Vietnam agribusiness HAGL trains focus on domestic market, inks pact with Kingfoodmart

Vietnamese agri major Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC (HAGL) is looking to tap domestic market potential afresh by distributing its products through the Kingfoodmart supermarket chain.

Both sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement to this effect in Ho Chi Minh City last Saturday.

At the signing ceremony, HAGL chairman Doan Nguyen Duc spoke about his 17-year journey in agriculture. He said he has invested billions of dollars since 2007 and faced numerous challenges, including declaring insolvency in 2018.

The group’s gradual comeback began with bananas, he said. With a cultivation area of 7,000 hectares, HAGL was not only the largest banana producer in Vietnam but also in Southeast Asia.

HAGL bananas have been exported to Japan, South Korea, and China, but the domestic market remains largely untapped, he noted.

"HAGL is a well-known brand, even among people in rural and mountainous areas, but we haven't yet had many products available in the (domestic) market. We want to provide clean, high-quality products to consumers."

Duc said HAGL bananas were chewy, sweet and fragrant, thanks to being grown in Gia Lai, which is more than 900 meters above sea level. The cool climate and a 12-month cultivation period allow the bananas to accumulate nutrients, while other regions typically take only 9 months.

"I’m confident that HAGL bananas are the best in Vietnam, but consumers should try and decide for themselves. Just seeing them online isn’t enough. This time, we’ve decided to give away 1 million HAGL bananas; anyone who finds them unsatisfactory can call and complain to me."

He did not provide more details about the offer.

In addition to bananas, HAGL will also supply Kingfoodmart with banana-fed pork, chicken, grapefruit, durian, sturgeon, and processed products from pork, chicken and fish.

Regarding the company’s aquaculture venture, Duc said there has been no harvest or revenue yet, so no official announcements were being made. However, all farmed fish are part of a circular farming ecosystem, featuring specialty fish like sturgeon raised in flowing water, he added.

Duc reaffirmed at the signing ceremony that it was the first time HAGL had officially launched its products in the domestic market and sold directly. Previously, some of HAGL's products were sold through intermediaries.

Dinh Anh Huan, chairman of Seedcom, which owns Kingfoodmart, said the chain was looking for a fresh food supplier when the opportunity to collaborate with Duc arose through Tran Thanh Hai, chairman of Nutifood.

Currently, this retail system has 79 supermarkets and a target of opening 100 by the end of the year has been set, creating a significant demand for more suppliers.

Huan was one of the founders of Mobile World Group, but he withdrew from it in 2014 to establish Seedcom.

Today, Seedcom operates in various sectors, including F&B (The Coffee House chain), food distribution (Kingfoodmart), fashion (Juno shoes, HNOSS clothing), logistics (Scommerce, which includes subsidiaries Fast Delivery Express, Fast Delivery Logistics, Ahamove, and Gido), and new retail solutions (Haravan).