I realized I wanted to join the family business when I helped my mother manage a batch of deliveries in Ho Chi Minh City for the second time. Our kitchen is based in our hometown of Can Tho, but she had begun receiving a growing number of orders from customers in Ho Chi Minh City. Each week, she transported the products to my apartment, where we arranged individual deliveries to customers. Coordinating all the orders at once was complicated, and the delivery costs were relatively high because we relied on on-demand shipping services. Having previously optimized operations for my own consumer-products business, I immediately saw opportunities to improve the process. That was the moment I became eager to use my experience to help my parents streamline the entire journey from our kitchen to our customers’ homes.
One story that has stayed with me came from customers who bought our braised fish for their elderly parents or grandparents. Because the fish is slow-cooked until the bones become completely soft, it is easy for both older adults and young children to eat. Several customers have told us how happy they were to see their parents enjoying their meals and eating more rice than usual. What may seem like a simple meal can mean so much to a family, especially when an elderly loved one, who may normally have little appetite or difficulty eating, genuinely enjoys the food. Stories like these remind me that our family business is not only about preserving a traditional dish; it is also about helping families care for the people they love.
I hope our family’s work can demonstrate that traditional Vietnamese dishes and recipes do not have to disappear as lifestyles change. By improving production, operations, packaging, and distribution, we can make these dishes more accessible and relevant to modern consumers without losing their authenticity. Food is an important expression of culture. When a traditional dish is preserved, developed, and passed on to future generations, the history and values behind it are preserved as well. I hope our journey shows that Vietnamese businesses can combine tradition with innovation: honoring what came before while building something sustainable for the future. In doing so, we can introduce the world not only to Vietnamese food but also to the richness and resilience of Vietnamese culture.
One lesson from university that I still apply every day is never to assume that the first solution is the best one. I learned to keep looking for ways to improve, to question my own choices and assumptions, and to evaluate whether there might be a more effective approach. This mindset encourages me to research how similar challenges are addressed in different industries and parts of the world, then adapt those ideas to our own circumstances. In our family business, it helps me balance confidence with curiosity: making decisions when necessary while remaining open to learning, refining, and doing things better.
One story that has stayed with me came from customers who bought our braised fish for their elderly parents or grandparents. Because the fish is slow-cooked until the bones become completely soft, it is easy for both older adults and young children to eat. Several customers have told us how happy they were to see their parents enjoying their meals and eating more rice than usual. What may seem like a simple meal can mean so much to a family, especially when an elderly loved one, who may normally have little appetite or difficulty eating, genuinely enjoys the food. Stories like these remind me that our family business is not only about preserving a traditional dish; it is also about helping families care for the people they love.
I hope our family’s work can demonstrate that traditional Vietnamese dishes and recipes do not have to disappear as lifestyles change. By improving production, operations, packaging, and distribution, we can make these dishes more accessible and relevant to modern consumers without losing their authenticity. Food is an important expression of culture. When a traditional dish is preserved, developed, and passed on to future generations, the history and values behind it are preserved as well. I hope our journey shows that Vietnamese businesses can combine tradition with innovation: honoring what came before while building something sustainable for the future. In doing so, we can introduce the world not only to Vietnamese food but also to the richness and resilience of Vietnamese culture.
One lesson from university that I still apply every day is never to assume that the first solution is the best one. I learned to keep looking for ways to improve, to question my own choices and assumptions, and to evaluate whether there might be a more effective approach. This mindset encourages me to research how similar challenges are addressed in different industries and parts of the world, then adapt those ideas to our own circumstances. In our family business, it helps me balance confidence with curiosity: making decisions when necessary while remaining open to learning, refining, and doing things better.
