Meeting Quoc when he had just returned to Hue from a business trip to Ho Chi Minh City, I was impressed by his bright, energetic smile. “I just featured Hue One Food's pressed cakes on a live stream with a TikToker who has 4.4 million followers. I'm happy not only because I sold the product but also because I spread the message about Hue's specialties to millions of people,” Quoc said.
Hue One Food's pressed cakes are sold at the shopping mall . (PHOTO: Provided by the seller)
For a long time, Quoc had harbored the idea of starting a business using products from his hometown, with the aspiration of bringing Hue's specialties to a wider audience. In 2021, Quoc began with Hue-style pressed cakes, a popular street food snack widely sold in Thuan An coastal area where Quoc was born.
Starting small but with great ambition, this Gen Z entrepreneur aspires to transform pressed cakes into a famous specialty known throughout the country. "Just like mooncakes, a specialty of Soc Trang , are now sold globally, I have a strong belief that Hue One Food's pressed cakes can achieve the same," Quoc said.
Recalling the early days of his startup, he reminisced: “The difficulty in the beginning was… not knowing how to start. But with the entrepreneurial spirit of a young person, without fear, I just kept going and eventually got there… I researched the product, invested in equipment for the production line, redesigned the packaging and brand.”
"Fire tests gold," although the initial quality was quite good and well-received by many, Quoc's initial problem was the short shelf life, which affected the quality. "Because we didn't use preservatives, the cakes tasted good when eaten immediately, but if left for a long time, they would develop an oily smell. I started researching a new process to produce an even better product," Quoc shared.
Having achieved success, he didn't stop at just producing high-quality products, but also decided to make a difference in his pressed rice cakes. On each package, he printed interesting stories about the culture and cuisine of Hue.
From selling pressed cakes on the sidewalk, Quoc's Hue One Food brand has expanded its sales to major shopping malls, supermarkets, train stations, and airports nationwide… Hue One Food has created jobs for more than 70 people.
Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, the "father" of Hue One Food pressed cakes has also achieved many remarkable accomplishments: first prize at the Thua Thien-Hue province's innovative startup competition in 2021, and the award for outstanding innovative startup enterprise in the North Central and Central Coastal regions in 2024. But what makes him even prouder is that through his Hue pressed cake products, he has conveyed millions of messages about Hue's culture and cuisine to people everywhere.
In the future, the young director aims to build an additional 2,000 m² factory in Thua Thien-Hue to create jobs for 200-300 local workers. Further down the line, he plans to build factories producing Hue-style pressed cakes in the US and China, bringing Hue's pressed cakes to the global market.
Thanhnien.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lam-giau-nho-thay-doi-so-phan-mot-loai-banh-185241017193222668.htm
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