Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, General Director of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) - Photo: VGP/Vien An

The nearly 40-year journey of innovation has marked a resilient, breakthrough and development-hungry Vietnam. From an inefficient, centrally planned economy with an average income per capita of only 96 USD in 1989, Vietnam has risen strongly, expected to enter the group of upper-middle-income countries by the end of 2025, equivalent to over 5,000 USD/person/year.

From a poor economy dependent on international aid, Vietnam has continuously made strong breakthroughs to become the 24th largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

This miracle is not only the result of the correct development path under the leadership of the Party with bold and decisive reforms in institutions, policies and integration, but also the result of the spirit of hard work, creativity, determination and unceasing efforts of the entire nation, and especially the great contribution of the business community (the cell of the socio-economy).

Recently, General Secretary To Lam emphasized that the private economy plays a very important role in shaping the future of Vietnam's economy, and developing the private economy is a lever for a prosperous Vietnam.

To gain a perspective and a story from the practical experience of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) - a former state-owned enterprise, which after its development journey has now convincingly affirmed its Vietnamese brand (national enterprise), not only domestically, regionally but also worldwide, a reporter from the Government Electronic Newspaper had an interview with Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, General Director of Vinamilk.

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien is the captain who leads the Vinamilk ship to achieve impressive results such as: Not only leading the dairy and food industry in Vietnam, Vinamilk brand is present in 63 countries and Vinamilk is also in the Top 36 largest dairy enterprises in the world, with brand value ranked 6th in the global dairy industry.

Since 2013, Vinamilk has invested in building super factories for liquid milk and powdered milk to increase production capacity to meet consumer demand, improve domestic dairy industry standards and expand export markets - Photo: VGP/Vien An

Vietnamese Enterprises: Self-reliance and self-reliance for development

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, international experience shows that successful industrialized countries are all associated with the leading role of "leading enterprises" and "national enterprises". Could you please share about the journey of building and developing the Vinamilk brand from a domestic enterprise to an international brand?

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien: In the late 1990s, many state-owned enterprises chose to form joint ventures with foreign investors, making the M&A market more vibrant than ever. The context at that time also forced Vinamilk to choose between joint ventures or keeping its current brand.

We sat together for many days, debated for a long time before deciding not to join the venture, which was probably the decision that created the Vietnamese milk brand as it is today. Because if the partner holds 70% of the shares, the company still holds 30%, meaning the company no longer has a say in business operations, can the Vietnamese milk brand still be maintained?

Established in 1976, during the difficult subsidy period, Vinamilk was assigned to take over and restore the operations of 3 old factories including Truong Tho Factory, Thong Nhat Factory and Dielac Milk Factory (which was not operating at this time). During this period, Vinamilk's collective made efforts to maintain milk production activities, with a capacity of 8 million milk cartons per year.

By 1986, during the period of national renovation, opening up and integration, businesses had to face the problem of competition when foreign milk flooded into the Vietnamese market. With the spirit of self-reliance, Vinamilk's leadership sought a solution from domestic raw material suppliers, both ensuring the quality of finished products and saving costs.

1989 marked an important milestone when Vinamilk successfully restored the Dielac infant formula factory with the hands and minds of Vietnamese engineers and scientists. From there, it produced the first "made in Vietnam" infant formula products for the domestic market under the Dielac brand and then exported them.

To proactively source raw materials for development, in the 1990s, Vinamilk pioneered the "white revolution" with the goal of building dairy farming areas to proactively source domestic milk materials and domestic raw milk must meet international standards and production costs close to the world.

Since then, we have built and developed high-tech dairy farms across Vietnam and are currently cooperating with more than 4,000 dairy farmers. Vinamilk farms are the first farms in Vietnam to possess high world standards such as Global GAP, European Organic Standards, etc. At the same time, Vinamilk has also begun to build more factories, modernize machinery and equipment, and milk processing technology according to advanced world trends.

