Traditional fish sauce exporters should focus on packaging: experts
As traditional Vietnamese fish sauce is being sold in more and more countries around the world, businesses need to pay attention to their packaging and help consumers differentiate between traditional and industrial varieties, experts have said.
Traditional fish sauce is being exported to more and more countries around the world.(Photo: doanhnhansaigon.vn)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - As traditional Vietnamese fish sauce is being sold inmore and more countries around the world, businesses need to pay attention totheir packaging and help consumers differentiate between traditional andindustrial varieties, experts have said.
Link NaturePower Joint Stock Company produces the Mami brand of traditional fish sauce andexports it to the US, Canada, the Republic of Korea, and Japan besides beingone of the few Vietnamese businesses to sell on Amazon.
Le Ba Linh,who founded the company, said over 70 percent of its customers are white. Foreignusers usually cook with fish sauce rather than dip food in it, he added.
Le Ngoc Anh,CEO of Le Gia Co. Ltd, which exports traditional fish sauce to Russia, SouthAfrica and the Republic of Korea and is preparing to ship to the US and EU,said exporting fish sauce is a way to take Vietnamese cuisine to othercountries.
But othercountries pay great attention to quality, certification and origin, and so thepackaging must have all the required information and be printed bilingually.
Other brandsrevealed they had to redo their packaging multiple times to suit foreignmarkets.
Vietnam’slargest competitor is Thailand, which mostly produces fish sauce industrially,and so Vietnam has a competitive edge in the traditional segment.
Tran Huu Hien,CEO of Bay Hong Hanh Produce – Commercial – Service Co. Ltd, said businessesneed to spread awareness among local and international consumers about thedistinctive characteristics of traditional fish sauce, including odour.
Ifthey are absent, Vietnam’s traditional sauces would become toosimilar to Thailand’s and lose their competitive edge in the global market, hesaid.
The VietnamTraditional Fish Sauce Association, which recently received permission to beset up, will issue criteria to differentiate traditional sauce fromindustrial, and create logos to help customers tell the difference between thetwo./.
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Traditional fish sauce is being exported to more and more countries around the world.(Photo: doanhnhansaigon.vn) 
