Starting a business with dry pho

5(1).jpg — *Sunlight reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius is ideal for drying the rice noodles completely in one drying session, resulting in a more fragrant and delicious product. Photo: HQ*

Ms. Yen starts her day with two busy workers producing and drying pho noodles in the sun to store for the winter. “When the weather is hot, my facility produces as much pho as possible to ensure the quality of the product is delicious. During the rainy season, this is more difficult because there is no direct sunlight, so we have to use a high-intensity drying oven, which consumes a lot of electricity,” Ms. Yen explained.

*About every 3 hours, Ms. Yen stirs the noodles to help them dry evenly. Photo: HQ*

Ms. Yen shared about the opportunity to join this profession, that is, after graduating from nursing school, she worked at Hoi An General Hospital. After 3 years, she had to quit her job because of many difficulties that arose after giving birth to her first child. In 2017, she decided to continue her husband's family's traditional dry pho production business.

"Working as a nurse at the hospital was quite challenging, but I felt happy seeing patients recover day by day... After leaving the hospital, I was quite sad, but as a woman, I wanted to dedicate most of my time to taking care of my family."

*Yen's family's pho production takes place from 4 AM to 4 PM every day. Photo: HQ*

On the other hand, I found that the locality has a rich and delicious source of rice, but when sold to the market, the price is low. From here, I decided to choose my family's traditional pho making profession to start a business. I want to make quality pho noodles to provide to consumers, thereby increasing the value of rice produced by local people" - Ms. Yen said.

*Her husband's family wholeheartedly supports and helps Ms. Yen start a business with the traditional profession passed down from her grandparents. Photo: HQ*

Ms. Yen and her husband invested over 200 million VND to buy machinery and raw materials, and began reviving the pho noodle production business under the name "Ba Yen's Dried Noodles and Pho Noodles".

After the noodles are dried, she carefully packages and preserves them. After more than 8 years in this profession, she supplies tons of dried noodles to the market every month.

*Colorful pho noodles made entirely from natural ingredients are well received by users. Photo: HQ*

"Making pho noodles might seem easy, but producing high-quality dried pho noodles involves many steps. The most difficult part is selecting the rice and processing it before putting it into the machine until the finished product is ready, ensuring the noodles are both chewy and soft," Ms. Yen shared.

*On average, Ms. Yen makes 2 tons of rice every day, collecting about 180kg of dry pho. Photo: HQ*

Each kilo of dry pho costs 40,000 VND. Her pho consumption markets are traditional markets, large and small supermarkets in Quang Nam province and Da Nang city. Her revenue is about 100 million VND/month, after deducting labor and raw material costs, the remaining profit is about 30 million VND/month.

*The freshly baked white pho noodles are made from local Q5 rice. Photo: HQ*

To have Q5 rice for pho production, Ms. Yen also cooperates with dozens of local farmers to produce this rice variety and purchase it annually, helping farmers have a stable source of consumption. Her pho production facility also creates regular jobs for 3 local workers with an income of 200,000 VND/day.

Currently, Ms. Yen has completed her application to participate in the provincial Creative Startup Competition, which will be held in May 2024. She plans to expand her production facility next year, investing in more machinery to produce larger quantities for her customers.

[ VIDEO ] - Ms. Pham Thi Hong Yen shares her startup story:

Mr. Doan Cong Dao, Vice Chairman of the Dien Phuong Ward People's Committee, said that currently there are 3 OCOP-certified products in the locality. Ms. Yen's dried pho product in Triem Dong 1 neighborhood is very promising, and her family has submitted an application to register for the provincial startup idea competition.

In recent times, the locality has always researched and guided pho production facilities, carpentry, bronze casting... to complete registration procedures and encouraged local development to bring more and more products to the market. "Mrs. Yen's pho production facility not only enriches her family but also creates jobs for many local workers, which is also a good thing," said Mr. Dao.

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