Having Failed Twice with Losses of Up to 2 Billion Dong, Nguyễn Mạnh Trung Still Refused to Abandon the Difficult Agricultural-Products Business and Once Again Took a Risk on Wild Malva Nuts.
Nguyễn Mạnh Trung’s house, which also serves as his company premises in Bình Thạnh District, is quite spacious and well-appointed. At 37, this property is considered a success for a self-made businessman like Trung, especially after so many upheavals.
6 years after graduation, with experience, customers and relationships accumulated at an agricultural import-export company, the former Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics student decided to strike out on his own.
After saving VND 500 million, supplemented by investments from friends and family and some bank borrowing, Trung established a company in 2006 specializing in exporting agricultural products and importing machinery and equipment for resale. Less than a year after opening, the company went bankrupt because of a lack of cohesion and cooperation among its investors, as well as weaknesses in personnel management.
To provide security for his family, Trung continued working at the agricultural import-export company. He threw himself into hard work to repay his debts and save a small amount of capital to rebuild his career.
In 2008, the second company was established, but its launch coincided with the beginning of the economic crisis, making it difficult to find a market. Once again, Trung made mistakes in management and capital contributions, and the company lost another 2 billion dong.
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Nguyễn Mạnh Trung (left), the First Person to Build a Brand for Malva Nuts. |
The invested money came from relatives and friends. Although deeply discouraged, Trung was determined not to remain in debt and allowed himself to feel sad only briefly before starting again.
“Business is like jumping into a crocodile pond: your only option is to swim because you can no longer return to shore,” Trung said. After 2 failures, he realized that the problems had originated in management, so this time he streamlined the organization.
Fortunately, by 2010 the company gradually recovered and rapidly expanded its business, mainly focusing on agricultural trade. Pepper in particular sold well, accounting for 90% of turnover and helping Trung’s company achieve revenue of VND 70–100 billion, with annual exports of 1,000 to 1,500 tonnes. He also exports cashews, coffee, and herbs to Hong Kong, the Netherlands, India, and other markets.
After 6 years focusing on agricultural exports, Trung realized that simply exporting raw products abroad would make it difficult to build his own brand—and where would Vietnamese agriculture’s future lie? With this in mind, he resolved to build an agricultural brand.
During a business trip to Japan in 9/2012, several customers suggested that Trung create a brand of strong, pure coffee to meet demand in that market. Seeing its potential, he returned home and focused on production and building a brand specifically for Japanese consumers. Initially, Trung exported only around 5,000 packets of coffee per month, generating revenue of 200 million đồng. However, he believes the growth opportunity is enormous, especially for brand expansion, because the products are sold mainly in Japanese supermarkets.
But alongside traditional agricultural products, Trung’s great passion is malva nuts, a forest fruit few businesses notice.
In 3/2014, while accompanying a truck carrying agricultural goods to a major warehouse in China, nearly 1.000km from the border crossing, Trung was astonished to find around 4.000 tonnes of malva nuts in cold storage. On further inquiry, he was even more surprised to learn that a truckload costing around 1,8 billion đồng could be resold in China for 2 billion, meaning a week of purchasing malva nuts could immediately yield a profit of 200 million đồng.
“Chinese buyers purchase the product, perform preliminary processing, and raise the price 10 times. At some tourist destinations, they even sell it for VND 6–10 million per kilogram, while raw malva nuts in Vietnam sell for only VND 400.000–500.000, or around VND 800.000 per kilogram when prices are favorable,” Trung said.
Through research, Trung initially knew only that ươi was cooling and relieved internal heat. China, however, had studied it thoroughly, considering it a valuable herb that treated many illnesses and grew only in Southeast Asia, especially the hot, humid Trường Sơn range. After calculations, he decided to invest in a brand for Vietnamese ươi. In February 2015, “Ươi vàng” officially launched.
To ensure quality and pricing, Trung travels directly to ươi forests in the Trường Sơn Range and parts of the Central Highlands to buy supplies. Because these trees fall under forestry management, he needs forest ranger permits to purchase and transport them. Trung said ươi trees must reach 60 years of age to bear fruit and fruit only once every 4 years, so he usually buys reserves to ensure enough products for the market.
After purchase, malva nuts are sorted, sterilized, and packaged in combinations that make it easy for customers to choose. Trung is currently building a factory with investment of nearly 3 billion đồng and plans to launch a refreshing beverage made from this fruit. Because it is a natural herb with many uses, he also wants to develop products for people with diabetes, spinal bone spurs, and other conditions.
Trung says that being the first business to build a brand for Vietnamese malva nuts has brought many difficulties because few people know the product. Hà Nội currently accounts for 80% of the market share, as malva nuts are familiar to people in the North. Although revenue remains modest at just 50-70 million đồng a month, Trung wants to continue investing in a Vietnamese malva nut brand instead of merely exporting to China.
Speaking with VnExpress, Nguyễn Văn Hân, head of Quang Ngai's Forest Protection Subdepartment, said malva nut trees mainly grow in Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands. During harvest, people spread tarpaulins beneath trees and climb up to shake branches so mature fruits fall. Fruiting seasons vary with local soils, and harvesting lasts at most about one month in the dry season. If not harvested in time, the fruits absorb rainwater, swell open, and fall.
“A kilogram of fresh malva nuts sells for about VND 50.000 in the forest, while dried nuts cost more than VND 200.000. Traders generally buy the fruit and sell it to traditional medicine shops,” Mr. Hân said.
According to Mr. Hân, mature malva nut trees bear fruit only once every four years, so any business seeking to build a processing factory for this fruit must plan and develop a growing area to operate steadily over the long term.
Dr. Lê Quang Quỳnh, Director of Quảng Ngãi Provincial Traditional Medicine Hospital, said malva nuts are used to treat sore throats, dry coughs, nosebleeds, hoarseness, loss of voice, lower blood sugar, clear heat, and treat red, swollen, painful throats. They are usually soaked in boiling water until expanded before use.
Diễm Phạm – Trí Tín
