Finding a new direction for the star anise raw material area in Lang Son province.

Born and raised in the star anise growing region (De Tham commune, Trang Dinh district, Lang Son province), Ms. Tran Thi Thu Lan has painstakingly overcome many difficulties to bring star anise tea products to market, contributing to the consumption of agricultural products from her hometown. She was recently honored with the "CoopStar Awards" 2025 by the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.

Finding ways to overcome difficulties for local anise agricultural products.

Living in a region where star anise is a staple, Lan knew from a young age that it was a valuable medicinal plant, beneficial to health. In her family, Lan's grandmother...   Satisfied   She spent her whole life trading star anise to the Chinese market, while her father, a military doctor, used many traditional Vietnamese herbal remedies based on his experience. Folklore suggests that star anise can help treat various types of stones, such as kidney stones, gallstones, and bladder stones.

"Born and raised in the mountains, due to difficult family circumstances, I didn't have the opportunity to pursue higher education. However, from a young age, I followed my grandmother to sell star anise at border markets in Lang Son province, and also helped my father with odd jobs, such as assisting him in preparing traditional Vietnamese medicine at home to treat many people," recalled Ms. Tran Thi Thu Lan, Director of the Ban Quyen Trang Dinh Agricultural and Forestry Products Production and Service Cooperative.

Workers of the Ban Quyen Trang Dinh Agricultural and Forestry Products Production and Service Cooperative are packaging star anise tea.

Ms. Tran Thi Thu Lan recounted: "Initially, I simply thought about doing something with the abundant and readily available star anise raw material in my hometown. Some years, our neighboring country buys a lot, while other years they buy little or not at all. Local star anise products are stuck, unsold, and can only be sold retail at low prices in nearby areas, or are subject to price manipulation by traders. Furthermore, if people need to use star anise as a traditional medicine, they have to brew it, which is inconvenient for those who travel far. So, I had the idea to launch star anise tea bags, so people can easily carry them and brew them anywhere. The idea to establish my cooperative also originated from that."

The Trang Dinh Copyright Agricultural and Forestry Products Production and Service Cooperative, with its star anise tea production line founded by Ms. Tran Thi Thu Lan (established in July 2021), faced numerous difficulties, including a lack of capital, limited business experience, and challenges in digital transformation and accessing advanced science and technology. Ms. Lan stated: "At that time, I invested over 400 million VND in a drying oven, over 100 million VND in a chopping machine, over 100 million VND in a grinding machine, over 100 million VND in a packaging machine, as well as a stamping machine, printing machine, washing machine... The total investment for the cooperative was approximately over 1 billion VND, with the hope of both saving up and borrowing from the bank to realize my dream."

Her happiness lies in contributing to the consumption of all the star anise produced by her fellow villagers.

The cooperative's process involves purchasing raw star anise, washing it thoroughly, sorting out impurities, chopping it in a machine, drying it, and then processing it. "From the very beginning of the cooperative's establishment, I carefully checked each step to ensure there were no impurities. Because this is a food product, we have to ensure cleanliness before putting the product into the grinder. After that, we mix and package it into star anise tea bags. I've been meticulously exploring each step to find a way to bring the product to market, creating stable jobs for 8 seasonal workers and 15 workers during peak season, all local women, with salaries ranging from 6 to 8 million VND per month."

"However, right after the cooperative was established, it was severely affected by the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, which brought all import and export activities of agricultural products to a standstill. Because I had invested heavily in the cooperative and my dream of enriching my homeland prevented me from giving up, I gradually overcame the difficulties," Ms. Lan said.

Encouraging female members to develop their economy by planting star anise trees.

To ensure the cooperative's stable operation, Ms. Lan proactively built its own brand, complete with labels, tags, and barcodes for traceability, and the star anise tea product has been quality tested at the National Institute of Food Safety and Hygiene Testing ( Ministry of Health ).

In August 2023, Lan Ngoc star anise tea was officially launched by the cooperative, with specially designed packaging featuring both English and Vietnamese subtitles, priced at 80,000 VND per box.

Ms. Lan was commended and praised by the Lang Son Provincial Women's Union.

In particular, besides direct sales, the cooperative also promotes online business on social media platforms such as Zalo, Facebook, and TikTok. The cooperative's products not only serve customers in Lang Son province but are now available at several rest stops on the Lang Son - Hanoi highway and supermarkets in provinces such as Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, and Quang Ninh, contributing to elevating the status of local agricultural products and increasing income for the people.

To promote the development of the star anise growing area in Lang Son province, Ms. Thu Lan has encouraged and motivated women's association members to work together to care for star anise trees. "Over the past time, I have closely coordinated with the Women's Union of De Tham and Kim Dong communes (Trang Dinh district) to donate fertilizers and gifts to poor and near-poor households, helping them have better conditions to care for and develop star anise trees. Because my happiness comes from contributing to the consumption of all the star anise produced by my fellow villagers, helping disadvantaged families in the locality stabilize their lives while living in the star anise growing area."

Looking back on her journey, Ms. Lan concluded: " For anyone, if they have the determination to overcome their circumstances, they will succeed. Each time I overcame difficulties and pressure, it was a valuable lesson for me. Initially, when my business experience was limited, I learned from various media sources, attended training courses on the market, business, and science and technology organized by the Women's Union and local organizations, gradually finding ways to overcome my difficulties."

That is also why she was awarded the title "Outstanding Woman" by the Vietnam Women's Union (in 2024); received a Certificate of Merit from the Lang Son Provincial Women's Union for "Outstanding Female Cooperative Leader in Production and Business, Creating Jobs for Female Workers" (in 2024), and Certificates of Merit from the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance and many other levels and sectors.

On April 10, 2025, Ms. Lan was honored to receive the "CoopStar Awards" 2025 from the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.

The director of the Trang Dinh Copyright Agricultural and Forestry Products Production and Service Cooperative said: "In the coming time, we will focus on upgrading product designs and packaging. We will adjust the weight of each product bag to suit different customer segments; improve production processes, and invest in more machinery for processing and preserving products. At the same time, we will strengthen product promotion on social media platforms to bring products closer to consumers and gradually build a stable position in the market. Along with that, the cooperative will continue to complete the dossier and submit it to the competent authorities to develop the star anise tea product into an OCOP product. Currently, the cooperative has also researched and launched additional medicinal tea products such as blood vine tea, vine tea, and large-leaf tea, meeting the increasing demand of customers both domestically and internationally."

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/tim-ra-huong-di-moi-cho-vung-nguyen-lieu-hoa-hoi-xu-lang-20250426121156697.htm