The fateful turn from pharmaceuticals to the sea
The vision of a unique seafood product of his homeland has completely changed the life of Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy, General Director of DT Khanh Hoa Seaweed Joint Stock Company (DT Group), Khanh Hoa province.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy, General Director of DT Khanh Hoa Seaweed Joint Stock Company, is very passionate about seaweed. Photo: DT.
More than 13 years ago, while holding a stable management position with a dream salary in the pharmaceutical industry in Nha Trang, a meeting with a doctor became a fateful turning point. This doctor shared about the extremely valuable nutritional value of sea grapes, a food known as "green salmon eggs" by the Japanese. Realizing that the natural conditions in the Khanh Hoa sea area were completely ideal for farming, with high demand and great potential from international markets, especially Japan, Mr. Duy decided to make a spectacular and bold turn: giving up his stable job to devote all his heart and capital to starting a business with sea grapes.
The first days on the thorny path of starting a business tested the perseverance of the new entrepreneur. The model of cultivating seaweed was still very primitive in Vietnam at that time. Cultivation and care techniques encountered countless difficulties, leading to low initial harvest yields and uneven quality, unable to meet the strict standards of the export market. Sea grapes are a particularly sensitive food, easily spoiled after only 2-3 days if not properly preserved. The pressure on capital and output increasingly weighed on Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy's shoulders.
Mr. Duy has linked farmers with ineffective aquaculture to switch to growing seaweed. Photo: KS.
“In order to maintain production, research and development of raw material areas, I had to mortgage my only house to pursue my dream,” Mr. Duy shared. This trade-off demonstrated a strong belief in the potential of seaweed and the desire to bring Vietnamese products to the world .
With tireless perseverance, Mr. Duy and the DT Group team have gradually mastered the technology, constantly improving the farming process in a clean, nutrient-rich marine environment, and applying advanced quality management standards.
After nearly a decade of perseverance, DT Group has conquered the Japanese market, which is known to be the most demanding and strict in the world regarding food safety standards. The Japanese themselves have recognized the superior quality of Khanh Hoa seaweed and DT Group has begun exporting hundreds of tons of products each year to the "homeland" of this seaweed.
International reach and sustainable organic aspirations
Currently, DT Group has affirmed its position as a leading enterprise in the field of seaweed production and processing in Vietnam, with an impressive export capacity of about 40 tons of fresh and dehydrated seaweed per month to high-end markets such as Japan and the US.
DT Group has invested in modern machine learning to process products to increase value. Photo: KS.
One of the factors that makes the difference is that the enterprise has mastered the technology to produce dehydrated seaweed (only 20% salt water remaining).
According to Mr. Duy, this technology not only helps the product retain its full nutrition, natural color and characteristic flavor, but also extends the preservation time up to six months, making Vietnamese seaweed easier to transport and more warmly received by international consumers.
The quality of DT Group's Okinawa dehydrated seaweed has been recognized through a series of prestigious certifications such as ISO, HACCP, FDA (USA) food safety certification and 4-star OCOP product.
Mr. Duy's seaweed products have reached out to the world. Photo: KS.
The success of Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy is not only economic but also creates a great social value, contributing to building a sustainable marine economy for Khanh Hoa province and neighboring localities. With the current raw material area of more than 75 hectares, recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization as the largest farming area and output of Japanese seaweed in the country, DT Group not only proactively supplies but also implements a policy of close association with farmers, cooperating with more than 70 households to convert from ineffective aquaculture models to seaweed farming, bringing a more stable and sustainable source of income for coastal communities.
Regarding future plans, "sea grape king" Nguyen Quang Duy continues to set bigger goals. In particular, DT Group is actively coordinating with relevant ministries and branches to perfect the process of cultivating sea grapes using advanced technology, aiming to achieve the first Organic certification in Vietnam for sea grape products.
DT Group's Okinawa dehydrated seaweed achieved 4-star OCOP. Photo: DT.
The company is also expanding the scale of raw material areas, diversifying deep-processed products to increase export value such as seaweed snacks, seaweed vegetarian spices, seaweed juice, seaweed bird's nest tea, seaweed oyster protein and building a model of a tourist attraction to experience the process of cultivating and producing seaweed. These in-depth product development strategies have paved the way for international cooperation opportunities.
Most recently, DT Group has made a big step forward by signing additional strategic cooperation agreements with companies on product distribution in Japan. This event is once again a strong proof that the Vietnamese seaweed brand that Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy has painstakingly built is fully capable and qualified enough to conquer and be accepted in one of the most demanding markets in the world.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy is not only a successful businessman but also an inspirational symbol, a typical example showing that with a broad vision, great passion and perseverance, Vietnamese agricultural products and products can absolutely find a worthy place on the world trade map.
Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/nguoi-dua-trung-ca-hoi-xanh-viet-nam-vuon-ra-the-gioi-d786872.html
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