{"id":9245,"date":"2021-09-21T16:43:02","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T08:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=9245"},"modified":"2021-09-21T16:45:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T08:45:00","slug":"truong-van-ben","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/truong-van-ben\/","title":{"rendered":"Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n: Why The Inventor Of Made-In-Vietnam Soap Was A Marketing Genius"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patriotic marketing lessons from Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Today, those planning to open their own businesses tend to sign up for at least one marketing course so they can learn the basics of advertising and salesmanship. However, not everyone who pursues a formal education in marketing can become a successful marketer. Meanwhile, there are those whose talents and acumen totally make up for their lack of a marketing degree.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such was the case for <\/span>Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n (1883-1956)<\/b>, an entrepreneur from Saigon-Ch\u1ee3 L\u1edbn and the manufacturer of the first made-in-Vietnam soap brand – <\/span>X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The information in this article is drawn from S\u00e0i G\u00f2n T\u1ea1p P\u00edn L\u00f9 (Everything Saigon) published in 1962 by V\u01b0\u01a1ng H\u1ed3ng S\u1ec3n, Nh\u1eefng Ph\u00fa H\u1ed9 L\u1eebng Danh Nam K\u1ef3 (The Luminaries Of Cochinchina) published in 1999 by H\u1ee9a Ho\u00e0nh, and the memoir of Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n kept by his grandson Philippe Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n was a Vietnamese entrepreneur of Chinese ethnicity\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nImage credit: <\/span>Vietnamnet<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n <\/b>was born in Ch\u1ee3 L\u1edbn, then-South Vietnam into a wealthy family of Fuzhounese origin.<\/span> His ancestor, Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng Thu\u1eadn Tri, was a general of the Ming Dynasty. In the late 17th century, the Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng family fled China\u2019s Qing Dynasty rule and took refuge in then-South Vietnam.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng enjoyed Chinese and French education at local schools such as \u00c9cole Municipale de Cholon, Coll\u00e8ge de My Tho, and Lyc\u00e9e Chasseloup-Laubat.<\/span><\/p>\n

At age 18, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng joined his family-owned food ingredient business in Ch\u1ee3 L\u1edbn. Overtime, his family business expanded and Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng ventured into other investments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nHis family<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Zing News<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

To diversify his business portfolio, he opened an oil factory in Th\u1ee7 \u0110\u1ee9c in 1905, using equipment imported from the US and France. He also opened two rice grinding factories, one in Ch\u1ee3 L\u1edbn and another in R\u1ea1ch C\u00e1t.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of all his investments, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng\u2019s oil business flourished the most. Therefore, he opened one more factory called Huilerie de Cho Lon, where a variety of oil products such as cooking oil, salad oil, and industrial chemicals were made.<\/span><\/p>\n

An observant and forward-thinking man, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng spotted the enormous potential of a homegrown ingredient that had been overlooked for a long time – <\/span>coconuts<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nThe factory of X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba on 40 Rue de Cambodge, today Kim Bi\u00ean Street in District 5<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Zing News<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With this in mind, he invested heavily in manufacturing coconut oil, which played a significant role in the invention of Vietnam\u2019s first homegrown cosmetic brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The invention of X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nTr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n also manufactured perfume and body cream under the name C\u00f4 Ba<\/span><\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>\u0110\u00f3ng G\u00f3i Tri Th\u1ee9c<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Back in the day, French-imported bar soaps were all the rage in Saigon. There were also local soap brands but they were all detergent soaps used to wash clothes. No Vietnamese soapmaker was adventurous enough to produce nourishing body soap.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoping to learn the tricks of the trade, he paid many visits to French soap factories based in Vietnam. He also sent an engineer to Paris to learn how to make body soap.<\/span><\/p>\n

