This Vietnamese Packaging Supplier Sees Exponential Growth on Alibaba.com

We started with the plastic trading business back in 2016. It was pretty straightforward. We imported plastic materials from abroad to Vietnam and then sold them locally or re-exported them to South Asian countries.

Then in 2022, we decided it was time for a change. So, in August, we launched our factory to start making woven and non-woven shopping bags. Our company currently has less than 20 people because the factory is almost fully automated. We only need two people to keep each production line running.

Our business is very much B2B. We supply promotional packaging to clients like shoe brands, which hand out our shopping bags as gifts. So, customization is a big part of what we offer. We mainly work with local partners and local customers know us through Alibaba.com.

Jumping on the Trend

Our shift to eco-friendly bags wasn’t just a business move. It was also a response to the growing demand for sustainable products. Everyone knows plastic bags are not eco-friendly, but nobody can deny their convenience. The point is to make them reusable.

At the time, we saw a shift in consumer mindset and behavior. In Europe and the U.S., clients have become increasingly environmentally conscious. They are more likely to use eco-friendly materials. Sustainability was the next big thing, so we jumped on the trend.

The timing was just right. We reinvested profits from our plastic business and put in some personal capital to set up the new factory. Running a factory costs a lot of money.

Alibaba.com Was a Better Fit

From the get-go, we knew we wanted to reach international clients. Even before we had a product to sell, we approached Alibaba.com around June 2022. By October, our Alibaba mini-site was live.

I also considered Amazon, but it was way too expensive, and the verification process was too complicated for a small manufacturer like us. Alibaba.com was a better fit for our needs. The basic membership costs just 2,000 USD. It was affordable for a newcomer with no revenue from a specific product yet.

Plus, having an Alibaba store instantly gave us credibility. As a new, small, and anonymous company from Vietnam, it was tough to convince customers. But on Alibaba.com, customers could see our store’s star ratings and know that we were a verified seller.

Better, Stronger, and Growing

It wasn’t all smooth sailing at first. The first six months on Alibaba.com were tough. We lacked experience and struggled to meet the customers’ target prices. Small-quantity orders were costly in logistics, and there was no trade assurance. We even gave away products for free, 200 or 300 pieces, just as long as the customers covered the shipping costs. It was a form of marketing and we hoped they’d come back with bigger orders.

In the end, everything worked out just fine. Within three months, we became a three-star supplier on Alibaba.com. As we raised our stars and built trust with customers, orders started flowing in. Recently, we landed a huge order for a million bags worth about 80,000 USD from South Korea, and another one just came in for 170,000 USD.

Some orders were just too large for us to handle with our current capacity, so we had to pass them along to other partners. For example, there was an order from Hong Kong worth 700,000 USD. But we plan to increase our capacity by ten times and add at least another ten production lines. By 2026, we should be able to take on all the orders that come our way.

There’s a lot of opportunity here, especially with Vietnam’s young population, cheaper labor costs, and lower taxes. Investors are now eager to invest in the technology, machines, and knowledge in Vietnam. One more thing: local consumers are more willing to buy reusable products because new regulations make single-use plastics a little bit more expensive. So, it’s getting easier to sell locally, not just to international customers.