Noodles are made of rice flour and various types of vegetables include butterfly-pea flower, black sesame, pumpkin, beetroot, Moringa oleifera and others.

Nguyễn Khánh Chi

HÀ NỘI Đặng Ngọc Vũ may have enjoyed decent income, but deep down he dreamt of something more, with aspirations of establishing a permanent home in a bustling metropolis in Việt Nam.

However, his life took an unexpected turn after the passing of his father in 2018, so his big plans had to be put on ice.

Despite his efforts to convince his mother to relocate from Bình Định Province in the central coast, to HCM City, Vũ ultimately made the decision to return to his hometown in Tây Sơn District a year later. He chose to settle there and assume the responsibility of caring for his aging mother, who was living alone at the time.

“Many people told me that it was really challenging to sustain a livelihood in our hometown due to limited job opportunities,” recalled Vũ, 33, who had opened the fast food chain KVL’s Hot Dog in HCM City with his friends.

Start from scratch

At first, to make ends meet, Vũ set up a small grocery store for his wife while he sold lubricant oil and manufactured strings for farmers to tie hay after harvesting.

At the same time, he embarked on a remarkable journey that eventually led him to establish a business making vegetable dried noodles.

“I went to different craft villages in Bình Định to seek for opportunities that would not only generate a job for me but also for the locals,” said Vũ, who has a bachelor’s degree in business management from University of Economics HCM City.

“Jobs for the people, that’s what I wanted most,” he said.

He spent months visiting Tuy Phước, An Nhơn and Tây Sơn districts and many other places famed for fresh noodles and rice paper to learn from the best.

“I realised that Bình Định is renowned for bánh canh (fresh noodles) and bánh hỏi (thin, fresh rice noodles woven into flat, rectangular bundles), but nobody had established a brand for these types of noodles,” Vũ said.

“Also, I found locally-grown vegetables and fruits were abundant, left unprocessed or used as food for livestock and poultry. I told myself that I needed to do something to incorporate local vegetables and fruits into the dishes.”

As he looked for doing something different in the locality, he mastered the basic techniques of making traditional fresh noodles from rice and cassava flour. And then he managed to make dried noodles, improve their quality and use vegetables and fruits to add natural colour and protein.

He said: “It is essential that I mastered the basic techniques, then I studied, created and experimented my own products.

“Fortunately, I met many people with 20 or 30 years of experience who provided me with guidance and shared many trade secrets.”

After he equipped himself with sufficient theoretical knowledge, Vũ bought various types of noodles, both fresh and dried from the the market to start experimenting with his ideas.

He said: "I tried again and again. At first, there were no machines, so I tried manually. I dried the noodles in the sun, but they were damaged and didn't meet the desired quality and colour. I threw away tonnes of materials.

“I felt extremely heartbroken wasting tonnes of rice and vegetables and fruits like that. I felt more pressure, even worse than being crushed by stones, because my wife was pregnant with our second child.”

However, nothing could weaken Vũ’s determination and will, especially as his ultimate goal was to provide jobs in his community.

“I kept trying continuously, and finally, I was able to produce the desired product," said the young entrepreneur.

Each of his 'successful' batches of dried bánh canh and bánh hỏi, was given to people in the community for their feedback. Little did he know, these were his first real customers.

But, as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. And Vũ worked tirelessly for the next 18 months, a period packed with blood, sweet and tears.

Practice eventually made his noodles perfect and in late 2021, he finally got his business up and running.

Đặng Ngọc Vũ introduces his products at a trade promotion event in Bình Định Province. Photos courtesy of Đặng Ngọc Vũ

Next he needed a name. A brand that amplified his desire to help those around home. VIDATA was born.

The name comes from the phrase "VÌ DÂN TA" which means, for our own people.

Vũ’s start-up project received the Second Prize at the Bình Định Province’s Innovation Contest 2021 and in December 2022, VIDATA noodles were granted the ONE COMMUNE ONE PRODUCT (OCOP) of Việt Nam by the Bình Định provincial People’s Committee, the first in Bình Nghi Commune.

And last year, he received a letter of encouragement from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for his contributions to the local community.

Think global

Vũ started his production manually in his family's 25sq.m kitchen workshop. Since then, he has expanded the into a 200sq.m facility and plans to double the production area this year.

Because nobody made dried bánh canh and bánh hỏi before, Vũ ordered local manufacturers to customise machines for his own business. The machinery also needed to be gradually improved to meet his requirements.

Currently, with four workers, Vũ’s facility produces about three tonnes each month. The capacity is quite small as compared to a facility that makes fresh noodles but with added values and quality, the products bring higher returns, he said, adding that the demand for green, organic and nature-based foodstuff is on the rise.

VIDATA staff introduce a variety of veggie dry noodles to customers.

Successful trial with dried veggie bánh canh and bánh hỏi has enabled him to produce dried veggie noodles and vermicelli including mỳ, phở, hủ tiếu, nui, and miến. The products are mostly sold on e-commerce channels and in some supermarkets.

He said the products have gone far and wide, partly thanks to the support of the Bình Định Province’s authorities for the local starts-up through trade promotion and trade connection events and word of mouth.

“Going from zero to where I am now is the first humble step," Vũ told Việt Nam News.

"It may not be a big step, but having overcome the most difficult phase, I now feel confident enough to take next steps. Now I need more ideas and manpower to help me build something bigger.

“I want this local taste to be enjoyed on a global scale,” Vũ said with confidence after his VIDATA noodles have been HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certified.

Next month Vũ will have the first chances to promote his products abroad when he joins a provincial business delegation to a trade event in Laos on the occasion of the Lao New Year.

Entering the third year of production, Vũ said the revenue is just enough to cover the costs, but he believes it’s the right way forward.

Rich at heart

Having experienced the challenges of starting a business from scratch, Vũ recognised the importance of mentorship in helping aspiring young people. He is ready to share his experiences and provide valuable guidance. By empowering others, he not only gives back to his own community but also creates a network full of support and inspiration.

He said: “Since I started this workshop, many young people from the commune and district have come to visit and learn. I want to inspire young people who want to do something, who want to produce something locally to come here.

“Now I have enough machinery, unlike when I first started with nothing. Whatever experiments they want to try, I will experiment with them, guide and support them wholeheartedly."

As Vũ's business grew, so did his commitment to philanthropy.

He spent all the award money from the provincial Innovation Contest 2021 buying books for the children in Bình Nghi Commune.

The young entrepreneur said he feels so lucky that he received assistance from many people, he wants to share and give something back to the community.

And for the past three years, Vũ has regularly contributed to a Fund for Cchildren.

And each year, on the anniversary of his father's death,Vũ presents gifts to the lonely older people in the community.

He also visits and presents gifts to those that helped him master the craft during each Tết (Lunar New Year).

Vũ's story demonstrates a true success story of a young man with skills, determination and a strong desire to give back, and help out those he can, through donations and inspiration. VNS