How one woman’s tea travelled from Viet Nam to four continents
At the heart of Thai Nguyen Province, where the mists roll gently over tea-covered hills, lies Ha Thai Tea Joint Stock Company, a business built on Vietnamese tradition.
4 MIN READ
success story
Viet Nam
7 NOVEMBER 2025
For Nguyen Thi Hien, chairwoman and founder, tea is more than a product: it’s a heritage plant, a healer and a cultural ambassador. ‘Tea is a gift from nature,’ she says. ‘It sustains the environment, it nurtures health and it carries the spirit of Vietnamese civilization.’
Hien’s journey is a blueprint in what trade can achieve. Her Vietnamese green, white and black teas have travelled from the hills of Thai Nguyen to mugs of customers in at least four continents.
Hien’s journey is a blueprint in what trade can achieve. Her Vietnamese green, white and black teas have travelled from the hills of Thai Nguyen to mugs of customers in at least four continents.
Sowing the seeds of partnership
Years ago, Hien took part in an entrepreneurship training organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC) SheTrades Initiative and the Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency (VieTrade) with support from the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). It was one of her first introductions to international trade.
‘That initial training helped me understand the bigger picture,’ she said. ‘I realized that I was not only producing tea, but also creating a product that could represent Vietnam on the global stage.’
SECO’s support allowed ITC to support women like Hien with the tools to navigate trade and grow their businesses. It also paved the way for ITC to map Viet Nam’s business landscape, identify the barriers women face, and design hands-on support to get them export-ready.
‘That initial training helped me understand the bigger picture,’ she said. ‘I realized that I was not only producing tea, but also creating a product that could represent Vietnam on the global stage.’
SECO’s support allowed ITC to support women like Hien with the tools to navigate trade and grow their businesses. It also paved the way for ITC to map Viet Nam’s business landscape, identify the barriers women face, and design hands-on support to get them export-ready.
Building momentum: The SheTrades and UPS Women Exporters Programme
As Ha Thai Tea grew, so did the ecosystem around it. Through expert-led training and personalized coaching from the SheTrades and UPS Women Exporters Programme, Hien learned how to use digital tools, strengthen logistics and compete for international markets.
Those insights proved vital during the pandemic. She brought her business online, launched direct-to-consumer sales, and added traceability so customers could see exactly where their tea came from and why it mattered.
‘Even when people couldn’t visit, they could still order online. They could see where the tea came from, how it was processed and trust what they were buying,’ she said.
The launch of the SheTrades Viet Nam Hub, hosted by VieTrade, gave Hien and thousands of other women entrepreneurs a dedicated platform for long-term support. From trade fairs to coaching to policy engagement, the Hub offered them continued support, and above all, community. It’s where Hien learned to meet export standards, brand her teas for global buyers and prepare the documentation needed to break into new markets.
Those insights proved vital during the pandemic. She brought her business online, launched direct-to-consumer sales, and added traceability so customers could see exactly where their tea came from and why it mattered.
‘Even when people couldn’t visit, they could still order online. They could see where the tea came from, how it was processed and trust what they were buying,’ she said.
The launch of the SheTrades Viet Nam Hub, hosted by VieTrade, gave Hien and thousands of other women entrepreneurs a dedicated platform for long-term support. From trade fairs to coaching to policy engagement, the Hub offered them continued support, and above all, community. It’s where Hien learned to meet export standards, brand her teas for global buyers and prepare the documentation needed to break into new markets.
A tea ecosystem, activated
Today, Ha Thai Tea exports to Japan, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States. It has earned national and international awards, including the National Gold Quality Award, and recognition from the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Her production now integrates activated carbon plant care, full organic transition and traceability systems—all aligned with international best practices. She also trains and employs women from rural communities, ensuring the company’s growth is shared.
With the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Ha Thai Tea and other women-led businesses in Viet Nam are tapping into global e-commerce through platforms such as Alibaba.com, gaining expert advice on branding, market entry, and export preparation.
They have also benefited from targeted online training and gender-lens financing in Vietnamese, thanks to SheTrades’ partnership with the Asian Development Bank.
‘From the tea plant to the global market, this journey has never been mine alone,’ she says. ‘It was possible because we had a whole system behind us—a system that believed in women, in small businesses and in Viet Nam.’
Her production now integrates activated carbon plant care, full organic transition and traceability systems—all aligned with international best practices. She also trains and employs women from rural communities, ensuring the company’s growth is shared.
With the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Ha Thai Tea and other women-led businesses in Viet Nam are tapping into global e-commerce through platforms such as Alibaba.com, gaining expert advice on branding, market entry, and export preparation.
They have also benefited from targeted online training and gender-lens financing in Vietnamese, thanks to SheTrades’ partnership with the Asian Development Bank.
‘From the tea plant to the global market, this journey has never been mine alone,’ she says. ‘It was possible because we had a whole system behind us—a system that believed in women, in small businesses and in Viet Nam.’