Inspired by her grandmother's traditional fermented sticky rice, Ngô Thảo Vương (born 1995, Creative Director of Nếp Việt Heritage JSC, 194 Lý Thái Tổ, Quy Nhơn Nam Ward) launched a startup with the ambition of bringing familiar flavors back to Vietnamese dining tables through a new narrative.
In her family, fermented sticky rice water was once a traditional postpartum tonic, made by hand from local sticky rice. In 2021, Vương and her team developed NEP SINCE 1995—a fermented sticky rice aperitif aimed at digestive health and suitable for all ages.
Each batch of sticky rice is processed and fermented using traditional methods to preserve its authentic flavor. However, the young team at NEP has applied scientific techniques to control the fermentation process, temperature, and humidity, ensuring safety and consistent quality.
For Vương, NEP is not just a product but a way to tell a cultural story: every detail in the design, packaging, and display is imbued with local cultural spirit.
Accordingly, the brand has collaborated with artisans from Phú Gia horse hat village and Vân Sơn ceramics to create display items, including a wooden tray inspired by the art of Tuồng (Vietnamese classical opera).
With the desire to maximize the value of the lotus plant, Nguyễn Văn Xong (born 1992, owner of the Năm Xong brand, Hoài Nhơn Ward) has developed a model for sustainable, eco-friendly lotus-based products.
Starting in 2018 with just 1 hectare and three workers, Năm Xong has now expanded to 50 hectares of raw material area, connecting with additional lotus-growing regions in Phù Mỹ Nam commune. The facility operates a 300 m² processing workshop, equipped with grinding, cold-drying, and vacuum-sealing machinery to ensure product quality. Its offerings include roasted lotus seed tea, lotus seed powder, lotus leaf tea, lotus heart tea, dried lotus seeds, and shan tuyet tea infused with lotus flowers.
Each year, Năm Xong provides stable employment for nine permanent staff and over 40 seasonal workers, supplying hundreds of thousands of products to the market. These efforts helped Xong and his team win first prize at the 2023 Provincial Youth Startup Innovation Project Competition, achieve two 3-star OCOP products in 2024, and receive a Consolation Prize at the 2025 National Rural Youth Startup Project organized by the Central Youth Union.
Not stopping at production, since 2022, Xong has launched experiential tourism right on his hometown lotus pond. He built a small hut in the middle of the pond where visitors can enjoy lotus tea while admiring the blossoms, or take tours of the organic vegetable farm and traditional craft villages related to coconut.
During each lotus blooming season (from March to July), the site welcomes around 2,000 visitors, creating a peaceful yet lively atmosphere and increasing local incomes. Looking ahead to 2025–2028, Xong and his team are working to meet FDA, HACCP, and HALAL standards for export, and plan to register three new provincial OCOP products in 2026.
