Exploiting the advantage of Dong Nai forest bitter melon

Mr. Le Thanh Hiep - Deputy Director of Hiep Van Bitter Melon Company Limited shared: "Long Khanh - Dong Nai has the advantage of soil, favorable climate conditions that allow forest bitter melon to thrive. However, it mainly grows wild, so there are many people. its potential is not well understood”.

The area specializing in the cultivation of forest bitter melon of Hiep Van company - Dong Nai

With a view to promoting the potential value of forest bitter melons to other provinces in Vietnam and to the international market, Mr. Hiep and his wife, from a private production facility, decided to establish Hiep Van Forest Bitter Melon Co., Ltd. in 2018 in Cam Tan Street, Xuan Tan Ward, Long Khanh City, Dong Nai Province.

To obtain the supply of raw materials, the company must first focus on improving the soil and air, as well as incubating and sowing seeds. forest bitter melon are planted in greenhouses following a clean procedure to rule out any damage from insects. The period from planting to harvesting and producing finished products normally takes nearly a year. After harvesting, forest bitter melon are sorted, cleaned and processed.

Up to now, Hiep Van has launched more than 10 products made from forest bitter melon. Apart from products made from the fruit such as pickled forest bitter melon, forest bitter melon with char siu, bitter melon stuffed with meat and fish, the company also promotes the development of functional foods and beauty products. One of the typical products is forest bitter melon tea made from dried leaves and wires, which has a sweet taste and a cooling effect on the body, as well as reducing blood fat and preventing cancer.

Diverse products of Dong Nai forest bitter melon

In addition, forest bitter melon essence, which is a combination of bitter melon, grapefruit peel essence and honey, has the effect of preventing cardiovascular diseases, stabilizing blood pressure, etc. Notably, thanks to the technology acquired from Japan, the company also offers to the beauty product market the matcha bitter melon powder which is made by mixing green tea powder with powder from crushed leaves. This special product has the effect of reducing melasma, freckles, and slowing down the aging process.

Some products from forest bitter melon achieved OCOP Dong Nai

To ensure the supply of raw materials, the company attempts to provide financial support, seeds and purchases bitter melon in bulk from farmers in Dong Nai province such as Long Khanh City and Xuan Loc and Cam My districts. The total planting area of the company has reached more than 50 hectares. Furthermore, Mr. Hiep also cooperated with Long Khanh Cooperative to guide farmers towards the direction of organic farming with high efficiency.

In 2019, forest bitter melon tea was honored to be the first product of Dong Nai province to meet the 3-star OCOP standard. This certification has helped the company gain trust from the locals as well as other provinces. Thanks to the support of local authorities in promoting trade, the company’s products are now distributed to more than 30 provinces and cities through cooperatives, stopovers and supermarket chains such as Citi Mart, Hoang Duc Supermarket, F&C Mart Ho Chi Minh City, Aeon and even on e-commerce exchanges such as Tiki Vietnam, Gcaeco.vn, Shopee, Sendo, Lazada...

Some products from forest bitter melon achieved OCOP Dong Nai

In 2021, two more products from Hiep Van's forest bitter melon, namely wild bitter melon matcha powder and natural forest bitter melon essence, have proudly received the 4-star OCOP accreditation in Dong Nai province.

Mr. Hiep added: “The year 2021 is a difficult year for many domestic enterprises, including Hiep Van Company. Therefore, the post-Covid-19 period is still a difficult problem to solve. However, the company is still trying to improve the quality of each product to continue to achieve higher OCOP standards, as well as complete the Dong Nai OCOP certification documents for wild bitter melon stuffed with meat and wild bitter melon. fish stuffing. In addition, Hiep Van is striving to meet international standards to be qualified to export to international markets, especially some fastidious markets such as Europe, Japan, etc.

Qui Nhi (Translate by Phong Nhat)