Starting with a loofah-fiber wallet made as a gift for a relative, Mạc Như Nhân has ‘transformed’ the material into shoes, sandals,… to sell commercially.
After making his first loofah-fiber product as a gift for a relative 20 years ago and receiving positive feedback, Nhân conceived the idea of selling products made entirely from loofah fiber. His operation, with several other members, has now been running for 3 years.
Mr. Nhân introduces products to customers
The first product was a loofah-fiber wallet. Mr. Nhân then diversified into other products, including dish scrubbers, foot scrubbers, footwear, and desk lamps… He divided the products into 5 lines by use: interior decoration, souvenirs, skin care, household goods, and fashion. Fashion and household goods attract the most interest and sell best.
Loofah-fiber products range from VND 12,000 for household items to several million dong for fashion goods. Specifically, a dishwashing pad costs VND 12,000, shoes cost VND 350,000 per pair, and wallets cost VND 400,000–600,000 each.
However, Nhân's business faces considerable difficulty bringing loofah-fiber products to market.
With limited capital and no money to hire workers, the team of 4–5 members had to source materials and do the work themselves. They purchased materials from households specializing in growing loofah in Gia Lai, Đồng Nai, and Bình Định. Because the material is natural, processing takes considerable time. Mature loofah fibers are firm; they are peeled, deseeded, washed, pressed, sorted, and then dyed with food coloring.
The first products were made, but once they reached the market, customers hesitated, comparing them with the many designs available in other materials.
Consumers tend to regard loofah as an ordinary material. Many do not know that these products are made from loofah fibers or fully understand their benefits. As a result, in the early days, revenue at Nhân's workshop was unstable, reaching only a little over VND 10 million per month.
“I like making products as gifts for friends. I want to turn inanimate objects into useful goods and increase the value of workers' labor. To persuade customers to accept my products, all I can do is speak honestly, act genuinely, talk more, and do even more,” Nhân shared.
Recognizing that the products used natural materials and no industrial dyes, Nhân brought them to a green market to reach people interested in clean products.
Minh Liên, from Bình Thạnh District, Ho Chi Minh City, said she often visits the green market to buy food and first noticed the loofah-fiber shoes 2 market sessions ago. Initially, she was somewhat unsure about their durability compared with products made from other materials.
“I thought the loofah shoes were quite interesting and had eye-catching colors. At VND 350,000 a pair, they are not inexpensive for a product made from an unfamiliar material whose durability has not been proven. But I was told that this was a clean product and that a loofah item had remained intact for 20 years, so I decided to try them. The shoes are comfortable and collect little dust, so they do not need much cleaning,” Ms. Liên said.
Quite a large number of customers now know about and embrace the loofah-fiber shoes and wallets. Nhân himself shared that he earns tens of millions each month, reaching VND 80-100 million in strong months.
His customers are mostly in northern Vietnam. Some overseas customers order through hand-carry arrangements. Resistant to termites, less prone to dust and water absorption and therefore colorfast, made from natural materials without industrial dyes, the products are becoming better known, particularly among people interested in clean products.
In the future, Nhân says he will continue developing loofah-fiber products to expand their scale and reach foreign markets. He will also create a wider range of designs to give customers more choices.
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