In Van Ban district, Van An Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative is affirming its position with 3-star OCOP herbal tea products, contributing to increasing income and sustainable new rural development.
Báo Lào Cai•24/06/2025
Located in Liem village, Liem Phu commune, Van Ban district, Van An Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative was founded by Ms. Ngan Thi Trang, an ethnic minority woman, in 2021. After only a few years, the cooperative has become a model of rural economic development associated with the exploitation of indigenous medicinal herbs.
With the goal of protecting consumer health and the environment, the cooperative focuses on building raw material areas that meet biosafety standards and limit the use of chemicals.
Plants such as roses, chrysanthemums, ginger, lemongrass, tea, turmeric, coix seeds... are commonly grown. These are plants suitable for the highland climate, have medicinal value and help improve the soil.
Packaged products of Van An Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative.
Mr. Le Duc Huan - Manager of Van An Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative said: Van An's products are mainly medicinal teas, flower teas and fruit teas. All of Van An's tea lines are aimed at consumers, with the main goal of being good for health.
Along with that, the cooperative has closely implemented the production linkage model according to the value chain. People participating are provided with seeds, technical support and guaranteed products at stable prices. Thanks to that, people can feel secure in production, reduce market risks, and at the same time improve the efficiency of agricultural land use.
To improve product quality, the cooperative invested in a factory with a modern semi-automatic processing equipment system. Main products include tea balls, tea bags and more than 2,000 herbal products, such as essential oils, weight loss tea, skin-beautifying tea... On-site processing helps control quality and save costs.
Ms. Vi Thi Mien, an employee of Van An Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative, shared: To make a package of herbal tea, we have to go through a very strict raw material preparation process. This process requires carefulness in every small step, in order to preserve the flavor and benefits of the tea.
Van An Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative currently provides stable jobs for 20 regular workers and 40-50 seasonal workers. Most of the workers are ethnic minority women in the area, with an income of 6.5-7.5 million VND/person/month. This model not only contributes to poverty reduction, but also creates conditions for people to stick with farming.
Van An Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative creates jobs for local people.
One of the highlights is that the cooperative has built a clear brand, the packaging design is imbued with local identity, easy to identify and environmentally friendly. All products are registered with trademarks, codes, barcodes and meet the provincial 3-star OCOP standards.
Not only developing traditional distribution channels, to expand the market, the cooperative also promotes sales through social networks, e-commerce platforms and local consumer connection systems.
Products of Van An Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative are introduced on e-commerce platforms.
On average, each month, Van An Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative consumes 10 - 12 tons of tea balls, about 150,000 tea bags and thousands of other herbal products. Revenue reaches 750 - 850 million VND/month, profit is about 1.5 billion VND/year. Notably, the cooperative has successfully exported about 100,000 tea bags per year to the US market - a market with strict requirements on quality and food safety, demonstrating the competitive potential of local products.
Currently, Van An Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative has 3 products recognized as 3-star OCOP and is completing documents for 2 new products to upgrade the rating in 2025. This is an important premise for the cooperative to continue expanding the market and increasing product value.
Mr. Le Duc Huan added: Currently, we have two product consumption channels, which are cooperation with herbal tea manufacturers with existing brands, in the form of processing and developing products with the private brand "Van An", selling on digital platforms such as tiktok, shopee, lazada...
Van Ban herbal tea is a typical example of a green economic model associated with the effective exploitation of local resources. Not only contributing to the development of the rural economy, the model also contributes to the preservation of folk knowledge and the preservation of the cultural identity of the highlands. With the right direction, thorough investment and close association with the people, Van An Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative is making Van Ban herbal tea a typical product of Lao Cai on the journey of integration and sustainable development.
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