Seafood industry employees turn to guava leaves for business

From a seafood specialist, Ms. Au Chuc Mai decided to start a business with a biological dishwashing liquid product made from fermented guava leaves. This is a brave move for this native of Tan Hiep (Kien Giang), with the desire to create “green” products for the community.

Startup ideas come from green lifestyle

Ms. Au Chuc Mai used to be an employee in the aquaculture industry. Her job at that time was to test for pathogenic bacteria in shrimp, analyze the quality of the pond environment, and support the treatment of livestock diseases. She never expected that the knowledge that seemed only suitable for the aquaculture industry would one day pave the way for her to start a business.

Ms. Mai said that when she was pregnant, she decided to quit her job due to concerns about the impact of chemicals in the laboratory environment on the health of the fetus. While staying at home as a housewife, she began to pay attention to the impact of industrial dishwashing liquid on her sensitive skin, leading to peeling hands. The idea of ​​a safe, benign cleaning product suddenly popped into her head. "I realized that I love the green lifestyle and wanted to bring that into every corner of my daily life. From the desire to protect my family's health, I began to research and make my own dishwashing liquid from natural ingredients," Ms. Mai shared.

Booth displaying and introducing KOMBUCLEAN products

One of the reasons that made her come up with the idea of ​​using guava leaves as an ingredient to make dishwashing liquid was when she saw her father cutting down guava branches. Mai thought that her father intended to destroy the tree, but when she asked, she learned that he was just pruning the branches so that the tree would bear more fruit. The image of the fresh green guava branches being removed made her feel uneasy. At the same time, the trend of drinking guava leaf tea to lose weight was booming. Many places bought guava leaves for hundreds of thousands of VND per kilogram. Initially, Mai intended to develop guava leaf tea products. However, investing in machinery, warehouses, ensuring food safety, etc. was beyond Mai's capital at that time.

Undaunted, she turned to beverage research. However, her research did not go as expected. Then, she "turned" to a biological cleaning product from fermented guava leaves - an idea that suited her professional background.

The journey to the finished product was not easy. Sometimes the product had an unpleasant smell due to the wrong mixing ratio. "But thanks to that, I learned a lot and improved the product every day," she shared with a smile.

After nearly 2 years of research and testing, in 2024, Ms. Mai officially launched a dishwashing liquid product made from fermented guava leaves. KOMBUCLEAN is now not only a dishwashing liquid, but also the beginning of an ecosystem of environmentally friendly products: laundry detergent, floor cleaner, food soaking liquid... All revolve around the philosophy of "living green - living healthy" that Ms. Mai has pursued since the early days.

Ms. Mai said that fermented guava leaf water contains natural compounds that help the cleaning process to be safe and friendly such as: enzymes (amylase helps break down starch, protease breaks down protein, lipase breaks down fat,...); organic acids (acetic acid, lactic acid) kill harmful fungi and bacteria; antibacterial substances in guava leaves (polyphenol,...). KOMBUCLEAN stands out thanks to its environmental friendliness, reasonable price and contribution to sustainable development, protecting consumers' health and honoring the role of women.

KOMBUCLEAN products Photo: NVCC

Ms. Mai's startup journey is in the early stages of approaching the market, so it is easy to face many challenges. Although the product has the ability to clean well, it does not create much foam due to its biological properties. Users feel that it is not clean, so they often use more, wasting more than when using industrial products. However, by listening to customer feedback, she has added coconut oil extract to increase the ability to create foam, improving the product. There are also customers who wonder "why does guava leaf dishwashing liquid not have the smell of guava?", Ms. Mai explains: Fresh guava leaves after fermentation only have a slightly sour smell, while guava essential oil is very little and no unit has produced pure essential oil from guava leaves. Therefore, she chose to combine it with natural essential oils such as jasmine, lavender, and mint to create a pleasant scent, while ensuring naturalness.

"In the near future, I plan to invest in an essential oil distiller to experiment with extracting essential oils from guava leaves, with the hope of bringing the unique flavor of homegrown plants into the product," said Ms. Mai.

Opportunities from women's startup competitions

Although the brand is still young, the turning point came when Ms. Mai boldly registered to participate in the "Women's Entrepreneurship" competitions organized by the Women's Union at all levels. At the Southern Regional Finals of the "Women's Entrepreneurship" competition with the theme "Women's Entrepreneurship and Green Transformation", her fermented guava leaf dishwashing liquid product won the consolation prize. More meaningfully, she promoted the product to many new customers. "By participating in the competition, I not only introduced the product to the public, but also approached the right group of potential customers - housewives, people who care about family health and the green living trend," she confided.

After affirming her brand at the women's startup competition, she had many new opportunities, creating new development directions for the project.

Ms. Mai said: "Recently, when I went to participate in a product exhibition in Can Tho , I unexpectedly received attention from companies in other fields. They asked: Can my dishwashing liquid treat pond water? Can it kill mealybugs on guava trees? From these questions, I started to come up with new ideas and am testing them. I hope to create new products that meet the needs of customers."

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/nhan-vien-nganh-thuy-san-re-loi-khoi-nghiep-voi-la-oi-20250528115908405.htm