For exported agricultural products, “standing out” rarely comes from attractive packaging or a clever slogan. Overseas buyers compare your shipment with those of dozens of other suppliers along two axes: what they receive and what they have to give up, including the risk of the shipment being held at the port. A product only truly stands out when it has an advantage that competitors find hard to copy, and the company can prove that advantage. This article applies the tools of a strategic marketing textbook (the value map, the competitive advantage tests, the positioning statement, branding) to the context of Vietnamese agricultural products, with sourced figures.
Key points
- Value in the eyes of the buyer is “what is received” divided by “what is given up”; what is given up includes time, effort and risk, not just price (Mooradian et al., 2012).
- A sustainable advantage must be valuable to customers, rare, and hard to imitate or substitute; low price usually fails the third test.
- Geographical indications are the hardest-to-imitate asset of Vietnamese agricultural products: Bac Ha cinnamon bark (No. 00158, granted 25 September 2026), Ngoc Linh ginseng (No. 00049), Vi Xuyen black cardamom (No. 00084).
- A country-of-origin reputation also has a downside: Vietnam was the origin of 23 of the 57 RASFF notifications on cinnamon in the EU from 2020 to 17 October 2026. Lot-by-lot data is the way to turn a shared risk into a company-specific advantage.
Buyers see a product through “what they receive” and “what they give up”
The textbook Strategic Marketing (Mooradian, Matzler, Ring, 2012) defines value as the customer’s perception of what they receive (benefits, quality) relative to what they give up. What they give up is mainly price, but also time, effort and other costs. Each segment weights each benefit differently, and customers always compare against the other options on the market, not against how the company rates itself.
When “relative price” and “relative quality” are plotted on two axes, suppliers line up along what the textbook calls the fair-value line: pay more and you receive more. To stand out, a company must sit on the favourable side of that line: the same price but more received, or the same quality but a lower total cost.
For buyers of imported agricultural products, these “other costs” are often larger than a price difference of a few percent:
- shipments held for testing, rejected or destroyed;
- being placed on an increased-controls list, which makes every subsequent shipment slower and more expensive;
- time spent assessing suppliers, inspecting growing areas and processing documentation.
A supplier that quotes a higher price but reduces these costs may still be the “cheaper” option for the buyer. See an example of the cost of increased controls in the article EU maintains increased controls on Vietnamese durian, dragon fruit, okra and chilli.
The sustainable competitive advantage tests
Under the resource-based view presented in the textbook, a company has a sustainable competitive advantage when it possesses resources or capabilities that are: (1) valuable to customers, (2) rare, not held by competitors, (3) hard to imitate or substitute, and (4) transferable to other markets or products. The textbook also notes that “sustainable” is only relative; most advantages are short-lived.
In practice, this takes three steps: list customers’ purchase criteria in order of importance; identify where you perform better than competitors; then ask which resource creates that edge and whether that resource passes the four tests. Applied to the “advantages” agricultural companies commonly cite:
| Commonly cited advantage | Tests passed | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Lower price than competitors | Valuable; usually not rare, easy to imitate | Competitors in the same country or elsewhere can cut prices as early as the next season |
| Food safety certification of the plant | Valuable; not rare | A condition for being considered, not a reason for being chosen |
| Growing area within a geographical indication | Valuable (if customers know of it), rare, hard to imitate | Tied to soil, climate and regulations; competitors outside the area cannot use it |
| Lot-by-lot production and testing data over several years | Valuable, rare, hard to imitate, transferable to other products | Takes time to accumulate; cannot be bought in a single season |
| Deep-processing capability (grinding, sterilisation, extraction, retail packing) | Valuable; rarity depends on the product | Shifts part of the value from foreign re-processors back to Vietnam |
The table above is AgrifoodV’s reading using the textbook’s framework, not the result of a survey. Each company needs to score itself against the purchase criteria of its own target customers.
Geographical indications: the hardest asset to imitate
A geographical indication links a product’s reputation to a specific area and has its own management regulations. Several verified geographical indications for Vietnamese spices and medicinal plants:
- “Bac Ha” cinnamon bark (Lao Cai): Certificate No. 00158, Decision 540/QD-SHTT of 25 September 2026, the most recent in the cinnamon group (Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam).
