TCPVN to inspire young Vietnamese to sustainability

Nguyen Thanh Huan, country director of TCPVN

Recently, TCPVN and the Central Vietnam Youth Federation (CVYF) signed an MoU to implement several social activities. Why has TCPVN selected the youth as the central target of its community-oriented activities?

Nearly three years since TCPVN has started operations in Vietnam, the group always kept sustainable socioeconomic development as its primary target. We are aware that young people are the core force of every country, including Vietnam to reach all targets – from sustainable or otherwise.

Young people make up a large percentage of the Vietnamese population, and they are more receptive to message about positive lifestyle changes. These young people on their way to start a career will be the future leaders of our world, so encouraging them to make sustainable choices from the beginning will be extremely beneficial down the road.

Via the co-operation with CVYF, the movement will feature many practical support programmes and will endeavour to instill six core values into the new generation: Pioneering, meritorious, solidarity, responsibility, creativity, and integration.

By spreading positive energy to the young people of Vietnam with CVYF, we hope to help them keep moving forward and lead the country through its immediate challenges into a brighter future.

What specific activities have TCPVN and CVYF implemented so far?

Following the success of Positive Day held on July 11 at Phu Tho Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, the journey of spreading positive energy initiated by Red Bull and TCPVN is reaching more and more young people across the nation through the strategic cooperation with CVYF.

We have agreed to implement the "I love my country" movement first. In addition, in 2020-2022, we will organise a forum for young entrepreneurs and award outstanding youth startups, along with a contest for innovative startup projects, as well as launching a national fund to support youth entrepreneurship.

We will go through CVYF’s annual programmes and accompany them wherever TCPVN’s experience and expertise can be helpful. We will announce the specific financial plans for these projects as soon as they are made.

The name Red Bull is far more familiar to Vietnamese ears than TCPVN. Is the cooperation with CVYF meant to increase the group’s branding?

This is an interesting question. Redbull is a famous brand around the world, including Thailand, and its belongs to TCP which is known for its diverse sustainability and community-building initiatives spanning across continents. This is the lodestar of the group’s operation.

Since our arrival to Vietnam in 2018, the group has been exploring the market and solidifying operations. It took us three years, but now we are at a place where we can begin building our sustainable development plans.

In reality, we had plans to implement the above programmes from the beginning of this year but were forced to delay them until now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While branding is not the No.1 goal behind the programme, we are a business and it will most certainly be an added boon if we can plant the TCPVN name in the minds of young consumers – especially as a sustainability-oriented company focusing on growth along with our communities and Vietnam at large.

TCP Group commits to build sustainability and contribute to community where we operate. Our collaboration with CVYF is part of that commitment.

A series of Thai companies have recently invested or expanded their operations to Vietnam. As one of the larger Thai groups, what does TCPVN think about this wave of investment and what are the group’s investment plans in the long term?

The Thai investment in retail market is already saturated, which means that Thai companies are now turning their sights outside their borders, to the rest of Southeast Asia where Vietnam is a powerhouse reporting the fastest economic growth. This makes it an ideal destination for Thai investment.

We at TCPVN are committed to long-term investment. When we arrive, we first focus on studying the market and setting up distribution channels. After having a solid distribution system in place, we will start introducing our less-known signature products including beverages, instant tea, and snacks, in addition to the Red Bull energy drink.

In our first two years of operating in Vietnam, TCPVN saw double-digit growth in business results. This year, despite the impact of COVID-19, we are confident that we will close the year in the green.