The journey of traditional Vietnamese cakes
It can be said that Ms. Tinh's connection with the traditional confectionery profession stemmed from her grandparents' love for culinary arts since the 1950s.
In 1986, Vietnam entered the era of opening up the market economy, with freedom to develop businesses. Being sensitive to the times, combined with her skillful hands and the application of her grandparents' baking craft, by 1989 the first batches of Xu Xe cakes bearing Ms. Tinh's brand were born. Her cakes were sold out as soon as they were made, from her office to her husband's, anyone who had tasted her cakes would not want to eat them anywhere else.
With all the sweat and effort put in, returned by the warm reception, Ms. Tinh could not hide her joy and pride. The more she worked, the more she realized: her passion for the profession and love for the products she made with her own hands had gone beyond the thought of “making to sell, to improve family life”. She was determined to continue preserving and promoting the traditional baking craft left by her grandparents.
With her experience, Ms. Tinh understood that: if she wanted her products to reach more customers, the factor of improving quality would be the top priority, followed by changing packaging and designs, so that customers “once they see it, they want to eat it, and once they eat it, they will surely love it”.
2003 can be said to be one of the most memorable milestones in her business life. She shared: Back then I only had one dream, which was to see the bánh cốm Bao Minh branded [product] present in the city named after Uncle Ho.
Ms. Tinh's wish at that time seemed impossible, because green rice cakes (banh com) usually have a maximum shelf life of only 5 days, after which the cake will become moldy and hard, not to mention that limited transportation was also a huge barrier. So if someone wanted to bring green rice cakes from Hanoi to Saigon, they would face many difficulties.
But with iron determination: Bao Minh green rice cakes must have the longest shelf life among green rice cake lines on the market, along with help from the Vietnam Scientific Association, her green rice cakes increased their “lifespan” from 5 days, to 8 days, and then to over 10 days. Finally, the dream was no longer just a dream, it was “miraculously” realized and even more wonderfully, for the past 15 years, no traditional confectionery production unit has been able to do that.
Bao Minh green rice cake is the “miracle” that no business has been able to do for the past 15 years
By 2006, Bao Minh Confectionery Joint Stock Company was officially established. The “brave captain” Ngo Thi Tinh continued her sweet mission, continuing the journey across the vast and difficult ocean of the marketplace.
“The treasure of success” was exchanged for sweat and tears
The road to success is not built from roses, but it is created from rugged gravel. Ms. Tinh's path was the same; to have the strong Bao Minh of today is the exchange of “sweat and tears mixed into rice” during the early periods full of difficulties.
Not for a second has Ms. Tinh forgotten the scene of her and the workers sitting making cakes, gluing the wrappers in a room dim with incense smoke. Because at that time there were no convenient nylon wrapper gluing machines like now, she had to take the red tip of an incense stick to touch the edge of the wrapper to melt it, then quickly glue it shut, eyes wide open to try to see clearly for fear of “poking her hand”.
During holidays and Tet seasons like Mid-Autumn Festival or Lunar New Year, the amount of cakes ordered increased to maybe thousands, she and everyone worked diligently throughout the night, working at full capacity to send cakes to customers in time, everyone's eyes stinging from the smoke smell, sometimes working overtime, so tired they fell asleep at the table, with the yellow light shining hot on one ear.
She also never forgot the image of her bicycle and her niece's, hanging two bags of cakes heavy enough to “bend the handlebars”, departing from Chau Long street to deliver cakes to the canteen at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. At that time there were no phones, so they just went when it was time, and when work was done they ran past the delivery point to ask what customers said today, and if the cakes sold well? She said: Those days were hard but very happy, those moments are the most precious assets of my life.
Or the days when the Hanoi specialty green rice cake was not really accepted in Ho Chi Minh City, just because people were “not used to” the special flavor of the “pearls of the autumn sky”. It took so much effort to make a cake that was both delicious and guaranteed quality, now seeing them sadly lying in a corner, she felt as heartbroken as if every piece of her gut was torn, swallowing bitter tears inside. But her resilient will did not allow her to stop, but always urged her to stand up, determined to find a way for Bao Minh green rice cakes in the Southern land.
Finally, the “treasure of success” also came to her after days of heroic fighting on the “great sea”. Bao Minh products
have been tested and distributed by all large and small supermarket systems nationwide, along with the warm reception of consumers across the 3 regions, creating momentum for a spectacular “long jump” in the Vietnamese culinary market.
The success of Bao Minh today is exchanged for a lot of sweat and tears
General Director Ngo Thi Tinh – The brave captain of the ship named Bao Minh
Those who have had contact with Ms. Tinh all agree that: Ms. Tinh has “eyes that can speak”, is always smiling, and has an open personality. But, behind the small stature of that Vietnamese woman is a will of steel, a fierce and fiery spirit. Having rolled on the marketplace for many years, she has experienced every difficulty, faced every hardship, but nothing has ever been able to make her collapse.
Ms. Tinh is always proud because Bao Minh's products all stem from very traditional, very Vietnamese ingredients such as: glutinous rice flour, coconut, peanuts, sesame, mung beans, taro... through the skillful hands of professional bakers, combined with modern technology, they have brought to the market many different diverse confectionery products such as: Pia Cake, Bao Minh green rice cake, Phu The cake – Xu Xe, peanut candy, traditional mung bean cake (banh khao), jasmine sponge cake... Renewing in form and packaging, but still fully retaining the traditional flavor of the nation.
Besides flavor and product form, she also puts the issue of food hygiene and safety first. For her, Bao Minh products once they leave the factory must be clean, clean, and very clean, so that consumers when holding a cake or candy with the two words “Bao Minh” in their hands, can be completely assured to enjoy, without needing to hesitate for another second.
Constantly searching, learning, constantly cultivating, updating, innovating technology, innovating business thinking, those are the prerequisites for Ms. Tinh's success – the “captain” of the Bao Minh ship, who has been and continues to lead her elite crew members to “ride the waves and overcome the vast ocean”, creating a united, loyal collective with the proud mission of “Giving the opportunity of love through traditional sweetness” to every Vietnamese family home.
General Director Ngo Thi Tinh – The brave captain of the ship named Bao Minh
The great sea of the marketplace is never calm, challenges are like waves crashing on the shore, one after another without end. Wishing the “captain of steel” of Bao Minh to always be steady before the storms, continue to set full sails, and take her sweet ship to new successes. So that the flavor of traditional jam and confectionery will always be the pride of the nation with friends all over the five continents.
Thank you, Madam – The preserver of Vietnamese culinary quintessence!
