On April 4, 2022, 5th MBA students from Viet Nam – Japan university had a great opportunity to visit Hue Food company limited during the internship in Hue province. Hue food is a Japanese company located at Hoai Thanh – Thuy Xuan Village, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province. The company was established in 1995 with a vision to bring higher quality Sake and Shochu as same as Japanese traditional ways. Now, they have more than 30 suppliers in Vietnam, South East Asia, and Japan.
To welcome VJU students, the Japanese technical manager – Mr. Satoru Sekiya had a warm presentation to share about how to make a great Sake and Shochu from choosing materials (rice, sweet potato), processing raw materials to on the producing and lastly packing with an eye-catching label. In the beginning, the company faced many problems and trouble related to the water, and origins of the raw materials, but after 25 years with a lot of effort from both Japanese and Vietnamese employees, now they can make a tasty and delicious Sake, Shochu, and many others special alcohol drinks. To continue the presentation, Ms. Nguyen Dieu Cam Tu – The sales manager had an open sharing about sales and marketing in Hue Food. She shared many strategies on how the companies distribute the wines to customers or overcome a brutal period of COVID-19 and also answer all questions from students about the sale, marketing, and logistics.
After the presentation, Mr. Sekiya and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung – Fermentation Department Chief let all students visit the factory to see directly Sake processing. During this time, students can talk with employees working in the company. The most impressive thing was that everyone had a dedicated attitude toward their job and always say “ohayogozaimasu” to visitors with a nice smile. We hear the story that every employee had a long time working there and they really love the company.
At the end session, all students were happy to join the tasting test to try all the wines. Each member had different feelings and opinions about the quality, but share the same enjoyment and excitement.
We believed that only by studying at VJU, we will have a great opportunity to visit a Japanese company, learn from reality and apply the knowledge for a career later. We are looking forward to the exciting internship in the upcoming days.
What we learned from the trip to Hue Foods Company:
- The processing to make a Japanese tasty wine from raw materials
- How the company distributes Japanese wine to Vietnamese people
- The conditions to choose materials (rice, water,…) and treat them to be perfect ingredients
What we were impressed with at the company:
We had a chance to talk with one employee at the Hue Foods Company and she was really proud to be a part of the company. They almost had a long time working at the company. Furthermore, when we visited the factory, whenever we saw one employee and said “Hi” to them, he or she always said “Hi” to us with a nice smile that made us feel very impressed.
What are the recommendations we can make for improving business performances for the company?
The company should diversify its products, and add some special flavor from Vietnam into the drink. Although the company almost distributes to the suppliers throughout Vietnam, the company should consider running some marketing campaigns to promote the products or enhance brand awareness in Vietnamese people’s eyes.
