The Ben Tre Green Skin Pomelo Cooperative has achieved a landmark commercial breakthrough by securing direct export contracts with premium buyers in Canada and Singapore, eliminating intermediary brokers. Marked by a successful 5-ton shipment of fresh green skin pomelos (BDX) to the Canadian retail market, this milestone validates the cooperative’s international compliance, strategic branding, and scalable supply chain infrastructure.
Strategic Brand Identity: The "Pink Pomelo Girl"
To establish a high-recall identity in a highly competitive global citrus market, the cooperative developed the proprietary brand "Pink Pomelo Girl" (Cô Gái Bưởi Hồng).
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Visual Positioning: The brand logo features a traditional Vietnamese woman in an Ao Dai and Non La (conical hat), wearing circular earrings modeled after the pink endocarp (flesh) of the fruit.
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Commercial Utility: This distinct culinary and cultural imagery serves as a powerful market differentiator. According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Bao, Chairman of the Board, the brand name directly reflects the characteristic rosy pulp of the premium Ben Tre variety, allowing international sourcing managers and global consumers to seamlessly identify the cooperative's top-tier output.
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Strict Quality Compliance and Technical Specifications
Operating a total production area of 88.3 hectares managed by 231 member households, the cooperative enforces rigorous international agricultural standards to guarantee export readiness:
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Certifications: 37.7 hectares are certified under VietGAP, and 14.7 hectares strictly comply with GlobalGAP mandates, with continuous scale expansions underway. The produce has also earned the national 4-star OCOP (One Province One Product) quality rating.
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Chemical-Free Verification: Through integrated pest management and eco-friendly practices in model orchards, the cooperative ensures zero pesticide residues. Comprehensive laboratory testing conducted by Eurofins Scientific—screening for over 700 active chemical compounds—confirmed entirely clean results for both the fruit pulp and peel.
B2B Customer Support and Market Education
Addressing international market barriers, particularly the unfamiliarity of Western consumers with thick-skinned citrus, the cooperative—in coordination with the Canada-funded VCED project managed by SOCODEVI—implemented a comprehensive consumer-education kit. This include multi-language video tutorials demonstrating standardized peeling and cutting techniques, along with nutritional flyers distributed directly to Canadian supermarkets. This proactive approach underscores the cooperative's commitment to supporting its B2B retail partners in driving consumer sell-through.
Value Chain Optimization: Transition to Zero-Waste Processing
A critical operational challenge in agricultural procurement is the handling of non-export-grade yields. Traditionally, out of every ton of procured pomelos, 50% is allocated to tier-1 supermarkets, 30% enters domestic retail markets, and the remaining 20% consists of small-sized fruits that yield low market value.
To optimize economic returns, the cooperative is establishing a 14-billion-VND multifunctional complex and processing facility in Chau Thanh district (secured under a 50-year land lease from 2020 to 2069). This facility introduces cold-pressed pomelo juice processing to utilize 100% of the small-sized fruits. This industrial upgrade achieves two strategic objectives within our B2B fresh produce supply chain:
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Value-Added Agriculture: Transforming sub-optimal fresh fruits into premium, high-margin functional beverages.
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Shared Prosperity: Maximizing processing efficiency allows the cooperative to guarantee higher farm-gate purchase prices and profit-sharing mechanisms for its member farmers, ensuring long-term supply resilience.
Domestic and International Market Validation In addition to successful export pilots to Singapore and Canada, the cooperative has formalized supply contracts with two of Vietnam's largest modern supermarket chains. Regular, successful fulfillment to these stringent domestic retailers further substantiates the cooperative's strict quality control, cold chain integrity, and commercial trustworthiness.
Author: Thach Thao
Translated & Edited by: Sang Truong