Building a Vietnamese brand associated with green and sustainable development

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	Vietnamese value brand
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Vinamilk, one of the sustainable brands, maintains green brand development. Photo: provided by enterprise

Brand - "soft internal resources" for business development

Sharing the story around building Vietnamese product brands, especially in the current green trade context, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, Chairman of the Vietnam Retailers Association, General Director of the Union of Trading Cooperatives Ho Chi Minh City Trade said that currently, in the domestic market, Vietnamese goods have made positive changes and achieved many remarkable results. Vietnamese goods are also gradually moving in a very strong "green" direction; at the same time, take advantage of new opportunities, typically free trade agreements. Consumers have access to a wide variety of high-quality domestic goods, with 75%-85% of goods on supermarket shelves being Vietnamese products. Vietnamese goods also overcome difficulties and gradually conquer the world market with quality and competitive prices.

Statistics from the Central Institute for Economic Management Research show that, with an export value of creative goods reaching 14,153 million USD, Vietnam has risen to the Top 10 exporting countries in the world. With the internal development of each business, along with advantages from many new generation Free Trade Agreements, it has created impressive economic growth for many years, contributing to bringing Vietnam into the group of 20 leading trading countries in the world.

However, besides the above positive bright spots, there is still a very sad reality that has been going on for many years. That is, most Vietnamese products, especially agricultural products, are having to "borrow brands" to export.

Research by NielsenIQ Vietnam shows that up to 77% of customers make shopping decisions based on brand. Customers who love a brand create an emotional attachment that leads to higher loyalty, increased profits, and positive word-of-mouth advertising for the business. About 43% of customers spend more money on products from brands they are loyal to. Therefore, investing in brands is to directly or indirectly increase the internal production and competitiveness of Vietnamese businesses and Vietnamese goods in both domestic and foreign markets. This is also building "soft internal resources" for Vietnamese businesses.

Green - a new element for the brand

In the current green trade context, branding becomes even more urgent.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hong Quan, Director of the Institute for Circular Economy Research and Development, Ho Chi Minh City National University, said that circular economy is the future of the global economy. The future is circular, it is green or there is no future. However, the circular economy must be linked to the market to encourage businesses to participate.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, it is necessary to find new elements for Vietnamese products, creating new features to help Vietnamese brands go further. The new factor is the green factor. Recently, the Bangladesh textile industry has succeeded in building the "green textile" brand, bringing in many orders. This is a very thoughtful story. It can be seen that the greening process requires great determination and perseverance from businesses, especially business leaders. Therefore, we need a green forest - an entire Vietnamese business community working together, not just a few individual businesses.

From business reality, Ms. Vo Thi Lien Huong, General Director of Secoin Joint Stock Company shared, the Secoin encaustic tile brand is highly appreciated for its artistic, historical, and cultural value, currently present in many countries in the world. In particular, Secoin is striving to have a brick factory achieve international green certification this year. Distributors of this brand in Europe are very supportive and said that the certificate will be a passport for Secoin to travel around the world. Countries are also willing to pay higher prices for products that meet green standards.

However, according to Ms. Lien Huong: "When we go international, they don't know that we are Secoin, they only know that we are Vietnamese products, and care about whether Vietnamese products are good or not. We alone cannot tell the story of Vietnam. We need to add many other brands to create synergy of Vietnamese products, so that 'when the tide rises, all boats rise'".

Mr. Vuong Ngoc Dung, Marketing Director, Saigon Cosmetics Joint Stock Company (SCC) said that to meet the standards of the international market, SCC's direction is to work closely with foreign partners right away from the beginning, so that when exported products will immediately meet the standards. SCC's orientation is to penetrate difficult markets such as Japan and is researching the Indian market. According to Mr. Dung, despite 50 years of ups and downs, SCC still retains its own identity, but businesses cannot go alone when entering large and difficult markets. “We need partners to create greater strength. Our business needs great support from the authorities, the Government as well as support policies for Vietnamese brands to conquer foreign markets," Mr. Vuong Ngoc Dung affirmed.