Addressing the event, Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said the building of a food branding strategy was part of the National Branding Programme, which aimed to develop brands for Vietnam’s most competitive export commodities.
Under the programme, companies will be given advice and promotion activities will be intensified to develop a national image for the food industry.
The programme on developing a branding strategy for Vietnam’s food industry will help increase recognition of the country’s food products on the global market, thereby boosting the sector’s growth through stronger exports.
According to Bruno Angelet, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, Vietnam has extensively integrated into the global economy through an array of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements. It has also made record exports of rice and coffee. Hence, branding will help improve those products’ competitiveness on the global market.
At the workshop, some food producers pointed out difficulties facing them as they developed food brands, such as a shortage of high-quality plant and animal varieties, or farmers’ abuse of pesticides.
Many companies’ products are targeting the low- and middle-end segments, and it will not be easy for them to switch to the high-end segment. Domestic firms’ modest competitiveness is also another problem.
According to Bui Huy Son, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the EU-MUTRAP Project, to successfully build brands, companies should apply modern technology to minimise material losses and ensure food safety. They also need to conduct market research, diversify products to match the taste of each market and consolidate distribution networks.
At the same day, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in implementing the programme was signed by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Netherlands’ Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) and the EU-MUTRAP.
