Beautiful Muong girl selling sour meat causes a storm on Shark Tank: I worked with terrible people in the market, once lost 1 billion because of my competitive spirit

"There were times when I only had a few sets of clothes in my closet, and I only threw them away when they were worn out. I only had one pair of shoes, and I wore them until they were worn flat and the studs were sticking out before buying another pair. I used to be extremely frugal, and reinvested every penny I earned. If I hadn't reinvested and innovated, I wouldn't have today," the female CEO of Truong Foods confided.

Opening the Shark Tank episode 10 is the beautiful Muong CEO Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa (born 1992, Phu Tho ). She is the founder of Truong Foods company, specializing in the production and distribution of sour meat - a specialty of Phu Tho province.

Starting her business at the age of 18 with a small capital of 4 million VND borrowed from her mother-in-law, by 2021, the company's revenue reached 52 billion/year. To achieve the success she has today, Ms. Hoa failed countless times, throwing away countless lives. Her arduous start-up process has moved many people and made them secretly admire her strong will and determination.

With her talent, calm demeanor and confidence, Ms. Hoa has presented a plan and direction for Truong Foods in the coming time. This made the Sharks compete to invest. At the end of the capital calling, Ms. Hoa received investment from Shark Binh and Shark Hung Anh with 15 billion VND for 20% of shares along with 200 million VND from Shark Binh.

After the Shark Tank program, Ms. Thu Hoa became famous on social networking platforms with a series of "hot searches": Beautiful Muong girl, female CEO of Truong Foods, sour meat seller,... This can be considered a media push that made many people know about the specialties of the homeland and Ms. Thu Hoa was successful in spreading it.

In particular, in 2022, the beautiful female CEO was in the top 20 nominees for outstanding young Vietnamese faces in the Startup Business category, and won First Prize in the 2022 National Youth Startup Idea Competition.

What made you decide to stick with the food industry, specifically the sour meat specialty of your hometown Phu Tho?

Many people think that to be successful like today, I must have had big dreams and ambitions. But that's not true, my initial goal when I started my business at the age of 18 was to have income, to earn money to cover my living expenses.

After 1-2 years of working, when the sour meat had absorbed into my body, I had a desire to bring the two words "specialty" to every part of the country. People say "the profession chooses the person, the person does not choose the profession". Therefore, from the first job with income in my life, I gradually became passionate about it and decided to follow the direction of developing my hometown's specialty.

I feel extremely proud to have contributed a little effort to preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of my homeland.

When you first started your business, were there many other sour meat brands in your area? How is Truong Foods sour meat different from those brands?

When I started my business in late 2010, there were only 4-5 houses around me making it. Sour meat was not as popular as it is now, only Thanh Son district - the locality where I live and a few neighboring districts knew about it. Even Viet Tri city (Phu Tho) was not well known. But up to now, many Vietnamese people have remembered and deeply engraved "Truong Foods Sour Meat is a specialty of Phu Tho province".

At the beginning, it was very difficult to explain "what is sour meat?" to consumers. Let alone make customers remember the Truong Foods brand.

Starting from the model of Thanh Hoa sour sausage, I want to mention Phu Tho, people mention Truong Foods sour meat. Just like when mentioning Thanh Hoa , people remember sour sausage.

However, at that time, social networks were flooded with videos about the production process of poor quality nem chua, which did not ensure food hygiene. This made consumers wary, and some even boycotted it. That is why after 1-2 years of deciding to stick with the profession, I thought I could not continue in that direction.

I want to develop a brand of sour meat that is "delicious - clean - reputable". And to do that, I cannot generalize the label, produce unbranded products so that consumers equate them with poor quality establishments. I cannot let "one bad apple spoil the barrel".

At first, I focused on making good products, having my own recipe for making sour meat while still maintaining the characteristic flavor of the meat. Gradually, "good wine needs no bush" helped increase sales. Next, I researched from manual to semi-automatic, changing the production process. I divided the rooms to ensure hygiene and safety, followed the process, used supporting tools and attended training to equip myself with knowledge. Up to now, my company has achieved ISO standards for international food hygiene and safety.

