Bringing the 'soul' of Vietnamese cuisine to the world.

Shrimp paste has traveled across five continents.

Many foreign visitors to Vietnam enjoy most of the local dishes except... shrimp paste. Even for many Vietnamese people, it's a difficult dish to eat. No one could have imagined that shrimp paste would now be available in many countries around the world , even in demanding culinary markets like Japan.

Mr. Le Anh and the specialties of his hometown.

Mr. Le Anh, founder and CEO of Le Gia Food & Trading Service Co., Ltd. ( Thanh Hoa ), shared that in 2015, he quit his job as a construction engineer to start a business in his hometown, focusing on the traditional craft of making shrimp paste. He wanted to challenge himself by creating a truly delicious and safe product. The best way to prove this was to export the product to Japan.

So he devoted himself to achieving this goal. About two years ago, the first shipment, a 20-foot container, was accepted for entry into Japan. For more than two years, Le Gia's shrimp paste has been steadily exported to this notoriously demanding market. "Currently, we are preparing an order for a 40-foot container for a Japanese customer, a chain of restaurants. They buy this product to add to their sauce recipes and use it as a seasoning in their cooking," Le Anh shared, admitting that the company's initial goal was to serve the Vietnamese community in Japan.

Selling shrimp paste and fish sauce to the Japanese for use in their dishes was unthinkable. Therefore, when they succeeded, the company was truly proud to have brought this quintessential Vietnamese dish to the world. Besides Japan, Le Gia shrimp paste and fish sauce products have also been successfully exported to the US, Czech Republic, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, South Africa, and Panama. "Although not yet a huge number of markets, in terms of continents, Le Gia shrimp paste from Vietnam is present in all five continents," Le Anh said jokingly.

To meet the demands of its business expanding "across five continents," Le Anh has decided to expand its production facilities tenfold. It is expected that by the end of October, the company's factory will have expanded to a total area of ​​13,000 square meters, with a production capacity of up to 1 million liters of fish sauce and 500-700 tons of shrimp paste and krill paste per year.

"Fish sauce or shrimp paste, while considered the 'soul' of Vietnamese cuisine , is only a condiment, not a complete dish. That's why Le Gia is investing in processing more products such as: dried shrimp floss, dried tiger prawn floss, braised pork with shrimp paste, and various complete seasoning sauces… These products have sold very well in supermarket chains. When we have a new factory, we will focus on developing these product lines based on the core principle of products without preservatives, MSG, or artificial flavors," Le Anh said.

The inspiration comes from the "chili sauce billionaire"

In early February 2023, the Vietnamese online community was abuzz with news that a Vietnamese-American had become a chili sauce billionaire.

David Tran, a Vietnamese-American and owner of the Sriracha hot sauce brand, has become a billionaire. Sriracha has become the third-best-selling hot sauce in the billion-dollar US market, after Tabasco and Frank's Redhot.

On this side of the globe, a young man shared on social media: "These past few days, many acquaintances have been sharing the article about the Vietnamese-born 'King of Chili Sauce' officially becoming a dollar billionaire, with the encouraging message 'Keep going!' Chilica is only a little over two years old (founded in June 2020), but in 42 years, it will definitely become a billionaire."

That young man is Nguyen Thanh Hien, the founder of the Chilica chili sauce brand. Hien comes from the field of manufacturing and distributing products for the aquaculture industry. When his initial business became stable, he wondered if he would continue in this stable situation for the rest of his life. He felt he needed to do something more meaningful for himself and for society. As a native of Central Vietnam who loves spicy food, he realized that chili sauce is indispensable for many families both in Vietnam and around the world. So, Hien spent five years researching and learning the chili sauce production process.

Chilica was officially launched in mid-2020. At that time, it was during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the product was so new that it didn't attract many customers. After the pandemic, he and his colleagues decided to "conquer" various trade fairs and exhibitions both domestically and internationally to promote the product. In addition, Mr. Hien sent emails to over 100 Vietnamese trade offices in various countries and received feedback from many. The Vietnamese trade office in Cambodia livestreamed a presentation of Chilica fermented chili sauce. Trade offices in Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands displayed Chilica in Vietnamese booths at trade fairs and Vietnamese product weeks…

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien is constantly involved in trade promotion to open up the global market.

Their efforts paid off, and at the Dubai trade fair, Chilica secured four contracts. "One contract for the Canadian market, with the second order being prepared; the customers are from the Muslim community there. There are also contracts for the Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Iran markets. Among these, the Iranian market is particularly interesting because it's very difficult to get goods there. We buy directly from them, but the goods have to go through a roundabout route from Vietnam to Dubai and then from there to Iran," Mr. Hien explained, adding that while attending a trade fair in Thailand, he also found customers in the US market. They tried the products at the fair and then followed him to Vietnam to tour the factory and observe the production process for two days. Afterward, they ordered a container of goods to take back to the US for a trial sale.

