A local startup based in the central city of Hue has been licensed to export spices for bun bo Hue (Hue-style beef vermicelli soup) to the United States, marking the first shipment of these spices.

Le Thi Kim Hang, co-founder at YesHue, poses for a photo at a conference on trade and investment, held in September 2018 in the United States. The firm has exported the bun bo Hue spices to the United States for the first time – Photo: Courtesy of YesHue

YesHue Manufacturing and Trading Co., Ltd, transported the shipment by air, comprising four tons of the bun bo Hue spices and nearly one ton of other items such as Hue-style chili sauce and roasted annatto oil.

Le Thi Kim Hang, co-founder of YesHue, on May 30 told the Saigon Times that the first official shipment marked the firm’s success in promoting local products to foreign markets, especially the selective US market.

Last year, she visited multiple US states in search of business partners during her business trip to the country, under a trade promotion program hosted by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

She managed six months of negotiations on business terms and essential procedures for exporting the spices in a way that met the standards set by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The YesHue-branded spices will be consumed through the firm’s business partners in the United States, including Ahna Gourmet LLC and Cross Border Venture LLC.

The second shipment of the spices will be delivered in the next two months. The firm will focus on its business in this market, Hang confirmed.

The specialized spices reportedly won first prize at an innovative startup contest in 2017.