- “Ngoc Linh” ginseng: Certificate No. 00049. The management regulations issued by Da Nang (Decision 3558/QD-UBND of 10 August 2026) grant labels only to roots at least 4 years old, one label per product, with a QR code linked to the production log (LSVN, 12 August 2026).
- “Vi Xuyen” black cardamom: Certificate No. 00084, covering 9 communes of the Tay Con Linh range, at altitudes above 1,300 m (Thuong hieu va Cong luan, 2020).
- Lang Son star anise: geographical indication granted in 2007 and protected by the EU in 2020 under the EVFTA (Ministry of Industry and Trade).
Two caveats when using a geographical indication for positioning:
- A geographical indication is a shared asset of the area. A company may use it only when it meets the regulations, and other companies in the area may use it too. It therefore differentiates from products outside the area, but not yet between companies within the area.
- A geographical indication only has value when buyers know of it and trust it. For industrial buyers abroad, this must be proven with documentation: a map of the area, the regulations, test results.
The downside of a country-of-origin reputation
The textbook cites David Aaker’s definition: brand equity is a set of assets and liabilities linked to a name and symbol that add to or subtract from the value a product provides. National origin works in a similar way: other companies’ shipments also affect how buyers view yours.
- Cinnamon: searching the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) from 2020 to 17 October 2026, Vietnam was the origin of 23 of the 57 notifications on cinnamon, the most of any country; 11 notifications concerned lead or mercury (AgrifoodV’s own search based on the wording in notification titles). The FDA import alert list on heavy metals (IA 99-42) includes 7 Vietnamese cinnamon companies.
- On the positive side: under Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 as amended by Regulation 2026/1206, Vietnamese pepper, cinnamon, star anise, ginger and turmeric are not subject to increased controls, whereas Brazilian pepper (Salmonella) and Indian pepper and cinnamon (ethylene oxide) are.
When a risk is attached to an entire country, a company that can prove its shipments are different (lot-by-lot heavy metal results, clear growing-area origin) has a point of difference that buyers genuinely need. See also the article on plot-level data in growing areas.
Traceability is the “reason to believe”
Vietnam’s domestic legal framework already provides the tools to prove it:
- Growing-area codes under Decree 38/2026/ND-CP (24 January 2026): a minimum of 10 ha for perennial crops such as pepper, cinnamon and star anise; the code is revoked if banned pesticides are used, and the area must wait 12 months before it can be reissued.
- Traceability under Circular 02/2024/TT-BKHCN (in force from 1 June 2024): product trace codes, location trace codes, connection to the National Product and Goods Traceability Portal.
- At provincial level, Lao Cai has 24,241.5 ha of organic cinnamon (as of end-2025) and a plan to bring 100 cinnamon products into traceability and digitalisation before 2030 (Lao Cai newspaper, 28 January 2026).
For coffee entering the EU, plot geolocation under the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is mandatory from 30 December 2026 for large and medium-sized companies. Companies that already hold growing-area data will not only comply, but also turn compliance into a selling point.
Writing a positioning statement for an export product
The textbook sets out a positioning statement framework used by many companies: For (target customer or segment), (brand) is the (product category, frame of reference) that delivers the most (benefit, point of difference), because only (brand) has (reason to believe). The two key components are the promise and the reason to believe. A good positioning statement must be:
- relevant: it emphasises attributes customers value;
- differentiating: on that attribute, it outperforms competitors;
- credible: it has a convincing reason;
- feasible: it is backed by real capability;
- easy to communicate;
- durable: hard to imitate.
Illustrative example (hypothetical, not a real company): “For European spice grinders who need cinnamon with low heavy metal risk, we are the cinnamon bark supplier within the Bac Ha geographical indication area that delivers lead results for every lot, because only we control a coded growing area and keep test data for every lot.” Each part of the statement must be provable with documentation; any part that cannot be proven should be dropped.
The textbook stresses the sequence: segment first, choose target customers, then position; position by segment, not the other way round. This is also how AgrifoodV’s pillar articles approach each product: choose the market, read that market’s requirements, and only then plan the growing area and the processing plant. See passion fruit juice exports in 6 markets and pineapple juice exports and MD2 growing areas.
Branding in B2B sales: reducing risk for the buyer
According to the textbook, for customers a brand saves search effort, provides reassurance and reduces risk. In agricultural exports, most goods move through B2B channels, so the brand is first and foremost the supplier’s reputation with industrial buyers.
