"To enter large distributing channels, the enterprises need to meet international distributors' standards on design, quality and packaging." — Photo vietq.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam's diverse domestic specialities could bring in high value, but enterprises that manufacture them have yet to learn how to develop trademarks and create distribution channels for their products.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, the Ha Noi Department of Trade and Industry's deputy director, made this observation at a conference here last Saturday.

The conference, which the Ha Noi Department of Trade and Industry organised, aimed to support enterprises in enhancing the value and developing the trademarks of their products to make Viet Nam's integration into the world economy easier.

Numerous experts in trademark development and protection were invited to help enterprises further understand how to build, develop and protect trademarks for success in business.

Even though some enterprises were successful in developing trademarks in and outside the country for their high-value specialities, a number of them have yet to learn how to develop the trademarks for export.

To enter large distributing channels, the enterprises need to meet international distributors' standards on design, quality and packaging.

To build sustainable trademarks in domestic and international markets, many successful enterprises in the world began their respective businesses in small shops, revealed Nguyen Huyen Minh, lecturer of the Foreign Trade University (FTU). Since they focused on quality, they built a trademark that later became popular in the world. Minh said.

He added that to be successful, enterprises must also put themselves in the shoes of their consumers. "Many producers take it for granted that buyers must know how to use their products. But in fact, many buyers do not know how to use or cook local specialities in the right way," Minh noted.

He suggested that businesses provide detailed information about the origins and procedures on the making and use of their products.

He also stressed the importance of the domestic market in the enterprises' trademark development strategy. "Domestic specialities should win over domestic consumers because the domestic market is crucial in the sustainable development of speciality manufacturers and serves as a safety zone if they face difficulties in foreign markets," Minh said.

Trademark protection regis-tration and intellectual property was also discussed and recommended during the conference, especially for enterprises that plan to export their products.

Tran Tam, an intellectual property lawyer, said that understanding legal requirements of trademark protection would help enterprises defend themselves against trademark infringement or copying and protect the trademark's prestige.

Le Ba Ngoc, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Handicraft Exporters Association (Vietcraft), advised enterprises to formulate detailed and long-term plans, raise village producers' awareness of the need for specialities development, improve quality, invest in packaging and focus on training quality workers for sustainable trademark development nationwide and worldwide.

The programme to promote regional specialities here is open from November 28 to December 2. — VNS