Four 'made-in-Da Nang' products have been recognised as Da Nang's 'Best Commercial Products in 2019' by the Da Nang government.  They are ‘Ba Lieu Me’ ‘banh kho me’ (dried sesame seed cakes), MaYaCa coffee, and Huong Lang Co and Binh Minh fish sauce. This prestigious recognition, indeed, creates more motivation for the honoured businesses to ceaselessly enhance their product quality to win more trust of their consumers.

Mr Ho Duc Tien, the Director of MaYaCa Coffee company is seen introducing the coffee roasting process.

The recognised products are required to reflect the city’s special characteristics, for instance, being associated with historical, cultural and relic sites, and use locally-originated specific materials.  In particular, the honoured products are highly recommended to be preferred by locals and both domestic and foreign tourists, and also importantly, they must be environmentally friendly and export-oriented.

Mr Ho Duc Tien, the Director of MaYaCa Coffee company, affirmed his business’s ongoing mission to bring MaYaCa clean coffee products to more customers across Viet Nam. At present, over 70% of all production and business activities take place in the city, including coffee roasting, packaging and market supplying.  A total of more than 70 full-time and part-time employees now work for the company with their stable income.

In regard to product pitch measures under the company’s brand marketing strategy, in the time to come, the MaYaCa products’ packaging designs will feature the ‘Da Nang’s Best Commercial Products’ logo and highlight the city’s iconic landmarks.

In parallel with these plans, ways will be sought to get these products onto the shelves of grocery stores, mini-marts and supermarkets in an attempt to expand brand reach and connect with new customers. Another plan MaYaCa is mulling over is to promote its high-quality MaYaCa Good Inside coffee.

Possessing the time-honoured brand name promoted for many decades, Ba Lieu Me ‘banh kho me’ has become a familiar product in the city’s market, with 80% of its products being on sale in many stores and shops, the airport, restaurants and large hotels across the city. In particular, large numbers of domestic and foreign tourists usually buy this delicacy as souvenir gifts for their relatives and friends.

Mr Huynh Duc Sol, the owner of the Ba Lieu Me family-owned ‘banh kho me’ making facility, revealed, his business’s upcoming goal is to push the cakes beyond the home market as currently to make it known worldwide.

In order to make the dream come true, the Ba Lieu Me facilty will welcome tourists for their glance into how to make this delicacy here. Interestingly, visiting this facility, the visitors will find more convenient to access the Cham relic complex in the Phong Le Village and the La Huong vegetable growing village nearby.

The recent recognition of the traditional fish sauce making craft in the Nam O Village as part of Vietnamese national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is really good news for this time-honoured village.

Mr Nguyen Viet Dung, the Director of Binh Minh fish sauce, affirmed the Nam O traditional fish sauce production process at the cooperative has been upgraded to a professional level, from production to labeling, packaging, marketing and product promotion. In particular, the establishment strictly follows traditional recipe it inherited from ancestors in the village so as to preserve the pure taste of renowned Nam O fish sauce.

Mr Dung said that he was very happy and more confident in his entrepreneurial path. He hoped that the traditional craft village would see a more prosperous future and keep pace with the modern development trends.

Likewise, Mr Nguyen Thanh Phu, the Director of Huong Lang Co Fish Sauce Company said his products have affirmed their position in the home market and reach out to such neighbouring countries as Laos and Thailand, hereby contributing to ensuring a berth for Nam O on the map of Viet Nam’s famous traditional fish sauce making villages, along with Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet.

Huong Lang Co is now the only facility in this time-honoured craft village to welcome tours for the discovery into the making of fish sauce. Mr Phu hoped that future tourism projects would come into operation in the village.

By KHANH HOA – Translated by A.T