After that, he began to establish a soap company called <\/span>Savon Vietnam<\/b> that manufactured body soap using coconut oil from <\/span>B\u1ebfn Tre<\/span><\/a> – Vietnam\u2019s coconut kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nImage credit: <\/span>\u0110\u00f3ng G\u00f3i Tri Th\u1ee9c<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In 1932, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng released <\/span>X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba<\/b>, or <\/span>Savon Co Ba<\/b>, roughly translated as <\/span>Miss Ba Soap<\/b> – Vietnam\u2019s first body soap brand. This endearing soap name evokes the image of a southern Vietnamese lady, and is also carved on the soap surface and in the packaging. Legend has it that Miss Ba was his wife, while some suggested that she was southern Vietnam\u2019s most beautiful woman in the beginning of the 20th century.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his memoir, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng explained the context for his choice of the name and logo for his soap. In the 1930s, patriotic movements against French colonial rule were taking place across the country and everyone was starting to feel a sense of national pride. Therefore, he wanted to appeal to consumer patriotism by choosing the name and the image of a Vietnamese lady for his soap brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main ingredients that went into a X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba bar soap included coconut oil which made up 72% of the product, lye, and fragrance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Manufacturing a product is not easy, and leveraging it to enter a market is even more challenging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Overcoming barriers to entry with patriotic marketing techniques<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nAn advertisement of X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba <\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Zing News<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In order to go head to head with French brands, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng had to come up with ingenious tactics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After launching his soaps into the market, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng realized that most retailers were not fond of products manufactured in Vietnam by Vietnamese companies, even when their prices were 25% lower compared to imported products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Angered by local retailers\u2019 indifference towards made-in-Vietnam products, he dispatched his employees to every department store in town pretending to ask for X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba. If the store had the soap, these \u201cactors\u201d would buy them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In case the store didn\u2019t have X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba, these people would reply with a suggestion, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you sell Vietnamese soap? It\u2019s much better than other soaps.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Encountering this experience almost daily, many department store owners got curious about this made-in-Vietnam soap called X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba. They had to ask those fake customers for more details about this Vietnamese soap brand and where to source the soap.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from word-of-mouth marketing, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng also organized marketing campaigns that involved arts and sports.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nHe hired traditional opera troupes to compose songs about his soap<\/em>
\nImage credit: <\/span>Wikipedia<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

There was no TV back in the day, so live performances were the only opportunities to promote a product to the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He employed traditional opera troupes to sing songs and recite poems about Vietnamese soap on the streets, as well as martial arts crews to promote the soap while performing kungfu. This enterprising man also sponsored many sports events and made football players wear shirts with X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba logos.<\/span><\/p>\n

The messages conveyed through these campaigns and print advertisements were consistent: <\/span>Vietnamese should use made-in-Vietnam soaps.<\/b><\/p>\n

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\nA sign board on H\u00e0m Nghi Street advertising X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Ph\u1ee5 N\u1eef Online<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, he did everything he could to promote Vietnamese soap, from competitive pricing to tapping into consumers\u2019 patriotism to make his brand more memorable.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Within a short time, X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba started to grow in popularity and replace French-imported soaps in many Vietnamese households. They were also exported to Hong Kong, Laos, and Thailand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1943, when World War II was at its peak and there was a shortage of personal care products, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng\u2019s factories produced 1,500 tons of coconut oil and 600 tons of bar soap. For this reason, his business became one of the largest manufacturers of oil and soap in Indochina during that time. After 1954, French soaps lost popularity in Vietnam\u2019s market and X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba were still around to compete with US-made soaps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nMr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng and his wife, reportedly the inspiration behind the name and logo of X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Ph\u1ee5 N\u1eef Online<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Aside from his successful career, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng was also widely revered as a patriotic entrepreneur. He was proactive in advocating for economic policies that protected the rights of local people, who were still governed under French rule back then. In 1939, he protested a colonial law that restricted the use of traditional medicines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1948, he left Vietnam and spent the rest of his life in Paris, where he became a member of the International Chamber of Commerce. His youngest son, Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng Kh\u1eafc C\u1ea7n, was at the helm of the family-owned soap business until 1975 and emigrated to France after that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1956, Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng passed away in Paris at the age of 73.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After three decades of success in Vietnam\u2019s cosmetic industry, X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba gradually lost its popularity due to many external factors, such as the Vietnam War, the reformative period, and the emergence of new personal care products.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, those hoping to get a nostalgic whiff of Saigon\u2019s old glamour contained in the 89-year-old recipe of X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba can still find the soap in numerous supermarkets nowadays.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nThe former manufacturing hub of X\u00e0 B\u00f4ng C\u00f4 Ba on Kim Bi\u00ean Street. Passers-by can still see the logo of the soap on the wall.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Image credit: <\/span>Ph\u1ee5 N\u1eef Online<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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A master of patriotic marketing<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Not only was Mr Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng an excellent entrepreneur even though he didn\u2019t attend business school, but he was also one of the very few manufacturers of his time who was able to exhibit Vietnamese pride in his products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of his extraordinary efforts, he was able to navigate the tricky waters with his patriotic marketing techniques, turn the tables, and make a made-in-Vietnam soap brand a household item.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n B\u1ec1n\u2019s enterprising spirit and pride in his heritage have made him one of Vietnam\u2019s most respected entrepreneurs and a marketing legend until today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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