Not only maintaining the domestic market, in 1997, Vinamilk exported the first batch of infant formula to the Iraqi market, through the United Nations program. After the process of introducing the product, checking the quality, directly visiting the factory, and quoting prices, the first orders were signed. At that time, no one thought that Vietnam could export milk. However, I believe that the company can do it because the quality of our milk is actually not inferior to that of other countries, it is just that we have not found a way to enter their market.

In 2013, Vinamilk invested in building super factories for liquid milk and powdered milk to increase production capacity to meet consumer demand, improve domestic dairy industry standards and expand export markets. And to date, Vinamilk's products have been exported to 63 international markets, with the total cumulative export turnover from 1997 to present exceeding 3.4 billion USD, realizing the dream of Vietnamese milk reaching the world.

Vinamilk always launches a series of quantitative breakthroughs and qualitative changes in its product portfolio, contributing to raising the standards of the dairy industry - Photo: VGP/Vien An

Always progressive, innovative and creative

To achieve such impressive achievements is a persistent and creative journey of Vinamilk. According to her, What are the core factors for Vinamilk to achieve its position today and to reach higher and further, what pillars will Vinamilk focus on?

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien: Another milestone decision for Vinamilk was in 2003, realizing that equitization was an inevitable trend and would create momentum for breakthrough development, we convinced the state agency to approve the equitization of Vinamilk. Reality has proven that, after more than 20 years, Vinamilk is a typical example of a successful equitized enterprise in Vietnam. Since 2006, Vinamilk has officially listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange. To date, Vinamilk has always been in the top best listed enterprises in Vietnam, stock code VNM belongs to the VN30 group and has a great impact on the stock market.

In fact, after more than 20 years of equitization, Vianmilk's revenue has increased more than 15 times. At the time of equitization, the company's charter capital was VND 1,590 billion, by the end of 2024, the company's market capitalization was VND 132,503 billion. From 2004 to the first quarter of 2025, Vinamilk's total contribution (including subsidiaries in Vietnam) to the national budget in general was VND 63,712 billion.

In 2023, Vinamilk will mark a comprehensive innovation. The first step is to change the brand identity, continue to research and develop new products, carry out digital transformation, develop new business systems, approach consumers... This turning point helps Vinamilk elevate the brand with the strategy and positioning to become a leading nutritional food company, continue to expand the core "care" mission to be more suitable for the new development stage.

In 2024 and in the coming years, continuing the innovation strategy, Vinamilk will launch a series of quantitative breakthroughs and qualitative changes in the product portfolio, contributing to raising the standards of the dairy industry such as:

Qualitative change: Successfully applied 3 new technological breakthroughs for the first time in milk production in Vietnam, including Swedish ultra-microfiltration technology and Green Farm fresh milk vacuum technology, successfully added up to 6 HMOs to Optimum infant formula milk products. These improvements have created a breakthrough in the market, following the commitment to bring the best standards in the world to serve Vietnamese consumers.

Breakthrough in quantity: In just 1 year, the Company introduced and re-introduced 125 products, of which 100 products were innovated in the spirit of the new identity and 25 products were completely new to the market, making a breakthrough in both taste and quality to meet the increasingly personalized and diverse nutritional needs of consumers.

Digital transformation: Vinamilk's vision is to build a comprehensive digital ecosystem that closely connects production, distribution, sales and direct interaction with retailers and consumers. The ultimate goal is to optimize all aspects of operations to create a superior and sustainable competitive advantage.

Vinamilk's operations for nearly 50 years have always put quality first. Up to now, Vinamilk's principle is to do everything the best, with quality that meets international standards. "Quality-price-service" are the three factors that help the company develop the domestic and world markets. For Vinamilk, to have leading products, it must always be creative. Creativity is a vital factor. Vinamilk always innovates, always develops.

