The founder of the well-known Bến Tre Coconut Candy brand is Mrs. Phạm Thị Tỏ. People often call her Mrs. Hai Tỏ, or by a very familiar and affectionate name: “The old lady with glasses.”

As soon as visitors set foot in the land known as the coconut capital—the riverine region of Bến Tre—they can easily spot along both sides of the roads large and small signboards advertising the local specialty, Bến Tre Coconut Candy. A distinctive common feature is the portrait of a woman wearing glasses, looking gentle and simple.

Mrs. Phạm Thị Tỏ is now 75 years old, with more than 30 years devoted to coconut candy production. She came to the trade with nothing in her hands, as a woman raising eight children who were still growing up. She once shared: “You have to work to earn a living, but I had to do something that could fully support my children so they could study and become decent people. As a mother, I couldn’t bear to see my children suffer.” She did all kinds of trading jobs, but during the subsidy period, each job only lasted a short time and was not enough to support her children. With resilience, perseverance, and a mother’s boundless love, she never gave up. Hardship and failure could not defeat this hardworking, resilient woman of the Mekong Delta. Eventually, she realized that coconuts are the soul of Bến Tre, the livelihood of the local people. Coconuts appear everywhere in daily life, and nature has generously bestowed this land with coconuts—no coconuts are as good as those from Bến Tre. She then took advantage of this abundant resource to produce coconut candy, a product that, in her view, not only reflects the character of the coconut land but also preserves the pure essence of the coconut tree—rich coconut milk blended with malt syrup.

In the early days of entering the trade, she encountered many difficulties. She shared: “Success only has value when it comes after failure.” She had to overcome everything on her own, and neither hardship nor failure could defeat her.

She recalled that when she realized her candy wrapping was not as attractive as those of other producers, she had to think of a way to design her own packaging. At that time, there was no electric lighting as there is today, so every night she lit an oil lamp and manually cut and pasted the wrappers. When that problem was solved, the product immediately faced another issue: the candy stuck to the outer wrapper, reducing quality. She continued to search for a solution, and then came a truly creative idea that highlighted the product’s difference from competitors—she designed a thin rice-paper inner wrapper that prevented sticking and also created a distinctive flavor.

Those were just minor issues commonly encountered in production. As for larger issues related to brand ownership, the survival of the company, and the livelihoods of workers being threatened, she also rolled up her sleeves to resolve them herself. This woman traveled far and wide to foreign lands to fight for justice. She said: “I created it, so it’s like my own child—how could anyone bear to see their child taken away?” With courage and determination to reclaim the “Bến Tre Coconut Candy” brand, she achieved a glorious victory abroad, creating a bright highlight for the coconut candy industry in particular and the manufacturing sector in general—a shining example worth following.

In business, she was such a strong figure, but in everyday life, she remains a mother and a grandmother, always caring for her family and ensuring a life of fullness and happiness. Her children have all become successful, just as she once wished, and are now helping her strengthen and expand the coconut candy business.

In addition, she actively participates in local social activities, charity work, and the construction and restoration of temples and shrines. She shared: “In the past, when we were poor, I feared my children would go hungry. Now that I have some income, when I see others suffering, I can’t bear to ignore it.”

A strong sense of responsibility at work, care for employees, and a commitment to delivering product value to customers have helped her company and the Bến Tre Coconut Candy brand increasingly establish a firm position in the hearts of consumers both domestically and internationally.

With sound ideas and business strategies, accurately combining the competitive advantage of her homeland—coconuts—with professional ethics and a high level of credibility, she has achieved great success, earning numerous medals and certificates of merit from the Government and the People’s Committee of Bến Tre Province, including the prestigious title of Top 10 Vietnamese Businesswomen for two consecutive years (2012–2013), along with many other invaluable achievements.

From a mother’s boundless love for her children and compassion for her workers, she built a solid company and a strong “Bến Tre Coconut Candy” brand—truly deserving to be a symbol of the modern woman in a new era, while still embodying the noble traditional virtues of Vietnamese women: “Công, Dung, Ngôn, Hạnh” (Diligence, Grace, Speech, and Virtue).

Source: Keoduabentre