Cashew nuts are a clear example. According to CBI (updated 23 March 2026), in 2024 Europe imported 215,729 tonnes of cashew kernels from outside the EU; Vietnam accounted for 90% of the United Kingdom’s imports, 75% of the Netherlands’, 63% of France’s and 62% of Germany’s. Yet most of the cashews imported into Europe are roasted, salted and repacked there, so consumers almost never see the name of the Vietnamese supplier. European buyers expect IFS Food certification (especially in Germany), social compliance under the Sustainable Nut Initiative’s set of standards, and digital traceability. For them, a supplier’s “brand” is consistency from lot to lot.
For a brand to reach consumers, the company must add deep processing and packing in Vietnam. That is a decision about the processing plant, not just about marketing. See the opening article of the series, the design brief for an export processing plant.
What companies should do
AgrifoodV’s recommendations:
- Ask 3–5 target buyers directly about their supplier selection criteria and the importance of each criterion, instead of guessing.
- Score each of the company’s “advantages” against the four tests; drop those that are merely necessary conditions.
- If the growing area lies within a geographical indication, complete the procedures for using it and prepare a supporting documentation pack in English.
- Keep lot-by-lot test results (heavy metals, pesticide residues, microbiology) for at least 2–3 years; this is the reason to believe that is hardest to copy.
- Write a positioning statement using the framework above for each segment, and keep only the parts that can be proven.
AgrifoodV helps companies with market research and export product strategy.
References
- Mooradian, T. A.; Matzler, K.; Ring, L. J. Strategic Marketing, 1st edition. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. Chapters: Generic Strategies – The Value Map; Competitive Advantages; Positioning; Brands and Branding.
- Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam. Bảo hộ chỉ dẫn địa lý “Bắc Hà” cho sản phẩm quế vỏ [Protection of the “Bac Ha” geographical indication for cinnamon bark] (Certificate No. 00158, Decision 540/QD-SHTT of 25 September 2026), 5 October 2026. ipvietnam.gov.vn.
- Vietnam Lawyers (LSVN). Đà Nẵng ban hành quy chế quản lý chỉ dẫn địa lý “Ngọc Linh” [Da Nang issues management regulations for the “Ngoc Linh” geographical indication], 12 August 2026. lsvn.vn.
- Thuong hieu va Cong luan. Cấp giấy chứng nhận đăng ký chỉ dẫn địa lý cho sản phẩm thảo quả Vị Xuyên [Geographical indication registration certificate granted for Vi Xuyen black cardamom], 18 August 2020. thuonghieucongluan.com.vn.
- Ministry of Industry and Trade. Tìm kiếm thị trường mới để cây hồi Lạng Sơn phát triển bền vững [Finding new markets for the sustainable development of Lang Son star anise], 22 April 2023. moit.gov.vn.
- European Commission. RASFF Window rapid alert system, search of notifications on cinnamon, 2020 to 17 October 2026. webgate.ec.europa.eu.
- FDA. Import Alerts for industry 28 (spices), including IA 99-42 on heavy metals. accessdata.fda.gov.
- European Commission. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1206 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1793. eur-lex.europa.eu.
- Government of Vietnam. Decree 38/2026/ND-CP of 24 January 2026 (growing-area codes), full text published on ppd.gov.vn.
- Ministry of Science and Technology. Circular 02/2024/TT-BKHCN of 28 March 2024 on the management of product and goods traceability (in force from 1 June 2024). hcc.nghean.gov.vn.
- Lao Cai newspaper. 100 sản phẩm quế của Lào Cai sẽ được truy xuất nguồn gốc, số hóa vào năm 2030 [100 Lao Cai cinnamon products to be traceable and digitalised by 2030], 28 January 2026. baolaocai.vn.
- European Commission. Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products (EUDR) and Delegated Regulation 2026/2102. eur-lex.europa.eu.
- CBI (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs). What is the demand for cashew nuts on the European market?, updated 23 March 2026. cbi.eu.
Article by AgrifoodV, compiled from the sources above (accessed 17 October 2026). This content is for reference only and is not a substitute for strategic advice for any individual company; the positioning statement example is hypothetical. Cover image: Marta Branco / Pexels.
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