I haven’t studied much, haven’t been through professional training, so I have achieved what I have today because I know how to listen. I am very open-minded, always looking at successful predecessors to learn from. Secondly, I focus on changing and improving to suit. It was only 3 years after starting my business that I had the mindset to develop a brand. At that time, I was 21, 22 years old.

So who taught you the trade? Was that the person who accompanied you in the process of developing the brand?

I am very grateful to my mother-in-law. When I first became a daughter-in-law, she taught me and my two sisters-in-law how to make sour meat. My husband also accompanied me for nearly a year, after that he did not change direction to another job.

The recipe my mother-in-law taught me at that time was "1 handful, 2 handfuls", which means to have a bowl of meat like this, then add 1 handful of seasoning powder, 1 handful of MSG. My hands are small, so I need 1.5 handfuls to make enough. When I did it by hand, I made 10-15kg of meat a day for a few dozen boxes. And it took several days for all that meat to be sold.

Because the production is done in an approximate and approximate way, problems occur during the process. One day, customers complain that the food is salty, the next day they complain that it is bland. From the comments, I came up with the idea of ​​having my own formula for mass production, and putting it on the scale to ensure consistency.

If my mother-in-law was the one who sowed the seeds, my biological mother was the one who accompanied me throughout the difficult journey. She was also the source of motivation for me to "rise" because my starting point was not high, if not very low.

When I started my business, my mother came over every morning to help with the housework. She did the laundry, washed the dishes, and helped me take care of the children. When I started my business, I didn’t have time, and it was normal for my clothes to go two days without being washed. I had to answer the phone right after I finished eating and prepare for the next day’s orders. Being so busy, my mother supported me with even the smallest things. At the same time, she always encouraged me to try my best every day.

Besides my mother, there are also workers who have accompanied me from the beginning of my business until now. Until now, there is a worker who holds my hand and cries whenever she talks about the past.

She still said: "I really didn't think I would have this day. Looking at Hoa, I feel so sorry because at her age, my child is still busy eating and playing. The others come home from work and sleep well, but I come home to books and papers, everything is done, it's late at night and I haven't showered or cooked yet."

Seeing how hard I worked, many people discouraged me. They said why should I dream of great things, just living a life of enough to eat and spend is enough. There were things they thought I couldn't do, but I tried hard and did. I think God never fails anyone.

What are the difficulties of starting a business at the age of 18 with nothing, ma'am?

At first, I focused on quality and improving the recipe. Among the 4-5 households making sour meat, my family was the smallest. When I was making 15-20kg/day, my neighbor was making up to 200kg/day. I dreamed of one day making and selling as much sour meat as her.

I kept focusing on quality. When the product was delicious and consistent, I found a preservation formula. Thanks to the difference, the output gradually increased. "Good wine needs no bush", customers knew about the specialty and came to buy it. I took care of individual customers, turning them into my agents. At that time, the problem was that there were too many agents, the selling price was not consistent, each person had a different price. Therefore, I had to build a policy mechanism for agents and distributors.

Another difficulty when starting a business is that I have to do everything from A to Z, including going to the market to choose meat, negotiating with wholesalers, processing meat, offering products, and delivering.

I still remember the first time I went to the market to buy meat, I was very nervous because I was quite shy and timid. I didn't know how to argue in the market style, once I argued back and came back crying. The first 1-2 times I went to the market, I chose the meat, touched the meat and found it not delicious so I threw it away and went to other meat stalls.

I realized that I had to know how to choose to get a good piece of meat, and know how to bargain to get a good price. So I also practiced negotiating: "Miss, can you give me a discount?". She was harsh: "If you can buy it, buy it, if you can't, then forget it ." Hearing that, I argued back: "If we're willing to buy and sell, why are you so stressed?" , I said, trembling with fear, my heart pounding.

The next time, I spoke more strongly. I used "hard words need to be hard, soft words need to be soft", not vulgar words. After about 6 months, I was able to work with the most notorious "eth te" people in the market. 3-4 years later, they still gave me meat.

