Thai Nguyen Province in Vietnam is famed for its high-quality tea, valued by both domestic and international buyers. Similarly, the Son Dung Tea brand has gained recognition in the region, drawing on 50 years of traditional tea processing expertise from local producers.

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In 2018, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang founded the Son Dung Tea Cooperative with the goal of enhancing the value of traditional tea from smallholder farmers. She aimed to achieve this by diversifying into high-quality, market-driven products and adhering to international quality and sustainability standards. The cooperative began exporting its tea products in 2020.

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However, the cooperative’s dependence on a national network of wholesale agents meant that COVID-19 had a significant detrimental impact. Orders from wholesalers decreased, leading to a 30% drop in monthly sales revenues. As a response, Ms. Trang ventured into e-commerce in 2020, recognizing the opportunity to leverage the surge in online activity during the pandemic. Despite this, she faced challenges in digital marketing and branding.

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To address these challenges, Ms. Trang participated in the USAID Improving Private Sector Competitiveness (IPSC) Activity's course on “Market Expansion through E-Commerce.” This training, implemented by J.E. Austin Associates (JAA) and its prime contract partner Deloitte, provided her with knowledge in digital content strategy, online branding, social media marketing, digital channel management, marketing content writing, and the use of free digital marketing tools like Google Maps and search engine optimization. Ms. Trang applied these skills to the cooperative’s online presence, sharing her newfound expertise with her team. She significantly improved brand consistency across the cooperative’s website, social media, and e-commerce platforms. Enhancements included the integration of engaging photos and better search engine optimization, leading to increased traffic to their online channels.

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As a result of these improvements, the Son Dung Tea Cooperative saw a remarkable growth of over 10,000 followers on Facebook and Zalo, with these platforms now contributing to 30% of their total revenue. Additionally, there was a 30% increase in new customer inquiries compared to before the training. Most notably, the cooperative's annual revenue rose by 15% compared to the same period in 2022. Ms. Trang is optimistic about ongoing improvements in brand recognition, expecting further growth and increased support for local tea farmers.

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Ms. Trang expressed her gratitude: “The support came at the right moment to help us expand our market and sustain our cooperative members. We now have the confidence and success to explore new markets and enhance income opportunities for our local tea growers. Thank you to USAID IPSC and the Agency for Enterprise Development for supporting local economic development in Vietnam!”

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Assisting Vietnamese small and growing businesses by increasing capacity in e-commerce is an example of how JAA is supporting the USAID IPSC Activity and its partners to remove firm-level constraints, improving Vietnam’s competitiveness toward inclusive and sustainable growth.