Nguyen Quoc Truong, co-founder of LilForest: Building a million-dollar ambition from green handmade products

With a sustainable, creative and humane philosophy, LilForest not only brings unique gifts, but is also the story of young founders, always nurturing the desire to bring Vietnamese handmade products to the world.

Nguyen Quoc Truong, co-founder of LilForest.

Mini forest in the heart of the city

In the world and even in Vietnam, the terrarium model is no longer too strange. Simply put, a terrarium is a glass aquarium, inside which is a miniature ecosystem including soil, plants, sand, gravel, water... and maybe some living animals.

Originating from the idea of ​​recreating natural green patches in a compact space, LilForest quickly attracted attention with its unique handmade gift product line. Each product is a “mini forest” made from preserved moss, dried flowers, stones and natural wood, all meticulously arranged in glass jars, with many different sizes and decorative customizations.

Founder Nguyen Quoc Truong said that unlike traditional terrariums, LilForest's glass tanks do not need watering, soil or light. The startup uses a special type of preserved moss, which is real moss from nature, selectively harvested and goes through a special treatment process to "freeze" the moss's fresh state.

Meanwhile, in the position of CEO responsible for commercial aspects, Ngoc Thanh Phuc shared that the special point of the product is also in the personalization. Instead of gifts designed with the same pattern in large quantities, customers can request to change some arrangements inside the glass tank, engrave messages, choose colors, packaging materials, or combine with souvenir accessories. Therefore, no product is the same, from details to arrangement. Each LilForest product is not simply a decorative gift, but becomes a personal souvenir, containing the individual emotions of the giver and recipient. The startup has even received many large orders from world corporations such as LV, China Telecom, Charles Sturt...

Truong added that 30% of the workers at LilForest's factory are disabled people - people who suffer many disadvantages but possess the ability to concentrate highly and be meticulous in every step. Truong thought this was extremely difficult and could take a lot of time, but it turned out that in just one week, everyone was able to catch up with the work progress, even creating products with their own unique mark.

“Here, everyone can shine. There is no limit to the value of each person,” said LilForest representative.

Aspiration to reach out globally

Taking on the role of laying the first foundation of the brand, at the end of 2023, Truong founded LilForest, from a simple desire to make products related to green trees, with sustainability. Truong came up with this idea after participating in trekking trips in the Northwest mountainous region. “I want to somehow bring the green patches of the mountains and forests to the city,” Truong said.

When he started the project, he thought it would take a long time for the product to be accepted, but in fact, they had orders in the first few months. He said that both he and Phuc were “quitters” – Truong quit the IT industry, and Phuc quit the banking and finance industry, to start a business in the manufacturing sector.

The two agreed that they would not just make a startup that sells handmade products, but a much bigger “game”. “We want to make a million-dollar startup that will go global,” Phuc confidently asserted.

In fact, this assertion is completely grounded. Compared to manual startups, which only produce limited quantities and are limited in human resources, LilForest has built two separate workshops, one specializing in importing and processing moss for conservation, and the other specializing in manufacturing products. The school also built its own standard technology platform, helping startups control the entire production chain. Thanks to that, startups will know exactly how many products each employee is responsible for producing, or at what stage the product has been made. Once finished, product photos will be taken and sent to the system for quality control...

LilForest has now begun selling its products internationally, with initial orders coming from countries such as France, Canada, and the US. LilForest is working hard to complete orders, aiming to reach the revenue milestone of 1 million USD this year, then increase to 3-4 million USD in 2026.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/nguyen-quoc-truong-dong-sang-lap-lilforest-xay-tham-vong-trieu-usd-tu-san-pham-thu-cong-xanh-d406193.html