At the Vietnam International Sourcing Expo, Shanam’s products, including Ta Xua Cloud White Tea and Ancient Tangerine Tea, attracted interest from visitors and international buyers. Many buyers were looking for Vietnamese specialty teas with clear origins, strong sourcing stories, and sustainability values, while also experiencing the products and learning about their traditional processing methods.
This interest highlights the potential of a business model that goes beyond selling tea, turning the value of ancient tea trees, forest ecosystems, and indigenous culture into economic value that can reach international markets.
Preserving Ancient Tea Trees and Forest Ecosystems
Shanam sources its tea from ancient Shan Tuyet tea trees, many of which are 100–200 years old and grow naturally at elevations above 1,600 metres. Rather than developing large-scale monoculture plantations, Shanam harvests tea from these long-established trees within the mountain forest ecosystem.
Tea buds are hand-picked by local communities, primarily the H’Mong people, helping preserve traditional harvesting practices while limiting the use of mechanized methods in the growing areas. The products follow a natural-oriented approach, with no artificial flavors, additives, preservatives, or GMOs.
Linking Business with Community Livelihoods
Local communities play an important role in Shanam’s value chain. Local people are involved in tea harvesting and processing, while the brand is built around the connection between Shan Tuyet tea, the Northwestern mountains, and indigenous culture.
With its processing facility located near the sourcing area in Ta Xua, Shanam contributes to creating local employment and income while preserving traditional tea-making practices and indigenous knowledge. By increasing the economic value of ancient tea trees, the business also creates greater incentives for communities to protect and maintain the tea-growing areas over the long term.
Creating More Value from Local Resources
Shanam develops a diverse range of products from ancient Shan Tuyet tea, including green tea, black tea, white tea, flower-scented teas, raw tea, fermented tea, and compressed tea cakes. This product diversification helps increase the value of Shan Tuyet tea while reaching a broader range of customers.
Some compressed tea products can also be stored for long periods, with their flavor evolving over time, creating additional value throughout the product’s aging process.
Connecting Local Heritage with International Markets
Shanam serves both domestic B2C and international B2B markets, including tea enthusiasts, premium gift buyers, importers, distributors, specialty tea shops, and HORECA businesses.
Participation in events such as AgroViet and the Vietnam International Sourcing Expo enables Shanam to connect with international buyers and bring the story of ancient tea trees, natural production, indigenous culture, and community livelihoods into the global value chain.