For the very first time, snakehead fish rice porridge (also known as snakehead fish thick noodle soup) – a specialty dish from Quang Tri – has been officially exported in large quantities to the US market through an exclusive distribution agreement signed between Cà Mèn startup and LNS International Corporation.
Cà Mèn and LNS have signed an exclusive partnership to distribute Quang Tri’s snakehead fish rice porridge and other packaged products of Cà Mèn in the United States.
Currently, Cà Mèn’s snakehead fish porridge has also been granted FDA certification (Food and Drug Administration) by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Under this agreement, LNS will ship by sea and distribute Cà Mèn’s snakehead fish porridge and other products in the US market. It is expected that each year, millions of packs of Quang Tri’s snakehead fish porridge will be distributed by LNS.
Cà Mèn is a startup founded in 2015 by Nguyen Duc Nhat Thuan, with the mission of bringing Quang Tri cuisine to the world. To date, Cà Mèn has delivered millions of flavorful, high-quality meals rich with Quang Tri taste, including Phuong Lang steamed rice rolls, snakehead fish porridge, duck porridge, chicken salad with Vietnamese coriander, stir-fried eel vermicelli, and more.
June 2022 marked a major turning point when Cà Mèn began operating in two areas simultaneously: dine-in food service and packaged products. Cà Mèn introduced its packaged snakehead fish porridge in a compact and convenient 230g size. The product includes whole fillet pieces of snakehead fish, rice flour noodles, concentrated sauce, fermented anchovy paste with chili satay, and dried scallions, allowing consumers to prepare a bowl of porridge full of authentic Quang Tri flavor.
“Snakehead fish porridge is the first dish from Quang Tri to be packaged and exported to demanding markets such as the US, Australia, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In addition, Cà Mèn currently has 10 distribution agents across Vietnam,” shared Nguyen Duc Nhat Thuan.
According to Thuan, in the context of economic challenges and declining exports, securing large international orders is a positive signal for startups like Cà Mèn. It helps create jobs for employees in Ho Chi Minh City as well as for farmers in Quang Tri who supply raw ingredients. At the same time, it provides strong motivation for entrepreneurial projects in the food manufacturing sector to overcome difficulties and pursue international markets.
