Work as a worker and start a business at the same time

In the countryside of Tan Tay (Tay Ninh province), Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong is one of the few young people who chose to start a business with the traditional profession of distilling cajuput essential oil. Her project “Gai Chien cajuput essential oil” won first prize in the “Creative Women, Start-ups in 2025” contest organized by the Women’s Union of Long An province (now the Women’s Union of Tay Ninh province) at the end of May.

Cherish every drop of homeland cajeput oil

Tan Tay, Thu Huong's hometown, used to be covered with Melaleuca forests because the climate and soil here are ideal for this medicinal herb to grow. Melaleuca trees are not only resistant to alum and drought, but also produce essential oils with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, often used by people to treat colds, coughs, insect bites or to keep children warm.

Ms. Thu Huong said that since ancient times, many people in the area have been engaged in the profession of making cajuput oil. Her parents-in-law have also been involved in this profession for nearly 40 years. However, the cajuput forest area has gradually shrunk.

People switched to growing plants with higher economic value. Melaleuca kilns gradually closed down, the few households still engaged in the profession only produced small amounts, enough for home use or to sell around the neighborhood.

Worried that the traditional profession might disappear, Ms. Huong and her husband decided to start a business, building a cajuput essential oil brand in a professional and sustainable way. The business household "Gai Chien Cajuput Essential Oil" was officially established in 2022, with the name meaning to continue and pay tribute to the profession's teachers, her parents-in-law.

"Cajeput oil is a type of essential oil extracted from the leaves of the cajuput tree. When pressed and distilled, the leaves of this tree produce 100% natural oil, called cajuput essential oil or cajuput oil. My husband's parents have been in the cajuput essential oil distillation business for a long time, but they are now old, and production is limited to small-scale furnaces. So, my husband and I decided to learn the trade and do it more systematically," said Ms. Huong.

Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong (left) introduces her products

Currently, Ms. Huong is both a garment worker and a businesswoman. During the day, she works at the company, and in the evening, she packs goods and interacts with customers on social media platforms.

"When I started my business, I was also pregnant. Because I understood the psychology of mothers who want to find safe and benign products for their children, I was determined to make products with the heart of a mother. I personally think that I have to proactively search, study, and invest in another job so that when I am no longer a worker, I can still be financially independent," Ms. Huong shared.

Ms. Thu Huong said that the biggest difficulty when starting a business was finding raw materials. Natural cajuput leaves were becoming increasingly rare, so she and her husband had to travel far and wide to find cajuput trees in the forest, collect seeds, and bring them back to grow on their land.

After each leaf cutting, the couple planted a new crop, adjusting so that after about 3 - 3.5 months, they would have raw materials to cook the next batch. Gradually, the couple took the initiative in the raw material area. The distillation equipment was also a challenge. At first, the furnace was old, the pot was small, and the oil output was not much.

Melaleuca tree raw material area

Ms. Huong said: "Although we learned the trade very carefully, the first batches of cooking produced very little oil. But then my husband and I learned from our experiences, adjusted the technique, improved the cooking pot, and now we cook an average of 1 ton of leaves every day to produce 2 liters of essential oil."

Currently, her husband is in charge of the technical part of cooking, while Thu Huong is in charge of oil refining, packaging, marketing, sales, and brand building. The process of distilling cajuput essential oil requires patience and meticulousness, going through many stages from selecting raw materials, preparing, cooking, to filtering and bottling.

Ms. Huong analyzed: The step of selecting raw leaves is the most important step, determining the quality of cajuput oil. This step requires practical experience to produce good quality cajuput oil batches.

After harvesting, cajuput leaves are carefully selected and put into a pot with water in a ratio of 1:2 (1 water - 2 leaves), boiled continuously for about 5 - 6 hours, with a heat level that is not too high or too low. Because if the heat is too high or too low, it will affect the quality of cajuput essential oil.

The steam rises, carrying essential oils, passing through a cold environment and condensing into droplets. On average, 1 ton of leaves can be distilled to produce 2 liters of finished essential oil. The average selling price is from 800,000 VND to 1 million VND/liter.

Currently, the product is bottled in many capacities (10ml, 30ml, 50ml and 100ml) to suit the needs of each customer. Ms. Huong also focuses on improving the packaging, designing the brand to be both eye-catching and rustic, close.

Gai Chien cajeput essential oil product Photo: NVCC

"I pursue this career not only to make money but also because of the pride of preserving the traditional profession of my hometown and family," said Ms. Huong.

Looking for development opportunities from startup competitions

Ms. Thu Huong has actively learned and participated in programs to support women in starting a business. In 2023, her project participated in a district-level startup competition and won third prize. In 2025, when competing at the provincial level, she excellently won first prize.

"Through each competition, I learn more knowledge and experience from the comments of the judges and experts to perfect my product. The important thing is to introduce my product to many people," Ms. Huong confided.

In early 2025, "Gai Chien cajuput essential oil" was certified as a 3-star OCOP product. This was a turning point, recognizing the persistent efforts of Ms. Huong and her husband. To expand the output of her products, Ms. Huong marketed the products to pharmacies and chain stores selling products for mothers and babies to put the products on the shelves, while maintaining retail channels through social networks.

Starting her business while working as a worker, step by step building her brand, Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong's journey is a persistent effort to spread the scent of cajeput oil everywhere.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/vua-lam-cong-nhan-vua-khoi-nghiep-20250815192417066.htm