Characteristic features of products

Vietnam is in the trend of developing signature products, especially in localities that have their own potential products. There are currently 135 GIs protected, including 13 foreign GIs. Thua Thien Hue alone has four GIs, including Non La Hue (Palm-leaf conical hat), Hue Cajeput Essential Oil, Hoang Mai Hue (Hue Yellow apricot) and Thanh Tra Hue (Pomelo); and is one of the 10 localities with the most GIs in the country.

Palm-leaf conical hat is one of the four GI products of Thua Thien Hue

Particularly, in early 2024, Hoang Mai Hue and Thanh Tra Hue received the Protective Certificate of “Hue” GI. Hoang Mai Hue is special and unlike other products in Vietnam; therefore, proving its reputation, nature, and peculiar quality of Hoang Mai will not be a small challenge.

After two years of implementation, Hoang Mai Hue has been protected by the State with characteristics, such as green buds and thick branches. The flowers have short stems, dark yellow petals being stacked tightly and a characteristic mild fragrance.

Deputy Director of the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) under the Ministry of Science and Technology Tran Le Hong said that Hoang Mai Hue has been on the market for a long time and is loved by many people. However, to determine a product's worthiness in the minds of consumers requires an official recognition.

“In the coming time, we will have the opportunity to not only develop the market for Hoang Mai Hue products, but also have great motivation in managing GIs, ensuring quality for Hoang Mai Hue products, and bringing the products further to the domestic and even foreign markets. Hopefully with the investment of Thua Thien Hue Province, artisans and authorities will help the product set a solid foothold in the market and have greater value,” Hong said.

The combination between natural factors and long-lasting mode of production has created a signature Hoang Mai Hue

Meanwhile, Thanh Tra Hue is regarded as a typical symbol of the ancient Hue City. In addition to eating fresh fruit, Hue people also use the pomelo to make salad dishes, especially dried squid salad, shrimp salad... Currently, Thanh Tra is a precious fruit as a gift of the Hue citizens, a specialty product to serve tourists, and is also a special symbolic dish of the ancient capital's culinary culture. Thanh Tra products bearing the Hue GI is the 135th GI protected in Vietnam and is also a premise for further development of Thanh Tra Hue brand.

The preservation and development of Thanh Tra Hue brand requires a synchronous involvement of local authorities, producers and traders in a comprehensive and proper manner to develop and improve the product quality, focusing on developing brands associated with tourism and culinary development, and building sustainable consumption channels. Tran Le Hong affirmed that the IP Vietnam will continue to support the locality regarding the use and protection of the “Hue” GI for the Thanh Tra pomelo.

Opening new opportunities

GI is understood as a speciality of a locality, a region with clear origin, the difference in quality, and thereby will have higher prices than those of products of the same kind in other regions. GI is also an unique subject in bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding between countries for mutual recognition without having to carry out normal registration procedures once protected in the country of origin.

With such advantages, protected GI products will have more opportunities in trade, thereby promoting production development. As for Hoang Mai Hue, for example, besides the general advantages of the GI, Hoang Mai Hue is also a product of the project “Building Thua Thien Hue into the land of the Yellow Apricot of Vietnam and the campaign “Yellow apricot blossom at the front entrance,” openning up great development opportunities for the product.

In addition, GIs are always associated with a large community of producers and traders. Therefore, GIs are often called “community brand.”

To develop a GI into a “strong community brand” is a long term task. Being aware of those challenges, in order to gradually improve the efficiency of management and effective exploitation of GIs, Thanh Tra Hue Association, Hoang Mai Hue Association, Non La Hue Association, and Hue Cajeput Essential Oil Association were established right from the start of the project, with the goal of representing the community of producers and traders that will approach, receive and gradually directly manage and exploit GIs at localities.