Nguyen Le Quoc Tuan, CEO Song Huong Foods: The dream of making eggplant become a popular dish in the world

DNHN - Like Korea with its famous kimchi dish, Mr Tuan dreams of one-day making eggplant become a popular dish in the world.

Song Huong Foods is a family business, formerly known as Song Huong food processing facility, established in 1996 with only 3 employees. In early 2018, Mr Tuan replaced his aunt and uncle, officially becoming the next leader.
Song Huong Foods is a family business, formerly known as Song Huong food processing facility, established in 1996 with only 3 employees. In early 2018, Mr Tuan replaced his aunt and uncle, officially becoming the next leader.

“I only hold 25% of the capital, but I am trusted by my aunt and uncle, so I have the right to decide on the direction of the Company's development. Song Huong Foods is aiming to list on the stock exchange in 2026, not only to find strategic investors but also to help the Company's operations become more transparent, "said Mr Tuan.

According to Mr Tuan, he has taken over the family company since 2018 with products such as eggplant, melon, kimchi, Banh Nam, filter cake, various kinds of fish sauce... However, his favourite is still fermented products from eggplant.

Mr Tuan has been a vegetarian for more than 6 years. He confided: “I used to think that I had chosen the wrong profession when I became a vegetarian but became the leader of a business producing products with ingredients from shrimp and fish… Until the pandemic happened that this problem was solved.”

Before 2020, Mr Tuan not only ran Song Huong Foods but also took on leadership roles in several companies in the field of retail solutions consulting reishi mushrooms...

During the Covid-19 outbreak, among these companies, Song Huong Foods alone did not have to close down, even had to increase production shifts to meet market demand. Also, during this time, the Company's products were used in charity meals sent to field hospitals, epidemic control posts, etc.

At that time, Mr Tuan received many calls asking about the origin of Song Huong Foods' fish sauce and pickles. He was startled to realize that, despite being present on the market for 25 years, the company only focused on the production and neglected the marketing stage to bring products closer to consumers.

“I feel real satisfaction when customers praise Song Huong's dishes as delicious. Therefore, I cannot because I am a vegetarian but ignore the mission of serving consumers of a business that has 25 years of development with heirloom dishes, "said Mr Tuan.

Products of Song Huong Foods always ensure two important factors, which are good for health and delicious. When maintaining these two factors well, family businesses like Song Huong Foods can completely develop well in the current competitive and constantly changing market context.

One of the goals that Mr Tuan needs to quickly accomplish shortly is to study the nutritional composition of fermented eggplant as well as to suggest the group of subjects that should or should not eat it every day.

“An eggplant entering Song Huong Foods factory must go through heirloom processing to produce a finished product. I will communicate in detail about this method so that consumers can understand why natural fermentation is more nutritious and beneficial than the normal salt method,” Mr Tuan shared.

Currently, at Song Huong Food, the main investment dish is eggplant. "We built a factory under An Giang that only made one dish... eggplant" - Mr Tuan shared.

According to Mr Tuan, there is one thing in the eggplant that Vietnamese people need, which is vitamins. In due time, Song Huong Food will focus a lot on marketing, but it has not highlighted the nutritional element of this dish. Certainly, Song Huong Food will adjust its product promotion strategy shortly.

Việt Anh (t/h)

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