So I think there are no good or bad people, but you have to know how to put yourself in the other person's shoes and understand their personality to help the relationship become harmonious. Even when my partner came to me, many people tried to stop me and said that he was a bad person, a scoundrel, a liar, but I still decided to work.

What was the most painful failure that you will never forget? At that time, did you think you would give up everything?

That was the early stages of testing the recipe. I had to throw away a lot of sour meat, I don’t know how many batches of meat went down the river, I even gave it to the workers to feed the dogs and cats, but they didn’t want to take it.

I remember clearly that there was a batch of meat with a capital of 10-15 million, I tried to make that batch with the hope that this was the last time to test the recipe to fix the time. But that night, because I stayed up late, I overslept the next morning. When I woke up, the meat boxes in the plastic box were all cooked, the bottom of the box was dented due to the heat from the light bulb. I sat there hugging the meat and sobbing. I felt both bored and frustrated at that time, constantly blaming myself: "Why didn't I wake up on time? Why did I oversleep like that?".

When the workers came to work, I just sat there crying. I thought I would stop testing and just do whatever I could. But after my emotions calmed down, I knew that I couldn't stop at this point.

That was a failure that I will always remember. The amount of 10-15 million for testing was only equal to the income at that time. There were failures equal to the profit of the whole month. With a start-up, the daily revenue was about 200 thousand, I had to take out 50 thousand for testing. The remaining amount had to be reinvested and covered family expenses, I couldn't spend it lavishly.

Moreover, I also had to help my mother with a small amount of money. There were times when I only had a few sets of clothes in my closet, and I only threw them away when they were worn out. I only had one pair of shoes, and I wore them until they were flat and the studs were sticking out before buying another pair. I used to be extremely frugal, and reinvested every penny I earned. If I hadn’t reinvested and innovated, I wouldn’t have had this day.

Starting a business when you just finished high school, without any professional training, so what was your communication and marketing plan to make it known to many people like today?

Regarding online marketing, I knew absolutely nothing, I didn't even understand what "interaction" was, I even used Google to translate "content" because I didn't know English. When I started doing something new, I just had the mindset of "do it, fix it if it's wrong" and started from the smallest steps.

I once failed big in online marketing because I was too hasty. Along with that, in 2018, I had certain success, stepping out on the street and being admired and praised by many people. This made my ego too high, becoming competitive and subjective. Luckily, after that painful lesson, I looked back at myself to draw experience.

My knowledge of Marketing is zero. When I first started, I implemented Offline Marketing with a simple thought: "Putting up a lot of billboards on the street will sell products". Later, the trend of Online Marketing took over, forcing me to approach and innovate.

Having achieved certain results, I decided to spend money to hire a support team with the thought: "If I don't know how to do it, I'll hire one." Hiring without understanding it is a disaster.

Everyone who heard the story tried to stop me. They said the risk rate was 80-90%, but I ignored it. I was competitive because I had proven that I had done and succeeded in the things that many people had opposed and that no one could do. So I didn't listen to anyone and thought I could do it.

The first marketing communications contract I signed was worth 1 billion VND in 1 year. After 4 months, I gave the service provider 400 million VND but there was no result. They kept giving me "a sea of ​​​​interaction" numbers but no revenue.

Losing money, I stopped and fell into "stress". I looked back on my 8-year journey and realized: To do big things, you have to start from small things. From improving production formulas to offering products in the market, I also had to practice to understand the customer portrait, emotions, and psychology of customers. Online marketing is the same.

How did you get up after that bruising fall?

It was an expensive lesson, losing money, time, effort, and realizing my ego was too big. I was overconfident when I had small results, and was being pushed to the sky.

After that, I decided to start over by studying Marketing. Only after going to school did I understand what good "content" was, how to run ads, and what interaction was. I wrote every content and edited every photo myself. There were days when I stayed up until 2am to do the homework my teacher assigned. People were studying to make excuses, but I was extremely serious.

Thanks to that, later on, running communication campaigns always gave immediate results. Once I did it, I wrote the process and asked my staff to implement it.

