The Journey of Building a Reputable Vietnamese Agricultural Brand in Australia

The journey of bringing Vietnamese fresh fruit to the global market, with pioneers like Mr. Nguyen Phu Hoa, has been a long and arduous one. Australia, a market with high standards for agriculture products, poses significant challenges for imported goods, especially from developing countries. Consumers are proud of Australian brands and, with the growing trend of green consumption, are increasingly concerned about ingredients and health ratings. Despite Vietnam's strong national brand, it was largely unknown in the Australian market. The Vietnamese Trade Office in Australia was determined to change this. Capitalizing on the 2019 win of ST25 rice as the World's Best Rice, the Trade Office launched a promotional campaign, even though ST25 was not yet exported to Australia. This generated significant interest among Australian importers, leading to widespread availability of Vietnamese rice. The success of ST25 paved the way for other Vietnamese agriculture exports, like Ri6 durian. Initially, the market was dominated by Thai and Malaysian durians. However, through strategic promotion and trial imports, Ri6 durian gained recognition and briefly rivaled Musang King in price. Similarly, Vietnamese lychees, facing initial setbacks due to quality concerns, eventually found success through persistent efforts and collaboration with importers. While successes have been achieved with fresh fruit like longan and dragon fruit, challenges remain in areas like price parity and establishing clear quality classifications for Vietnamese products.