What strategies help cooperative products gain a foothold in the market?

(Baohatinh.vn) - Investing in technology in production, improving product quality associated with trade promotion is an inevitable direction for cooperatives in Ha Tinh to increase domestic consumption output and participate in exports.

Ha Tinh currently has more than 900 cooperatives in operation, of which more than 40% of units directly produce and create products in the fields of: cultivation, livestock, aquaculture - seafood processing, agricultural - forestry processing... For a long time, the collective economic sector has been limited in resources, many cooperatives operate based on "experience", the number of cooperatives investing in technology to create synchronous, quality products is not much. That is not to mention the weaknesses in marketing strategies, so many products are still stuck in the "village bamboo", some cooperatives even have to temporarily stop production because they cannot find an outlet.

The State supports bringing Ha Tinh Cooperative's products to e-commerce platforms.

In 2018, Anh Duong Seafood Processing Service Cooperative (Ho Do commune, old Loc Ha district) launched the Anh Hong fish sauce product line. A positive signal was that the Cooperative went to Thailand to negotiate and sign a cooperation agreement on the consumption of Ha Tinh seafood products (including traditional fish sauce) with the Nong Khai Provincial Business Association. It was thought that the Cooperative would "make a difference", bringing Ha Tinh fish sauce far and wide, but after operating for a while, the unit revealed limitations such as: the elderly leader so business followed the "old way", did not invest in new technology in production, did not focus on product promotion, poor customer care... so Anh Hong fish sauce gradually lost customers. Due to difficulties in product consumption, the Cooperative has now had to stop operating.

The failure of Anh Duong Seafood Processing Service Cooperative shows that quality products alone are not enough, but to survive long-term in the market, many factors are needed such as: upgrading production technology, building product brands associated with trade promotion...

In recent years, with the support of the State from the national target program on new rural construction, the program "One Commune One Product" (OCOP) on the basis of supporting operating costs, supporting the design of brand identity, advertising, trade promotion, building a system for tracing product origin, quality management, food safety and hygiene..., many cooperatives in Ha Tinh have changed their perspective according to the market mechanism.

Based on the existing foundation of production methods and experience, taking advantage of local raw materials, there are cooperatives that boldly "seize the opportunity", invest in modern production lines to produce products of consistent quality. At the same time, focus on brand recognition to gain the trust of consumers and actively promote products to the market; proactively connect with establishments and businesses to bring cooperative products to many provinces and cities.

Phu Khuong fish sauce brand is familiar in the market.

After nearly 30 years of continuing the fish sauce salting profession, it was not until 2015 that Ms. Le Thi Khuong (Phuong Giai commune) officially started professional production and business when she established Phu Khuong Seafood Purchasing and Processing Cooperative. When Ha Tinh focused on building new rural areas and supporting production models, Ms. Khuong boldly mobilized members to contribute more capital and invest in a solar-powered fish sauce salting line associated with building product brands. Phu Khuong fish sauce has been recognized as a 3-star and then 4-star OCOP product at the provincial level, becoming a "card" for the cooperative to improve production capacity and expand distribution channels.

Ms. Le Thi Khuong - Director of Phu Khuong Seafood Purchasing and Processing Cooperative shared: "Good fish sauce and a brand name are not enough. To make it known to many people, for many years, we have joined the Ha Tinh Cooperative Union, departments and branches to participate in fairs from North to South to "sell fish sauce". Now, Phu Khuong fish sauce is familiar to the market; since the beginning of the year, it has exported more than 125,000 liters to the market, with a revenue of more than 10 billion VND. Currently, the Cooperative is continuing to build a 5-star OCOP product at the provincial level and aiming to link up with domestic enterprises to participate in exports".

Nguyen Lam Production, Trade and Service Cooperative invests in modern production lines.

In the early days of its establishment, Mr. Le Van Duan - Director of Nguyen Lam Production, Trade and Service Cooperative (Ky Anh commune) never dared to dream that one day, the rustic sesame rice paper with the strong taste of his hometown would go beyond the territory of Vietnam. With the desire to elevate the hometown specialty, the head of the cooperative seriously invested in the production and business strategy and as a result, Nguyen Lam sesame rice paper was exported to Russia and Japan.

Mr. Le Van Duan - Director of Nguyen Lam Production, Trade and Service Cooperative shared: “We focus on investing in modern production machinery to gradually replace traditional manual production methods. With technology as the “guide”, and a closed process, we produce in bulk, with consistent product size and quality. In 2025, the Cooperative aims to consume over 5 million sesame rice paper, of which 20% is for export, with revenue of over 8 billion VND (an increase of about 10% compared to 2024)”.

Above are 2 of the typical cooperatives in Ha Tinh that dare to change their production and business thinking according to the market mechanism. The success of these cooperatives opens up prospects for many cooperatives that are operating in a "traditional" way to boldly adapt, considering factors such as production technology, product quality, brand recognition and marketing as the "key" to penetrate deeply into the market.

Specialized sectors guide production and business establishments to carry out traceability steps.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung - Chairman of the Ha Tinh Cooperative Union said: Currently, there are 90 products of cooperatives and cooperative groups in the area certified as OCOP at the provincial level, accounting for 28.7% of the total number of OCOP products at the provincial level, of which 4 products of the collective economic sector have been exported. Thanks to the support of the State through trade promotion activities, many typical agricultural products and handicraft products of Ha Tinh produced by cooperatives have expanded their markets and been widely promoted through e-commerce platforms such as: Voso, Postmart, Sendo, Shopee... Products that have been recognized as OCOP have had a growth rate of 40 - 50% compared to before.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, to penetrate deeply into the domestic and export markets, cooperatives need to focus on improving product quality, building brands, tracing product origins, expanding distribution channels and strengthening cooperation and linkages. In addition, applying technology, improving management capacity and participating in trade promotion programs are also very important.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/chien-luoc-nao-giup-san-pham-cua-cac-htx-co-cho-dung-tren-thi-truong-post292618.html