Ca MauHaving brought goods to sell everywhere but no one bought them, the 24-year-old man built a shrimp processing facility, earning more than 10 billion VND each year.
Born into a family working in aquaculture, Mr. Nguyen Truong Hai, in Tam Giang commune, soon became familiar with shrimp from his hometown. In 2021, he started his business by purchasing shrimp from local people to accumulate capital and experience. Thanks to gradually forming reputation, business activities are stable, creating a foundation for the next step.
After two years, Hai switched to deep processing to increase product value. He invested hundreds of millions of dong to buy machinery and develop products such as dried shrimp, shrimp rolls, shrimp crackers and frozen black tiger shrimp. However, when entering the market, his products have to compete with many big brands.
Mr. Nguyen Truong Hai always closely follows the production stages to bring quality products to customers. Image: An Minh
The first batch of dried shrimp was about 80 kg and could not be sold. Hai had to bring his products to Ho Chi Minh City, go to every market and store to sell them. “In the beginning, I couldn’t decide the price. Customers paid as much as they sold, almost breaking even to keep the relationship,” he said. It took nearly a year for the new product to gradually be accepted by the market.
Learning from experience, Hai does not chase quantity but focuses on quality. He said no to chemicals, color additives or toughness, and improved designs and production processes. This steadfastness helps output gradually increase, from a few kilograms per month to dozens, then hundreds of kilograms when there is a stable output.
At the same time, Hai received support from local startup programs, helping to perfect products and connect markets. When demand increased, he expanded the scale, invested in more machinery and purchasing vehicles and switched from household business to establishing a company.
Currently, Hai’s facility supplies more than 4 tons of frozen black tiger shrimp to factories and stores; At the same time, it consumes more than 500 kg of dried shrimp and about 200 kg of shrimp patties each month through the dealer system, social networks and e-commerce platforms. Of which, online sales channels contribute about 30% of sales, helping products reach customers across the country.
The facility creates regular jobs for 10 workers with an income of about 9 million VND per month, and 20 seasonal workers with an income of about 6 million VND. In recent years, Hai’s products have become more and more widely known, and many times there are not enough products to sell.
Despite expanding production, Hai still maintains the orientation of using quality raw materials, mainly organic shrimp from the locality. According to him, this is an important factor that helps the product retain its unique flavor and create trust with customers.
Mr. Hai’s facility creates jobs for many local workers. Image: An Minh
Currently, the facility’s dried shrimp has a 3-star OCOP certification, recognized as a typical rural agricultural product at the provincial level in 2025. In addition to dried shrimp, shrimp rolls and frozen black tiger shrimp, he also developed shrimp crackers to diversify products. Total annual revenue reaches about 10 billion VND, profit is more than 10%.
With this result, Hai was awarded the 2025 Luong Dinh Cua Award and many local certificates of merit. He said that in the coming time, he will continue to expand production, aiming to bring products from Ca Mau organic shrimp to foreign markets.
In addition, Hai cherishes a plan to build a dried shrimp craft village associated with community tourism. This model not only helps promote products but also creates more livelihoods and increases income for local people.
Cheers Ly