Graduating from the Hanoi Foreign Trade University in 2010, Van worked at a bank of Taiwan (China). After 8 years of dedication, she had a salary that many people dream of. However, at that time, Van decided to quit her job, which surprised many people and was opposed by her family members. 

Le Hong Van.

But with the desire to have her own career and create jobs for many others, she chose to start a business in the homeland with her savings. In August 2018, Joy Vietnam Co., Ltd. was born, specializing in making products from rice such as dry pancake, rice craker, and che lam – a dish made from ground glutinous rice. 

"Joy" means happiness, she chose the name of Joy Vietnam because she thought that the products she makes would create joy for herself and consumers. She hopes her products will reach foreign markets.

I just think that everything requires faith, perseverance and concentration. We have to know what we want and understand what are our strengths to find a solution to the path of entrepreneurship Le Hong Van

When establishing the company, Van had to invest in renovating over 500sq.m of shabby, old factory she rented in Village 7, Viet Tien commune. The repairs took more than a month. She designed it herself and then went to mechanical workshops in Hanoi and Bac Ninh to hire them to do the work. Machinery, warehouses, drying yards, places for blending, spreading, steaming and baking machines were arranged and installed according to a one-way production process. 

However, failure was inevitable for a person who had just known how to make dry pancakes. In the first two months, many batches failed, she had to throw over 4 tonnes of rice out. Short of capital, she borrowed money from her friends and relatives and then paid them gradually.

Main products are dry pancakes made of brown rice, processed by a combination of traditional and modern methods. After grinding and spreading flour, finished products are still exposed to sunlight to take advantage of natural energy.

To avoid dust, the entire drying yard is arranged in a greenhouse, isolated from the outside. When the pancakes are dry, baking them by machine with halogen lights to eliminate dust on their surface. All products such as dry pancakes, rice chips, butter and peanut do not use any industrial additives or preservatives. Materials for making the pancakes are carefully selected by Van. 

Brown rice is produced by farmers in Viet Tien commune and sea salt is taken from Diem Dien area (Thai Binh province). The pancakes have small sizes suitable for transportation and packaging. Recently, the company has also changed the recipe to suit the taste of young customers.

A dry pancake production line.

She said: "To make products with natural origin, no preservatives, additives and artificial flavors, I myself have to be careful in every smallest step". With that motto, after each production, she prepares more carefully and looks for suitable partners to support her. As a new product that is yet to find a foothold in the market, in addition to introducing the product directly, she also uses social networks to promote it.

Thanks to the efforts of the young owner, every year Joy Vietnam Co., Ltd. has a turnover of about 1.3 billion VND (55,970 USD). The dry pancake was selected as one of the products of the local "Once Commune One Product" programme. 

The company creates jobs for 12 workers, including six working in the factory in Village 7 with a salary from 5 to 10 million VND per month. With the desire to bring the dry pancake to expatriates in Japan, Russia, and the United States, Van has introduced the product on many domestic and foreign e-commerce websites.

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Tuyet Mai