Party and State leaders want large enterprises to proactively take the lead and pioneer in big, difficult, new tasks, and solve problems at the national level. So what is Vinamilk's aspiration and what does the enterprise do to contribute to fulfilling that mission?

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien: In the journey of nearly 50 years, Vinamilk has always aspired to build the best quality nutrition source by Vietnamese people and for Vietnamese people, for the mission of caring for people and bringing the Vietnamese dairy industry to the world, known to the world.

Vinamilk's burning desire is to make every day better than the day before, in terms of business growth, brand, improving the lives of employees and contributing more to the national budget. Currently, Vinamilk is in the Top 36 largest dairy companies in the world, and will strive to enter the top 30, 25 or 20; Vinamilk's brand value is ranked 6th in the global dairy industry, so it will strive to enter the top 3.

Therefore, Vinamilk will continue to persevere with the spirit of "Always striving for progress", innovation and creativity, raising the standards of the domestic dairy industry and reaching the world with international quality food, to achieve new growth goals.

The company will continue to invest heavily in products and people, expand the scale of digital transformation and apply modern digital tools more deeply in forecasting and business decision making. We believe that with strong internal strength and appropriate strategy, Vinamilk will continue to affirm its leading position, bring sustainable value and contribute positively to the socio-economic development of the country.

We inspire the young generation of Vinamilk today with that ideal to maintain the brand and make the brand shine brighter and brighter domestically and internationally.

Private companies in Vietnam are growing rapidly.

We all expect the country to have many large ethnic enterprises. So do you have any specific proposals or recommendations to the Government and state management agencies to create conditions for enterprises to develop in the coming time, especially so that the country can have "leading cranes" to enter the era of self-development?

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien: The important issue is to create favorable conditions in terms of policies and mechanisms, a favorable environment, and a fair and transparent playground for businesses to compete healthily to develop together, strive together, and contribute together.

When businesses have difficulties, the Government and State management agencies should listen, focus on handling and resolving them quickly. Because in business, the important thing is opportunity. Everything has an opportunity and businesses need to seize it promptly, because when the opportunity is gone, it is very difficult to get it back. Businesses need to invest, recover capital and be able to respond to market demand quickly to be competitive.

Private companies with capital and human resources, if given favorable conditions, favorable policies and following the law, will develop very quickly. Currently, private companies in Vietnam are developing rapidly, in many industries. That is also an advantage and the future of the country's economic development.

Vinamilk's unique point is that it meets the diverse needs of consumers and meets the need for personalization - Photo: VGP/Vien An

The inspiring story of Vinamilk is that the brand has dared to innovate itself to be better and better, even when it has been a long-standing, steadfast symbol of the Vietnamese dairy industry. Ms. Mai Kieu Lien

"Self-reliant, determined and kind-hearted"

With decades of experience in managing Vinamilk, can you share the biggest lesson for Vinamilk's success and any advice for Vietnamese businesses in general, including startups and young leaders in the journey of building brands, innovating and developing into international markets?

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien: In the journey of nearly 50 years and beyond, "Self-reliance, determination and kindness" are still the three phrases guiding the development and innovation of Vinamilk.

Vinamilk's inspiring story is that the brand has dared to innovate itself to be better and better, even though it has been a long-standing, steadfast symbol of the Vietnamese dairy industry.

Vietnam is in the era of development, the Vietnamese economy has the advantage of taking shortcuts. The current era is a global open economy, we can all access the latest technology and advances to apply flexibly, suitable for each business, helping to develop the business.

Enterprises need to take shortcuts, be proactive, and seize opportunities. Each enterprise must find its own path, its products must be unique, and its products must be transformed to meet market demand. Vinamilk's unique point is that it meets the diverse needs of consumers, meeting the demand for personalization.

Thank you very much!

Thanh Thuy (performed)

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/phat-huy-noi-luc-de-xay-dung-thanh-cong-thuong-hieu-viet-cau-chuyen-vinamilk-102250418121338135.htm