By 2020, the Marketing department had only 2 people: 1 advertising staff, 1 content writer managing the platforms. I outsourced all website SEO, images and videos. The work went smoothly and many people thought I had a powerful, professional Marketing department. To date, due to the large workload, the Marketing department has up to 10 employees.

From manufacturing to business, I thought business was difficult. But when the business was successful, I realized that it was my strength. Next was Marketing, at first I was confused, but after doing it, I realized that I did it excellently. And I realized that I had to do the smallest things to understand the nature of the problem.

Is going on Shark Tank to raise capital a boost in Truong Foods' communication and marketing campaign, ma'am?

Yes, going to Shark Tank to raise capital is part of my communication plan. But I have two goals: First, I really want the Sharks to join me to shorten the time and support the capital. The goal is 50-50, if I am lucky enough to have the Sharks join me, that is good, if not, that is an effective way to do communication.

In 2021, I switched from offline to online recruitment of distributors and agents partly due to the COVID-19 outbreak, partly due to having to follow trends. At that time, it was very easy for me to recruit distributors because I understood their profile well, there were months when I recruited hundreds of distributors.

But the disadvantage is that distributors and agents cannot sell products and do not generate revenue. Because in that locality, consumers do not know about sour meat, and distributors do not have the capacity to promote it. But if I go to Shark Tank to raise capital, everyone will know: "Ah sour meat on Shark Tank" , "Ah, sour meat of Muong girl", ... This makes market development easier.

I realized that all the media channels are just like "a drop in the ocean", only working in one area, too costly. And going on Shark Tank is a great way to promote.

Honestly, going on Shark Tank made me nervous. I felt like a "naughty kid" surrounded by "big guys". But when it came to the things I knew, I was very confident.

Behind the Truong Foods brand must contain many meanings, don't you think?

Before talking about the meaning of the name, I want to share a branding lesson for start-ups. I advise you to register a trademark before doing anything, don’t wait until you’ve done it to think about this issue. Truong Foods sour meat is the predecessor of Nghi Thinh sour meat – the brand of my parents-in-law.

In 2014, many people told me why I had gone to such lengths to register a trademark. At that time, I looked it up and found that the Nghi Thinh brand had been registered. Then I thought, it was my parents' brand, I couldn't selfishly keep it for myself. The second reason was that I was passionate about producing sour meat, and had spent my entire youth cultivating it. Therefore, I couldn't continue to develop a brand that wasn't mine.

Thinking so, I decided to register another brand. I crossed out 20 names and sent them for search, but all the good names were already registered. At that time, I had the idea of ​​developing a lasting brand. And so Truong Foods was born. "Truong" means lasting, "foods" means food. I wanted to build a lasting food company.

After registering the trademark, I founded the company, that was in 2015, after 4 years of small-scale operation.

As a woman fighting in the business world, what do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of women?

Many people often tell me: "Being beautiful is an advantage" but I think it's not entirely true. But one thing is that when we have a lovely face, we will be loved by everyone, not just men. But being beautiful is not the deciding factor.

The weakness of women is to limit socializing and drinking. When going out, women have their families behind them so they have to return. Women cannot go all the way like men. But men can socialize freely and come home later at night.

After such a long journey, what principles or business philosophies have you learned for yourself?

In my opinion, the core values ​​are always Humanity - Heart - Trust. "Humanity" is people, those who accompany me, I will not let anyone suffer. "Heart" is kindness, enthusiasm and determination. "Trust" is prestige, the value that comes first with customers and partners.

My principle in life and business is: Do not associate with traitors, liars and those who destroy the company's reputation.

If you were to give advice to young people about starting a business, from your painful lessons, what would you say?

I dare not give advice because everyone has a different starting point. I just want to share a few things from a personal perspective. Regarding startups, besides knowledge and thinking, you have to take action. Take action, if you are wrong, there will be lessons, if you are right, there will be results.

And in the process of implementation, you always have to improve, change, and choose your own difference. Next, you need to be persistent and determined to do it to the end.

Through this, I would also like to thank the mentors who have always guided, instructed and helped me; the partners and customers who have accompanied me throughout the past time.

Thanks for the chat!

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