Six years ago, right before COVID-19 hit, I stood in a muddy construction zone. The founder—a man truly obsessed with poultry—was building a high-tech black chicken (gà ác) farm. A banker from Agribank accompanied us, confirming a massive $10 million USD investment. Returning to the farm today, the transformation is stunning. What impressed me most […]
When an international buyer steps onto a factory floor in Vietnam for the first time, the sensory overload is real. The roar of CNC machines, the smell of fresh timber, and row upon row of unfinished chair frames can easily blur together. Many buyers ask me: “Taiho, when I only have two hours to audit
During a recent site visit to a precision metal stamping and auto parts manufacturing plant in Vietnam, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the factory owner. What began as a standard tour of their CNC machines and stamping line turned into a masterclass on how modern Asian suppliers are strategically expanding their market
There is a unique privilege that comes with spending days on the road, stepping inside humming production facilities, and sitting down over tea with factory owners across Vietnam. When you do this long enough, something fascinating happens: you start connecting the invisible dots. You stop seeing products as isolated items on a shelf. Instead, you
This week, I took a field trip to a wood manufacturing facility located in the heart of Binh Duong province—long recognized as the manufacturing and processing hub for Vietnam’s wood and furniture export industry. This facility specializes in manufacturing high-end outdoor wooden products, ranging from wooden saunas to outdoor garden playhouses. Every single product is
Last week, I was on a highly inspiring field trip to two beverage manufacturing plants in Southern Vietnam. As someone dedicated to exports at Pacific Goods, a question constantly occupies my mind: How can Vietnamese agricultural products break free from the “cheap, raw commodity” label and confidently enter the world’s most demanding markets? Story 1:
In software, a bug crashes an app. In global sourcing, a “bug” cracks a wooden salad bowl inside your customer’s kitchen and triggers a wave of 1-star reviews on Amazon. We recently tested our first batch of tableware samples intended for the US market. Visually? They were beautiful. The wood grain was gorgeous, and the
In global export, mega-factories often rely on a “closed-loop” model—controlling everything from raw materials to the final product. However, for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), attempting to operate a massive, fully integrated production line can become a dangerous “cost trap” due to heavy capital investment and equipment depreciation. Instead of trying to do it all,
A few days ago, I joined an online seminar room filled with Vietnam’s exporters. We were there for a private community briefing hosted by Vietgo. Everyone in the room had one question: With geopolitical tensions in the Middle East driving ocean freight rates through the roof, how is the export market going to survive? As
Take Pham Phu Thu Street in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, for example. It is a dedicated hub where textile manufacturers, wholesalers, and fabric traders gather. From premium cotton blends and technical sportswear fabrics to certified sustainable materials (like OEKO-TEX or US Cotton Trust Protocol standards), you can find everything within a single square kilometer.