Le Gia fish sauce and the path reaching out to the world from within

Le Anh graduated with a major in construction engineering from the Military Technical Academy. In 2015, while working for a foreign enterprise with an income of thousands of US dollars, Le Anh decided to return to his hometown in Hoang Phu commune (Hoang Hoa, Thanh Hoa) to establish Le Gia Co., Ltd. to produce a traditional fish sauce. Fish sauce has attached to Le Anh’s childhood and Vietnamese culinary culture. As a man growing from a village with a traditional profession of producing fish sauce, more than anyone else, Le Anh understands the life and hardships of those engaging in the job. That is why Le Anh started up a business in a field with series of ups and downs.

The beginning of a startup business struggled with many difficulties. He had to accumulate and lent money from relatives to pour into the fish sauce-making business and build up the brand, however it was like a drop in the ocean. In 2016, when a new product was launched, Le Anh and his spouse had to every single table at restaurants and hotels in Thanh Hoa to introduce and invite customers to give it a try. Le Anh had his own "tactic" to survive in the fierce competition of the industrial fish sauce business. He "attacked" the niche market with quintessential, high-end products, aimed at specific customers.

Therefore, products must ensure the strictest standards from the very beginning stage to conquer the domestic market rather than to serve the export target in the long run. To gain trust from housewives, Le Gia fish sauce products are made from natural materials, without flavor enhancers or preservatives. Le Anh chooses the best green anchovies, reducing the amount of salt to suit young children. He also attached special importance to the appearance of the product, of which the bottle model is imported from Thailand.

Positive feedback from diners is the driving force for Le Anh to make efforts to find a way to bring products into modern retail chains such as BigC, VinMart+, Mother, and Baby… The fish sauce product line for children is well received by the market. In recognition, sales grew more than expected and soon appeared in the top-selling products in many systems.

Today, Le Anh's product portfolio has been supplemented with many new product lines including traditional fish sauce, instant braised fish sauce, seasoning sauce, shrimp paste, fish sauce for children among others.

In 2018, Le Gia Co., Ltd. achieved a revenue of over VND6 billion. Although it was a modest number, it means significant to a young business.

To bring Le Gia fish sauce to the foreign market, Le Anh has actively prepared documents and records in English, studied the market requirements to prepare products. Foreign markets have strict requirements on packaging, from materials to button caps. Le Anh spent a great amount of money to invest in molds from abroad to make convenient designed bottle caps for users.

By participating in fairs and events on trade promotion, Le Anh acquired more information and connection to other information channels from commercial counselors, overseas Vietnamese communities among others. As the fish sauce is produced from natural materials without intervention, according to HACCP & ISO standards, Le Gia fish sauce easily meets the inspection criteria.

With great efforts to connect and promote products, since the end of 2018, the Le Gia fish sauce brand has been sold and well-received in several foreign markets from Korea, Japan, South Africa, Russia, Taiwan, to Hong Kong, Czech Republic, and Panam. Currently, Le Anh is preparing to deliver containers of its products to Myanmar and Thailand and Australia. In 2022, Le Anh will carry out procedures to be granted export code to promote exports to the US and European markets with a new establishment of a factory.

Le Anh added: “Fish sauce is the culinary soul and culinary passport of Vietnamese people. No other country has a unique culinary culture associated with fish sauce like Vietnam. We believe that the export of fish sauce is not only purely commercial activity but also a "cultural export" of our fathers to international friends and also helps improve the nostalgia and closeness of overseas Vietnamese people to the homeland. Currently, we have just started exporting with a modest number of orders, but it is a great encouragement for Le Gia's team to always try hard."