Moving the traditional Vietnamese food industry forward

Dzung Pham Ngoc (MBA 12)

Dzung Pham Ngoc of Vietnam has a background in supply chain and purchasing management, primarily in the manufacturing sector. She speaks English, a little French, some Chinese and, of course, Vietnamese. In addition to her MBA from Audencia Business School, she holds a Master in Business Administration and Management from the French Vietnamese Centre for Management Education (Vietnam) and a Bachelor in International Business from the Foreign Trade University (Vietnam).

Current occupation:

Dzung is the co-founder of GreenV., JSC, a food-processing company that specialises in the production of traditional Vietnamese foods. Based in the capital city of Hanoi, her company currently sells foods such as Vietnamese sour sausages, Nem Phung (a dry snack made from pork) and Nem Tai (traditional Vietnamese spring rolls) to restaurants and groceries. “At GreenV., JSC, our slogan is ‘feel the green’. We put the health of consumers at the forefront of everything we do,” says Dzung.

Motivation:

Dzung founded the company in 2014 in an effort to advance the efficiency and safety of traditional food production in Vietnam. “Most traditional foods here are produced by hand and may have sanitation problems,” she says. “We wanted to provide a hygienic process with better-quality ingredients and better packaging for shipping.”

It has been very rewarding work, Dzung says. However, she notes that any new company has a lot of challenges at the beginning. “In Vietnam, there are so many regulations and policies you must follow; furthermore, we started at a very small scale but had to go to very big suppliers to get quality materials and ingredients. This can be difficult.”  

When asked about how she initially addressed these challenges, Dzung says cheerfully, “I didn’t think too much about the challenge of it because when you overthink, it might seem too challenging!” She notes that her background in supply chain and purchasing management, her training at Audencia and her family’s restaurant background have all been helpful.

“We keep improving and applying new technologies, and as a long-term goal, we hope to move to more sustainable production and packaging.”

Personal interests and passions:

Dzung loves travelling, music and movies. “Since I work in the food industry, my love of travel is also like study! I can go to other places to see what the food is like there and how they make it.”

Staying in touch with Audencia:

Dzung is still very close with some of her classmates and stays in touch with them via both social media and in-person visits. “There is an Audencia Alumni chapter in Vietnam, and I went to Ho Chi Minh City to meet some people there.” She also took a trip to Indonesia to see a classmate, and says that sometimes, alumni from France come to Vietnam.

Advice to students and graduates:

As words of advice and encouragement, Dzung says, “When you start doing anything, it can be very difficult, but don’t give up. This is true for your studies and your career. If you give up now, it will be much harder to restart. If you have enough courage, you can follow your passion and reach your goal.”

She also emphasises the importance of finding a good mentor. “This is especially true for young people who may have limited experience and knowledge. Get help with how you should go about pursuing your goal!” Dzung says she is happy to have met professionals in Vietnam through good friends, and they are now her mentors.

Most memorable experience at Audencia:

“When I came to Audencia for my MBA studies, it was the first time I had stayed that long in a foreign country; it affected me a lot. It is so different from Vietnam!” Dzung remembers being very busy studying and struggling with French. “But the professors are so professional, and the students are very nice. They are the best. And in my classmates, I now have friends from all over the world.”