A small research about brand development of Vietnamese traditional condiment: Phu Quoc island fish sauce. There are some very interesting things that you have not ever known about fish sauce..

1. Phu Quoc Fish Sauce
A short explanation about fish sauce – History & Role
When look deep into the exotic Vietnamese cuisine, you can’t
never left the fish sauce behind anything. This special condiment
is the soul for most of Vietnamese dishes, due to its taste and
smell are the main parts of the Vietnamese deliciousness.
Back to the ancient time, when fishermen were
unable to take long trip into the deep ocean to get
bigger fish, they have to find a solution with the
small one they have. And fish sauce was the
product they invented from the process of
fermentation of fish with sea salt. This powerful
liquid are strong in protein, long time usage, and
especially, its taste and smell are very attractive,
giving them a lots of ways to combine it with
other foods to make new dishes
bbc.co.uk

2. Phu Quoc Fish Sauce
Brand Equity & Customer Equity
Choosing
rice & fish sauce
is the action
92 millions
DO
Vietnamese people
around the world
in their entire life
And one of names that permanently in the top of their mind :
Having a best fish sauce in the
kitchen is the main point to guaranty
the quality of foods we make. Phu
Quoc fish sauce always be trusted in
this segment of Vietnamese
condiment. There are other brands
like Phan Thiet, Cat Hai, and
companies-owned brand like Hong
Hanh, Chinsu, Viet Huong, Red
Boat… but when you have a real Phu
Quoc fish sauce from the island, it is
always the most perfect one
Phu Quoc fish sauce.
Most fish sauce companies –
both international and domestic
– using Phu Quoc as their own
brand in the fight of fish sauce.
Many of them are fake or not
authorized to be real, but
people still beloved with all,
because they think and some
time, fool themselves those
brands are real. They just want
to have the Phu Quoc fish sauce
in the kitchen like most others
Many Vietnamese people
beloved with the Phu Quoc
fish sauce in many decades,
even they’ve already gone
abroad. They always want to
give their best experiences to
their child, their relatives,
their
friend…
because
Vietnamese people have a
tradition in sharing the best
food with other to be happy

3. Phu Quoc Fish Sauce
Ideas for branding improvement
RESPECT
In thousands years, we have been taught to respect the
rice by calling it “The pearl of earth and sky”. In the same
amount of time, we don’t realize that we have to respect
fish sauce too, even its important role in Vietnamese
culture can’t be altered with anything else.
Create a branding
• In ritual occasions, Vietnamese elders always choose what they
strategy focusing on
think are the most traditional foods to showing the respectful to
creating the respectful
their ancestor, and this tradition continuously affect on their
with the product that
successors. A natural-made and high quality fish sauce like Phu
was and is being a
Quoc can be educated as the best one for this context.
important part of
• Fish sauce event be hold by Phu Quoc brand can be taught as
Vietnamese traditional
extracurricular activities in school to make child and their parents
culture, which can be
knowing the role of fish sauce as an important part of Vietnamese
used as a tool to
culture (Japan was very successful with tempura and miso with this
connect to world culture
method)

4. Phu Quoc Fish Sauce
Ideas for branding improvement
PRIDE
While Chinese soy sauce, Japanese miso paste, Korean
gochujang are very successful in becoming the national
condiment brands and have very clear branding strategies
based on the their people’s ethnic pride, why we doesn’t ?
Nation-wide campaigns in
making Phu Quoc fish
sauce as the strongest
national brand of that can
be compared directly with
other nation condiment
brands from Chinese,
Japanese, Korean… And
educate the world to use
the right fish sauce.
• A nation voting campaign to choose Phu Quoc as the best
national fish sauce brand in comparing with other countries
condiment brands.
• Make Vietnamese people proud to be expert in testing the
quality of real Phu Quoc fish sauce, let them teach those skills
to people around the world.
• Invest in global context and TV reality / variety shows where
Vietnamese people can educate the world the deliciousness of
Vietnamese cuisines that made with Phu Quoc fish sauce
• Digital channels to introduce Phu Quoc fish sauce to the world

5. Phu Quoc Fish Sauce
The forbidden beauty of Phu Quoc fish sauce – Smell of the nation
Real Phu Quoc fish sauce in Phu quoc island can bring the perfect
smell that you can’t imagine
Many people don’t realize that their body smell are much effected by the food they
use. Not officially, but we accept that The national smell of Vietnamese are mainly
come from the habit of eating fish sauce in a long time. This smell give us the
feeling of we are staying at our homeland wherever we are going.
• Actually, afraid of the awful smell from fish
sauce, but people around the world are very
willing to taste the Vietnamese food without
thinking about how they are be made. They
enjoy their taste and smell but don’t know
those cuisines’ soul are created with the very
important role of fish sauce.
• In Vietnam, we separate fish sauce in many
type to use in difference ways to have
difference type of dishes. And the smell of
fish sauce effect much in the product at the
end.
• And a qualified product have to be under
the sunlight in at least six month to have
the good enough smell. The perfect one
should be around a year.
• Its unique characteristic come from its
salty flavor and fishy smell, but the
interesting with the diners that it loses its
fishy odor once mixed with other
ingredients like garlic, pepper, onion,
lime…
• Difference with many people thinking, in
Phu Quoc island – the kingdom of fish
sauce, you will not face with the stink
smell like other fisher-village. Its hygiene
standard and the local traditional secrets
give the island a sweet and attractive
smell like special perfume
Benstarr.com

6. Phu Quoc Fish Sauce
The power of the a stolen brand
It’s a bit ridiculous to know that many people are very proud with
their favorite FAKE Phu Quoc fish sauce.
Around 90 percent of Phu Quoc fish sauce sold in the market is faked or having poor
quality, but the problem that the brand itself is very slow and weak in the protection
actions in decades. Brand awreness is still developed very fast, but most by the fake and
copycats from other countries.
• Phu Quoc island people and its local housemade fish sauce make 25-30 millions litters
of fish sauce right in the boat with their
traditional secrets every year. But there are
more than 200 millions litters of Phu Quoc
fish sauce are being trade in the market !!!
And this number increases each year. Most
of them are fake brand, but people are still
accept them just because of the name of
Phu Quoc brand
• Many copycats and fake products comes
from neighbor countries, which has give
Vietnam a lot of difficult in enforcing an
protection for the Phu Quoc brand. Worse,
many of them are chemically made, to pass
by the traditions of year-long fermentation.
• On Phu Quoc, locals product is better
because they exclusively use the long-fresh
anchovy and ferment them in year or
more. And like fine wine incubated in oak
barrel, local woods are used to make the
10-foot (3 metre) tall vats for the
fermenting fish to guaranty the best result.
• In the end of 2012, Phu Quoc fish sauce
has been qualified for the European
Union’s Protected Designation of Origin.
This recognition promises a new big
market for the fish sauce with the
accessible to around 500 million people in
Europe who now can be clearly
understand about the distinctive quality
and characteristics of Phu Quoc fish sauce.
But the war is just begin.
THIS FAKE FISH SAUCE WITH PHU
QUOC NAME IN THE FRONT LABEL,
BUT ACCTUALLY, IT SAYS MADE IN
CHINA IN THE BACK. ACCTUALLY IT
IS JUST THE MIX OF CHEMICAL
JUICE.