"Sealing the deal" thanks to active participation in international trade fairs

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A representative of Trà Vinh Farm Ltd., Co is exchanging with international customers at the Thaifex 2023 trade fair. Photo: TL

Acquiring new customers

Sharing the achievements after participating in the Thaifex 2023 international food and beverage trade fair in Thailand at the end of May, Truong Thi Hong Ha, Director of Khanh Ha Food Company, stated that just two days after the fair ended, an Indian customer living in Thailand visited the company and signed the first export order to India worth more than VND800 million. Additionally, another customer from Japan also planned to visit the factory and learn about the products.

Ha further stated that thanks to the support of the High-Quality Vietnamese Goods Business Association, the Business Support and Assistance Center (BSA), and the Vietnam improving private sector competitiveness Project (IPSC), Khanh Ha Food had the opportunity to approach nearly 40 potential partners for future cooperation at the Thaifex 2023. These results helped Khanh Ha Food gain new customers from Thailand, the Philippines, and India, alongside traditional customers from Europe.

Similarly, after introducing their thin, non-soaked rice paper products at Thaifex 2023, Tan Nhien Ltd., Co successfully approached more than 10 potential international partners who expressed interest in collaboration. Nguyen Ngoc Son, a representative of Tan Nhien Company, mentioned that after returning to Vietnam, these customers actively contacted them, requesting information about the products, the factory, and the specifications.

Pham Dinh Ngai, the CEO of Tra Vinh Farm Ltd., Co. (Sokfarm), also shared his joy in successfully exporting a batch of coconut blossom soy sauce to the German market. The special thing is that this customer connected with Sokfarm at the Biofach 2023 international organic trade fair held in Germany earlier this year. Therefore, in the past two years, Sokfarm has gained four new international customers, all of whom were connected through the trade fairs that Sokfarm participated in. At Biofach alone, in addition to the aforementioned German customer who placed an order, Sokfarm also identified more than 10 other potential customers. "This customer purchases Sokfarm's coconut blossom soy sauce and then resells it to European restaurants in Germany. This opens the door for Sokfarm to enter the German market specifically and the European market in general," said Ngai.

In addition to the Biofach fair, Sokfarm also participated in the Thaifex fair in May and achieved positive results with more than 10 potential customers who highly appreciated the quality and commercial potential of Sokfarm's products. Currently, Sokfarm is actively connecting these customers, providing information as requested, with the expectation of securing orders. Thanks to the results achieved after the recent trade fairs, Sokfarm has planned to continue participating in the China International Import Expo 2023 (CIIE) in November.

"Gaining valuable knowledge"

In addition to the effectiveness of reaching customers and expanding export channels, capturing information, understanding markets, and learning from international sellers are also objectives that many companies aim for when participating in international trade fairs.

Kieu Bao Han, CEO and co-founder of Hapinut Ltd., Co., shared that the goal of participating in the Thaifex was not to find customers but to learn in order to better serve the domestic market. In June, the company launched further processed products, including a range of noodles and Quang-style noodles with the added convenience of instant sauce packets. "Observing the Thai market, I noticed that the products they sell always come with a combo pack of seasonings for customers and are highly regarded. We learned from them how to approach supermarkets and what our products should be like to be suitable, convenient, and in line with market trends, in preparation for introducing our products to retail systems in the EU and the US," said Han.

Meanwhile, Luong Viet Chuong, Director of Dat Phu International Production and Trading Company, shared that after participating in the Thaifex 2023, many ideas for new product lines have been sparked. "Observing the market at the Thaifex, I saw many companies focused on Plant-based products, selling plant-based proteins. Dat Phu has a suitable product, which is lotus seed powder with various nutritional components. It is expected that when we participate in the Thaifex next year, Dat Phu will introduce a new product line of plant-based protein (lotus seeds) in a more refined manner, meeting the market's demand."

Also from observations at the Thaifex, Nguyen Ngoc Son realized that packaging design played a particularly important role. Therefore, Tan Nhien is considering creating separate packaging samples for the Thailand market. The company plans to visit the Thailand market to see how Thai people use their products and design packaging accordingly, to ensure suitability.

Similarly, after returning from an international seafood trade fair, Dang Quoc Cuong, Sales Director of Thong Thuan Company, shared that in previous years, the company had participated in seafood trade fairs primarily for sales purposes. However, this year, due to reduced demand for purchasing, the company changed the purpose of participating in the trade fair to market research. Through practical observations in the new market, they realized the real difficulties. "After observing for two hours in a supermarket in the US, we did not see any customers buying shrimp products, while in previous years during the same period, we always had customers purchasing our products," said Cuong.

Based on the information gathered from the markets, Cuong stated that Thong Thuan has changed its production and business strategy. Accordingly, to anticipate the market recovery expected to occur later this year, the company is currently focusing its resources on raw material reserves and producing appropriate products for the year-end market.