"Right now, this is our best market, accounting for about 50% of our export volume, and we've already shipped 12 containers. This market still has a lot of potential. Our main customers are Vietnamese and Korean people in the US. We hope to expand to a wider local community later," said Mr. Hien.

Hue-style cakes, fish porridge, eel porridge… are being exported in droves.

"In Vietnam, eating a bowl of banh beo or banh Hue is perfectly normal, but if you eat that same bowl of banh beo in America, it's a completely different story. It's not just a dish, it's the taste of home. In America, if you want to eat Vietnamese food, you have to go to a restaurant at a very high price or buy ingredients to prepare it yourself, which is equally expensive and time-consuming. Many Vietnamese and Asian people can't eat Western food regularly. So, if there's a convenient, fresh, and reasonably priced product that we call 'ready to eat,' it will definitely sell very well," shared Jolie Nguyen (Vietnamese name: Nguyen Thi Kim Huyen), President and Founder of LNS Company (USA) - a business specializing in consulting and distributing Vietnamese and Asian goods in the US.

Young people are "bringing Vietnamese cuisine to the world."

Before working in the food industry, Jolie Nguyen owned a logistics company with over 20 years of experience in international freight transportation. Therefore, she recognized the needs of the US market as well as the export needs of Vietnamese businesses to the US. Sharing her experience as a bridge connecting many Vietnamese products in the US, Jolie said: "The inspiring story of Ca Men with its snakehead fish porridge is a prime example. This is a micro-enterprise. We went to Vietnam to guide them, and it only took 4 months to upgrade them to meet the standards for exporting goods to the US through official channels. This product became a 'hot trend' for a long time on Asian-American sales channels in the US market. We act as a bridge between Vietnamese manufacturers and buyers in the US."

Global customers are delighted with Le Gia's products.

According to Jolie, if Cà Mèn is known for its signature snakehead fish porridge from Quảng Trị, then Napfood has signature dishes from Nghệ An such as eel soup with rice noodles, eel porridge with mung beans, eel stew with banana and beans… The trend is that the company will buy ready-made products in Vietnam and export them to the US if they are truly delicious and meet standards.

"Even now, we're selling products like stir-fried chayote shoots, stir-fried zucchini, and crab soup in the US market. Our goal is to introduce a new product from Vietnam to this market every month. Before starting with small businesses, we worked with larger ones. They already had established processes, so we just sold their products, such as K Coffee, honey-roasted ginger, and Nam Duong soy sauce. We signed an exclusive distribution contract in the US market. We have a distribution channel with nearly 300 Vietnamese and Asian supermarkets, as well as online sales channels for Asians in the US and popular channels like Amazon and Walmart," Jolie informed.

Rice and rice flour are available in many countries, but dishes like banh nam, banh bot loc, fish porridge, and eel soup are unique to Vietnam. This is where we can compete with the world, based on our distinctiveness and local cultural identity.

Jolie Nguyen, President and Founder of LNS Company (USA)

When sharing this information with us, Jolie was in Budapest, Hungary, attending a forum for the Vietnamese expatriate business community in Europe. She was carrying a selection of Vietnamese specialties that are selling well in the US, with the intention of expanding into the European market. "Our company already has offices in Italy, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and we want to bring Vietnamese food and culture to the whole world, not just the US market," she said.

Jolie Nguyen imports Vietnamese-branded products and distributes them in the US market.

"What we're discussing here is exporting Vietnamese food, cuisine, and culture to the world, not just traditional agricultural products. Besides promoting Vietnamese culinary culture, it also creates added value for the products. For example, a container of Ca Men's snakehead fish porridge is worth nearly $100,000, much more than the raw product, and these are products bearing a Vietnamese brand. Many countries have rice or rice flour, but banh nam, banh bot loc, snakehead fish porridge, eel soup… are unique to Vietnam. That's what allows us to compete with the world based on our uniqueness and local cultural identity," Jolie emphasized.

We sign both rigid and flexible contracts to guarantee the purchase of produce from farmers.

To meet the increased factory capacity, we have signed purchase agreements with farmers in both fixed and flexible forms. The fixed contract covers an area of ​​60 hectares with a guaranteed price of 30,000 VND/kg. With the flexible contract, farmers can sell to outside traders when market prices are high. When market prices are lower, Chilica will purchase at the contracted price, provided the product meets food safety standards and safe production processes as per guidelines.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien, founder of the Chilica chili sauce brand.

The world is giving Vietnamese cuisine a passport.

What I'm aiming for isn't just selling products, but promoting Vietnamese culinary culture. We have a great opportunity, as many prestigious newspapers around the world have recently praised our food. For example, The New York Times featured dishes like fish cakes, charcoal-grilled noodles, and tofu with shrimp paste... This is like the world giving Vietnam a culinary passport. We need to seize this opportunity. In particular, traditional crafts need to be preserved by young people.

Mr. Le Anh, founder and CEO of Le Gia Food & Trading Services Co., Ltd.

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