Harnessing the power of Viet Nam’s native plants and scientific knowledge to produce health supplements
A young pharmacist in Viet Nam was determined to take her laboratory results to the market so her discoveries would serve a large public. She set up a company that delivers products based on local materials from natural sources whose health properties have been enhanced by nanotechnology and biotechnology, from superfoods to cosmetics and health supplements.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoan is the CEO of Biona Production and Import-Export Joint Stock Company (Biona). Biona is a spin-off of the Vietnam Academy of Sciences and Technology (VAST), for which Dr. Ngoan has been a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry since she graduated from the Hanoi University of Science in 2008.
By 2011 she had graduated as a pharmacist after her studies at Hanoi Pharmacy University and obtained her Ph.D. in chemistry in 2016. She spent the two following years being a researcher at Pusan School in South Korea.
After finishing her pharmacy studies, Dr. Ngoan started thinking about using her expertise and turning her research results into marketable products, including superfoods, drinks, and cosmetics.
In 2019, she created Biona to develop her products and take them to market. Biona stands for Bio-nano technology of nature. She also wanted to highlight the potential and quality of products from Viet Nam on the national and international markets.
Agricultural Nanobiotechnology using Vietnam’s Native Natural Resources
Dr. Ngoan focused her research on nanotechnology and biotechnology and developed new techniques using materials from agriculture and native herbs and increasing their properties. She produces several kinds of nano active compounds extracted from natural sources.
For example, she used a new fermentation technology to produce black garlic extract and enriched black garlic. According to scientific literature, black garlic is aged raw garlic with heightened antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and cardioprotective properties.
She also uses fermentation to turn soybean into nattokinase, a natural enzyme she sells to other companies.
One of her lead products is nano curcumin, which she produces by extracting curcumin from turmeric roots and converting it to nano curcumin. For her lotus leaf tea, she uses an innovative fermentation and extraction technology to increase the properties of the tea: enhanced flavor and taste, heightened antioxidant and sedative effects compared to the traditional way of drying lotus leaves.
Sustainable Agriculture and Biotech Research at the Heart of Biona
All raw materials for Biona’s products come from domestic agriculture and herbs and are sourced from small farmers that grow and harvest them in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, with minimum use of inorganic products and pesticides.
Research is at the heart of Biona. Dr. Ngoan, who is in her thirties, conducts research for Biona products but also actively engages in collaborative research and development projects with other companies and provides consultancy on new production techniques. Biona also manufactures material bases for several companies, using nano and bionanotechnology for domestic and export markets.
Production of Biotech Food at Biona’s Factory
Biona manufactures its wide range of products in Hai Duong province, Dr. Ngoan’s hometown, some 100 km from Hanoi. Biona’s factory “is about 500 square meters and is fully equipped with technology to supply R&D, innovation, and manufacture in small and medium-scale production,” she said.
The factory produces about two tons of lotus leaf tea, two tons of black garlic a year, and 300 kg of nano curcumin that the company also supplies to pharmaceutical companies.
The company has ten permanent staff and hires part-time employees.
Nanotechnology in Biona Care Cosmetics and Health Supplements
Beyond superfoods, Biona also produces cosmetics, such as face collage serum, nano turmeric acne cream, and sun cream; essential oils; mosquito repellent; drinks, including black garlic extract and maca ginseng extract; and some household care products.
Dr. Ngoan also researched the property of isoflavones in cassava roots, which contain phytoestrogens, to develop products that can help supplement female hormones.
The company manufactures its products with the brand name “Biona Care,” and its products are available online on the Biona website, some e-commerce platforms, and in supermarkets in Viet Nam. Customers buying Biona care health products seek relief from chronic ailments or as prevention measures.
Expanding Biona Nationally and Internationally
In the next five years, Dr. Ngoan wants to raise awareness about her brand and products. She realized that many customers still have more trust in imported goods. She wants to change their perspective and build a strong, trusting, customer base. She also plans to create a new company in South Korea to introduce Vietnamese products to the Korean market and export to neighboring countries.
Dr. Ngoan recently applied for a trademark, “BIONA Care,” and is currently attending WIPO’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship mentoring sessions for Vietnamese Women to enhance her knowledge and skills in branding strategy, trademarks to develop an effective commercialization strategy.
