Starting a business from hometown herbs

Starting a business in the middle of an epidemic

In 2009, she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Education, but fate led Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung (born in 1986, Thanh Hoa village, Ky Khang commune) to an office job. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and spread widely, like many others, she became unemployed, and life was extremely difficult.

Dung Nguyen Herbal Medicinal Plant Garden.

It was during those gloomy days that her desire and idea to start a business flared up. “One time, while picking medicinal herbs in the garden to cook water to prevent COVID-19, I suddenly had a thought, why are the medicinal herbs around me so abundant, while the demand for them to prevent and treat diseases among people is so great, but they are not turned into commercial products? So the idea of collecting medicinal herbs and processing them into commercial products started from there,” Ms. Dung shared.

From traditional bath and drinking remedies made from many types of plants such as mugwort, lemongrass, lemon, grapefruit, perilla... that her grandmother, mother, and elders in the village used and passed down, she began to research more in books and newspapers, learn online, and test each formula to create products that are herbal medicine packages to sell to people. With high effectiveness and safety in preventing the COVID-19 epidemic and common diseases, her products are well received by many customers.

The herbs are carefully checked by staff before being put into distillation.

The initial favorable business led her to new thinking: “If we only produce and sell raw products, the source of raw materials will quickly be exhausted, which is very wasteful and the effectiveness of disease prevention and treatment is not high. Why not process deeply, create products in the form of essences with higher value? That thought urged me to boldly borrow capital from relatives and from the Women's Support Fund to invest in machinery, starting the journey of starting a business with the brand "Dung Nguyen Herbs" - Ms. Dung shared.

From here, refined products with packaging, labels, and brand logos such as Dung Nguyen Cereal Sprout Tea, Dung Nguyen Essential Oil for Steaming Leaves, and many other herbal extracts were born and affirmed in the market. To gain knowledge to pursue a long-term career, in 2021, Ms. Dung attended the Central Medical College ( Nghe An ).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung invested billions of dong in infrastructure systems, purchasing machinery and equipment for production and business.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha Trang - President of the Women's Union of Ky Khang commune shared: "Ms. Thuy Dung is a member who always strives to rise up with will and passion. From her start-up model, many local women also have more motivation to study, boldly start a business, contribute to building the family economy and developing the women's movement".

Also in 2021, when the products had a fairly solid position in the market, Ms. Dung boldly registered to participate in the "One Commune One Product" (OCOP) program, and at the same time borrowed billions of dong to invest in infrastructure systems, purchase machinery and equipment to enter a new chain of production and business activities.

With the support of authorities at all levels, she built a nearly ^500m2 production workshop. The workshop is equipped with a multi-function freeze-drying system, essential oil distillation machine, packaging and vacuum equipment... All of these create a modern production line that meets HACCP standards (an internationally recognized food safety management system).

Affirming brand, spreading value

From the initial herbal packages, up to now, the brand "Dung Nguyen Herbs" has developed to 25 products including: Herbal tea (guava leaf tea, perilla tea), cereal sprout tea, essential oil for steaming leaves, grapefruit essential oil, lemongrass essential oil, mugwort essential oil... Of which, 2 products of cereal sprout tea and essential oil for steaming leaves have been certified with 3-star OCOP in 2022.

Dung Nguyen Herbal Facility participates in displaying and introducing OCOP products of the province in 2023.

To expand the "Dung Nguyen Herbal" brand's space and consumer base, in addition to bringing it to OCOP product stores and fairs inside and outside the province, Ms. Dung also regularly exploits e-commerce platforms, livestreams sales, and develops through platforms such as: Fanpage, TikTok, Zalo... Up to now, in addition to being widely known in the province, "Dung Nguyen Herbal" products have been present in many large provinces and cities such as: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hue... The facility's revenue reaches nearly 3 billion VND/year.

Products of "Dung Nguyen Herbs" facility are displayed at the fair organized by Ky Anh district (old). Photo archive.

In early October 2025, the "Dung Nguyen Herbs" facility officially decided to establish a cooperative. The story of Ms. Dung is a source of inspiration for many rural women - those who are used to a simple lifestyle but still have the desire to change. Ms. Vo Thi Hien - a member who has been with Ms. Dung since the beginning of her business shared: "Not only do I receive technical support, have a job and a stable income, but I, as well as the women participating in production here, share the same passion and belief in Ms. Dung's determination to overcome difficulties, sharp thinking and steadfastness in the market."

Ms. Dang Thuy Anh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Khang commune commented: "From wild herbs that seem to have little value, Ms. Dung has built a prestigious brand, contributing to fully exploiting the potential, increasing the quantity and increasing the value of local medicinal products, creating jobs, increasing income for many households; at the same time changing the production mindset of the people, from passive to proactively exploiting the potential to build products with their own position in the market".

The facility's Cereal Sprout Tea and Essential Oil products have been certified with 3-star OCOP.

Coming out of hardship, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung has affirmed herself with passion and constant efforts. Her story is not only an individual success, but also the pride of Ha Tinh women - those who always know how to overcome challenges to create new values.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/khoi-nghiep-tu-thao-duoc-que-huong-post297469.html