Vietnam should build food branding strategy: minister

“The food sector has been given priority to improve its added value and promote exports in the upcoming time,” Hai told a seminar on “Vietnam’s National Strategy on Food Branding” in Hanoi.

He said the programme to build a national brand for the food sector was started last year with an aim to help associations, trade-promotion agencies and businesses build a common image for the sector in the global market.

In addition, the programme would better position Vietnam’s food sector, as well as build prestige on quality and value for sustainable development. However, the deputy minister said the branding and marketing for the sector had certain shortcomings. With low added value, the sector’s exports had not seen high profits, and food products had not gained a firm foothold in both domestic and foreign markets.

Sharing the ideas, Julian Lawson, an expert from the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI), said food branding would bring better prices for farmers, sustainable production and greater economic security.

“Vietnamese food is very different from other cuisine. It has an authentic taste and tastes very good,” he said.

However, he said, Vietnam had a poor reputation with regard to chemicals, low-quality food and pesticides that needed to change.

He believes that Vietnamese enterprises should adopt a strategy to build a brand for their products such as clarifying target objectives, consumption trends and demands, as well as rivals and meaning of logos. These could help the country join the large, high-value markets in the European Union.

He also suggested that businesses should replace their machines and equipment with modern technologies to reduce material waste and ensure food safety.

“Market research should be expanded while diversifying products to suit customers’ tastes in each market,” he said, adding that building brands should be linked to complete distribution channels.

Nguyen Thi Anh Hong, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Tea Association, said Vietnamese tea had a special taste. Local tea products had been exported to 70 countries. However, the annual export value was only US$300 million though up to 80 per cent of the tea was exported to foreign markets.

“Vietnamese tea does not have a brand and suffers from a bad reputation relating to antibiotic residues,” Hong said.

She said Vietnamese rivals such as Sri Lanka, India and Kenya had paid more attention to building brands and improving product quality.

“If Vietnam does not have a strong strategy for branding, several food products will lose their market share,” she said.