Making a fortune from medicinal plants...

Elevating the status of medicinal plants.

It is known that Mr. Luong Van Tuyen is currently the Deputy Secretary of the Tan Thanh Commune Youth Union and also the Director of the Viet Herbal Cooperative. The cooperative's predecessor was the VietGAP Mandarin Orange Group, with the aim of developing and selling better quality mandarin oranges for its members and the local people.

Mr. Tuyen recalled: In 2019, the cooperative was established with 10 members. After one year of operation, the mandarin orange trees suffered from yellowing leaves and some died. Faced with this situation, the cooperative held a meeting and agreed to expand production to include new products based on the area of aging mandarin orange trees. From there, they decided to invest in planting and processing herbal teas, which are considered a strength of the locality.

Mr. Luong Van Tuyen, currently the Deputy Secretary of the Tan Thanh Commune Youth Union and Director of the Viet Herbal Cooperative, participates in packaging products alongside the workers.

Mr. Tuyen added, "I used to work as a business manager for several companies, earning a stable income, but then I decided to return to my hometown to start my own business. Initially, it was very difficult, and I often felt discouraged, but luckily I had my family's encouragement. Later, I and many other cooperative members realized the potential of medicinal plants in the area, such as: *Tinospora cordifolia*, *Solanum nigrum*, *Gynostemma pentaphyllum*, *Xanthium strumarium*, *Stevia rebaudiana*… However, the plants and their prices on the market were very low, leading to unstable income."

True to his word, Mr. Tuyen and his members researched how to develop products that would utilize readily available raw materials and create jobs for unemployed agricultural workers in the locality. Currently, the cooperative manages a raw material area of nearly 5 hectares, guaranteeing the purchase of all products from its members and local people. This provides employment for 5 cooperative workers and dozens of members and local people, ensuring stable jobs and income. Many families now have enough to eat and are able to escape poverty.

Members of the Vietnam Herbs Cooperative harvest medicinal plants.

A staff member of the Vietnam Herbal Cooperative said: "I've been working here for a while now, with an average salary of 6 million VND per month. Besides that, my family has several acres of medicinal herbs, and the cooperative buys all of them, so our annual income is stable. Now, our children's education and all our family's living expenses are covered. My husband used to work as a construction worker in Hanoi , with an unstable salary. In 2021, due to the pandemic, he decided to quit his job and return to his hometown to cultivate medicinal herbs. I just hope the cooperative will develop further, both by buying all our products and expanding the raw material area so that more people can participate."

After much effort, the Vietnamese Herbal Cooperative has launched many tea bag products including: Detoxifying and cooling tea for the liver, calming tea, youth-enhancing tea, eight immortal herbal tea, licorice herbal tea, etc. Although the products were only introduced to the market at the end of 2022, they have been positively received by consumers.

The bold will of the Tay ethnic boy

To achieve exclusivity and a firm foothold in the market, Mr. Tuyen invested heavily in the "Vietnamese Herbs" brand and trademark, and in November 2022, the Intellectual Property Office approved the application. Also in 2022, the cooperative participated in the OCOP product evaluation and ranking, resulting in three products – perilla tea, licorice tea, and Tam An tea – achieving OCOP 3-star rating. In 2023, the cooperative plans to develop four more products to achieve 4-star rating and compete to upgrade some products from 2022 to 4-star rating.

Cooperative members tend to medicinal plants.

Speaking about future plans, Mr. Tuyen shared: "Hopefully, in 2023, the cooperative aims to sell 30,000 boxes (equivalent to nearly 20 tons of fresh raw materials) to the market. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, nearly 10,000 products were supplied to the market. In the second quarter of 2023, sales at supermarkets and stores in Hung Yen , Hanoi, and 7 stores in Tuyen Quang showed promising results. In addition, the cooperative has listed its products on the PostMart and KTS e-commerce platforms for distribution. I'm placing my hopes on this 'gamble' (laughs) because once the products are successfully listed and accepted by consumers, I won't have to worry about sales and can then focus on developing the raw material area and ensuring consistent product quality."

According to Mr. Tuyen, each product is like a medicinal remedy, therefore, the selling price is always higher than other products on the market. For example, some businesses' perilla tea has only 2 ingredients, but the cooperative's product has 8. Or other businesses' milk thistle tea has only 2 ingredients, while the cooperative's product has 4, so the selling price is also higher but it still sells well. In the future, the cooperative will diversify its products to include instant tea, instant fruit tea, and continue to expand its market to many other provinces and cities.

According to Mr. Tuyen, the most difficult part of producing a quality product is the initial processing of raw materials and the blending process. Initial processing accounts for up to 60% of the flavor. Some businesses use sun-dried raw materials to reduce costs. With the cooperative, 100% of the raw materials are freeze-dried, resulting in a more distinctive and flavorful product.

In particular, the cooperative has clear product objectives. The raw materials are grown according to organic standards, and when farmers cooperate and form a partnership, they absolutely commit to not using chemical fertilizers or pesticides during cultivation, aiming to ensure that Vietnamese herbal products have the best value and safety, and can stand firm in the market.

The raw material area has lush, green trees.

Mr. Dam Ngoc Hung, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Ham Yen district, said that in recent years, Ham Yen has had many young people who dare to think and act in production and business, especially in the agricultural sector. A prime example is young member Luong Van Tuyen, Director of the Viet Herbal Cooperative. The cooperative has developed 7 tea bag products, using mostly locally available ingredients.

Mr. Hung added that union member Luong Van Tuyen is not only a pioneer in the field of producing and processing products from medicinal plants, but also a leader in digital transformation. His keenness in approaching digital transformation has helped his products gain a foothold in the market.

Driven by love for his homeland, the spirit of a young Party member who dares to think and act, and the aspiration to enhance the value of medicinal plants, Mr. Tuyen's initial efforts have yielded results, creating jobs, contributing to poverty reduction, and enriching the locality. As a result, Mr. Tuyen was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Tuyen Province for his outstanding achievements in production, business, and solidarity in helping each other to achieve wealth and sustainable poverty reduction in 2022.

Bidding farewell to Mr. Tuyen and many other cooperative members, I hope that the vast area of medicinal plant cultivation before us will be expanded, so that more cooperative members and people in Ham Yen district and even further afield in Tuyen Quang province will have access to and be able to cultivate them widely.

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