A group of students from the Da Nang University of Economics has supported four production and trading households in Da Nang’s Hoa Vang District to design a logo and create a brand identity for their business in order to enable the district authorities to seek recognition from functional bodies for their locally-made products as part of the national One Commune-One Product (OCOP) program.

Students of the Da Nang University of Economics discussing with Mr. Phan Van Hung (first, left) and his staff to create a brand identity for his Quynh Tam cordyceps wine product. Photo: HUYNH LE

Mr. Phan Van Hung, the owner of the Quynh Tam Cordyceps Mushroom Production Facility located in Cam Toai Dong village, Hoa Phong Commune said that the facility has produced successfully cordyceps wine after a long time conducting research activities and market research around product development. According to Mr. Hung, 17 types of amino acids in cordyceps which are soaked in glutinous rice wine, will reduce inflammation in your body, as well as boost your immune system and guards against infectious diseases.

“The Quynh Tam cordyceps wine packaging designed by students of the University of Economics is more luxurious and more appealing compared to my facility’s existing packaging design. I like blue color plus flying and breaking lines in their design. With the creation of appealing visual brand identity for the cordyceps wine, we hope that we will sell our new product successfully, and gain customer trust. Hopefully, our new product will soon become a locally-made product of the national OCOP program,” Hung shared.

As one of Hoa Vang District-based production facilities that meet national standards for organic agricultural products, the Quynh Tam facility specializes in producing such mushrooms as reishi, abalone, and cordyceps, along with edible mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms.

Mr. Hung said that his facility monthly harvests about 300-500kg of reishi mushrooms, 10-15kg of cordyceps mushrooms, and more than 1.5 tons of oyster mushrooms. He highlighted the urgent need to expand into new markets for his facility’s products as the production volume increases. Packaging design and brand identity created by students of the Da Nang University of Economics for new product will help his facility confidently introduce it in upcoming agricultural fairs.

In a similar move, after achieving success in organic guava farming in Khe Ram area, Hoa Bac Commune, Mr. Nguyen Van Minh was delighted to receive these students’ support to create a brand identity for his business. He said that his organic guavas have been sold at local traditional markets for a long time with their price ranging from VND 10,000 to VND 20,000 per kg. However, through the consultation with these students, Mr Minh realized that he can charge more for his organic guavas after a brand identity for them is created.

Mr. Minh remarked: “The creation of a brand identity for my business will open up a huge range of opportunities for me to bring my products to eco-tourism attractions in such communes as Hoa Bac, Hoa Phu, and Hoa Lien to sell my products at higher prices for better profits, as well as gain stability in the consumption of my products”.

In their efforts to help farmers in Hoa Vang District create a brand identity for their organic products, students of the University of Economics have paid field trips to their production facilities and farms to learn about their specific products and their needs.

Dang Thi Thuy Linh, a student in her second-year of the Da Nang University of Economics said that her 8-member volunteer team have spent many days visiting  production facilities and farms of farmers to help them design labels, logos packaging for their products.

“The purpose of my group is to help farmers create a brand identity for their business, including logos, labels, packaging, thereby helping them increase their product value in an attempt to boost commercialization of their products, as well as help their products become locally-made ones of the national OCOP program,”  Thuy Linh said.

It is known that giving a helping hand to Hoa Vang District’s farmers to create a brand identify for their organic products is part of the Green Summer volunteer program 2023 jointly launched by the Youth Union organization and the Students’ Association of the University of Economics. After a short time, the volunteer team have successfully created a brand identity for Hoa Bac organic guava, Quynh Tam cordyceps wine, Ba Nghia dried sesame seed cake, and AC Food abalone mushroom.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Thao, the Secretary of the Youth Union Organization of the University of Economics, said that focus has been on encouraging students to use their knowledge and skills to help farmers make their farming more productive and profitable.

“The volunteer program to help farmers design a brand identity for their products is a new way to encourage students’ engagement in volunteer activities, thereby bringing excitement to them. And what makes it even more fun is that with students brand identities designed by them have received a big round of applause from farmers, thereby encouraging students to develop more volunteer programmes that meet their social needs," Ms. Thao said.

Reporting by HUYNH LE – Translating by H.L