Tam, the “One Commune One Product” (OCOP) program is an important stepping stone to help local agricultural products increase their value and build a solid brand in the market. When a product meets OCOP standards, its reputation increases, consumers trust it more, and its economic value is also enhanced.
“Starting a business is not just about making a profit, but also about learning and being persistent with passion. To be successful, you must dare to innovate and appreciate the value of your hometown’s agricultural products,” said Ms. Le Thi Minh Tam. |
Currently, her product "Mrs. 10 Buoi" is available at many agents in and outside the province. In addition, she also takes advantage of social networks such as Facebook and Zalo to promote products and reach customers. In 2023, at the contest for creative ideas for women to start a business to develop the collective economy organized by the Provincial Women's Union, her business idea of fermented grapefruit juice and green-skin grapefruit wine won second prize, affirming the effectiveness of the new direction.
“Starting a business is not easy, especially for rural women. But as long as you have passion, hard work and innovative thinking, you will definitely find the right direction. I think success does not come from luck, but from daily perseverance,” she shared.
Ms. Tam is planning to expand production scale, invest in more equipment, and diversify products to meet market demand. In addition, she will put products on e-commerce platforms, actively participate in fairs and events to promote local specialties, contributing to spreading the value of Dong Thap agricultural products to many other regions.
According to Ms. Dang Thi My Hanh, President of the Women's Union of Cho Gao Commune, Ms. Le Thi Minh Tam's start-up model is one of the bright spots of the local women's start-up movement. Not only selling fresh grapefruit, Ms. Tam also takes advantage of substandard grapefruit to process into new products, contributing to diversifying agricultural products. The process of producing fermented grapefruit juice and green-skin grapefruit wine is quite simple, with low investment costs, suitable for women who want to start a business, increase income and develop the family economy.
Ms. Le Thi Minh Tam’s story of starting a business from grapefruit not only brings economic value but also contributes to changing the traditional agricultural production mindset. From only growing and selling fresh fruit, she has proven that deep processing and creating new products is the sustainable direction to help Vietnamese agricultural products go further.
For Ms. Tam, each bottle of grapefruit juice and each slice of grapefruit peel jam contains her passion and love for her homeland. Through skillful hands and creative thinking, the familiar grapefruits have become a typical product of Dong Thap, both delicious and imbued with the soul of the countryside.
Looking at the pomelo garden laden with fruit in the golden sunlight, Ms. Tam smiled gently: “I just hope that the products from my hometown pomelos will become more and more known, so that farmers will be more attached to the land and to the plants. When our hometown agricultural products are appreciated, that is also the time when we truly get rich from the value of our hometown agricultural products.”
LE PHUONG
Source: https://baodongthap.vn/kinh-te/202510/chi-le-thi-minh-tam-gioi-y-tuong-gat-thanh-cong-tu-trai-buoi-da-xanh-1051351/
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