Chairman of Simexco Daklak: Vision for a durian brand

During a survey trip to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, China, aimed at introducing and promoting Dak Lak durian while seeking cooperation opportunities across various sectors, the Dak Lak Durian Association, Dak Lak September 2 Import-Export One Member Co., Ltd. (Simexco Daklak), and several major export enterprises from Dak Lak Province visited Jiangnan Agricultural Products Market in Guangzhou to study the market and gather feedback from Chinese consumers on Dak Lak durian products.

Access to modern technology

Mr. Le Duc Huy, Chairman of the Members’ Council of Simexco Daklak and a member of the delegation, said the trip was not only intended to promote products and seek business partners but also to directly observe how the Chinese market evaluates Dak Lak durian.

According to Mr. Le Duc Huy, the most notable destination during the trip was Jiangnan Agricultural Products Market in Guangzhou, which is considered a “core hub” in China’s imported fruit distribution network, particularly for products from Southeast Asia.

Established in 1994, Jiangnan Market spans approximately 400,000 square meters and serves as a major agricultural trading hub in southern China. Large volumes of imported fruit from Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, and other countries are gathered here for sorting before being distributed through retail channels, processing facilities, e-commerce platforms, or high-end supermarket systems.

When the Dak Lak delegation arrived at 9:30 a.m., long lines of containers were unloading goods at the market. During peak periods, the market can handle up to 2,000 containers of agricultural products per day. Mr. Tu Quoc Doanh, who manages a high-quality fruit processing and packaging center located within Jiangnan Market, welcomed and worked with the delegation from Dak Lak. The center operates under a model that combines a “best-selling product super factory,” an e-commerce livestreaming hub, and fresh-produce supply chain services, with the capacity to process up to 50 containers per day during peak seasons.

“What impressed us most was the highly systematic way durians are categorized into different value segments after entering the market. Premium-quality fruits are packaged whole in branded luxury boxes with usage instructions, expiration dates, and standardized weights before being distributed to supermarket chains. Another portion is sold directly through e-commerce livestreams under a rapid delivery, ready-to-eat model operating 24/7,” Mr. Huy shared.

According to him, in the Chinese market, durian is no longer viewed simply as fresh produce but as a product heavily invested in consumer experience, packaging, brand identity, and customer engagement. The survey trip also enabled the delegation to explore and learn from advanced fruit-processing and premium-packaging technologies, as well as the operation of large-scale fruit-processing and packaging lines.

The challenge of brand building

Mr. Tu Quoc Doanh previously lived and worked in Dak Lak from 2022 to 2024 in the durian business. Throughout the discussions, he repeatedly emphasized that Dak Lak durian is of excellent quality and that his center is currently using large quantities sourced from the province. However, according to him, that quality has yet to be reflected through a clear brand identity in the Chinese market.

This is also one of the major challenges currently facing Dak Lak’s durian industry: while the product has secured a certain position within the supply chain, its “name” has yet to make a strong impression on end consumers.

According to him, Dak Lak durian has the potential to become a premium product, but branding cannot come before quality. To build a sustainable brand, the most important requirement is to standardize the entire value chain, from cultivation, pre-harvest quality inspection, harvesting standards, grading, storage, and logistics to packaging and product identification.

Mr. Doanh emphasized that if a durian carrying the Dak Lak brand fails to meet quality standards, consumer trust can disappear very quickly. In the premium segment, Chinese consumers are highly sensitive to product quality and experience, and even a single disappointment could remove an entire brand from consideration. Therefore, before expanding communications and promotional campaigns, the top priority must be to ensure that every durian bearing the Dak Lak name meets consistent, reliable, high-quality standards.

A thought-provoking reality highlighted during the discussions is that although around half of the durian imported into China currently comes from Viet Nam, very few consumers are aware that Viet Nam produces high-quality durian. Many businesses still focus more on selling products than on telling the story behind the fruit, its growing regions, and the unique value of Vietnamese durian.

“This situation is quite similar to the journey of Vietnamese Robusta coffee about 15 years ago. Although Viet Nam was one of the world’s leading Robusta producers, global consumers were largely unaware of the true value of Vietnamese Robusta for a long time. Only when the coffee industry began investing in quality, developing Fine Robusta standards, organizing specialty coffee competitions, and telling the stories of coffee growers did the position of Vietnamese Robusta gradually change,” Mr. Huy shared.

Mr. Le Duc Huy, Chairman of the Members’ Council of Simexco Daklak, said: “The journey of building a brand for Dak Lak durian should begin with the same mindset. It is time for authorities, associations, businesses, and cooperatives across the province to join hands in building the brand in a serious and systematic manner. Our goal is not only to bring durian into the Chinese market, but also to position Dak Lak durian as a premium agricultural symbol of Viet Nam in the international market.”