In 2014, Mr. Long was lucky to be accepted to work for a Japanese company specializing in household electronics. However, after the company promised him a 2-month training trip in Singapore and committed to signing an official labor contract, Mr. Long felt that the job was no longer suitable, so he rejected the opportunity and decided to pack up and return to his hometown in Nghe An. "As a bachelor of Hanoi University of Industry and with solid career prospects, I could not avoid strong opposition from my family," Mr. Long said, adding that he had to sell Nghe An veal sausage and Thanh Hoa sour sausage to save enough capital to start a business.

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Returning to his hometown, he opened a pig and chicken farm and sold animal feed. After a year of stability, the price of pork plummeted, causing him to go bankrupt and in debt of 200 million VND. He then went back to selling fermented pork rolls and veal pies like before to make ends meet. After that, he tried making products such as peanut oil, sesame oil, wine, jam, and dried bamboo shoots, but the results were still not positive. And then, he came up with the idea of ​​producing cereals when he had the opportunity to use this product for nutrition. "After using and researching, I realized that many people now also tend to enjoy products made from grains. Moreover, the ingredients are readily available in my hometown, which is considered a purely agricultural area," Long shared. Thinking so, he started a business right in his small house. Due to the lack of conditions, he had to process them manually on a cast iron pan. Talking about the time he had to work hard for 18 hours a day. Gradually, when the products were trusted by many people and he had enough resources, in November 2018, Mr. Long decided to found LoliFood Nutrition Food Joint Stock Company. Currently, his factory has a scale of 1,500 ^m2 and has invested in a modern production line with a total value of 3 billion VND. In the product creation process, he always adheres to the "4 no" principle: no use of chemical fertilizers; no pesticides, herbicides; no genetically modified seeds; no growth stimulants. "In the processing stage, I focus on the seed germination method. This method will convert starch into low-glycemic cereal sugar, releasing enzyme inhibitors to help people improve their digestive system and absorb nutrients better," said Mr. Long, adding that his company currently has 300 agents nationwide. Not only meeting the 3-star OCOP standard, Mr. Long's enterprise also possesses an FDA certification (issued by the US Food and Drug Administration) for food safety. Mr. Long received the Luong Dinh Cua award from the Central Youth Union in 2022. He is currently focusing on improving products to conquer demanding markets such as Korea and Japan. Besides, he also hopes to continue creating sustainable livelihoods for local people. Ms. Tran Thi Thoa, Secretary of Tan Thanh Commune Youth Union, commented: "Since returning to his hometown to start a business, Mr. Long has been one of the typical production and business individuals of the commune for many years. Mr. Long often encourages people to learn from each other's agricultural production models as well as coordinate with the Commune Youth Union to organize volunteer activities".