OCOP products telling stories of local culture
DNO - Behind each OCOP (One Commune, One Product) item lies a homeland, folk knowledge, production practices, and a community's story. Weaving OCOP products into tourism itineraries, therefore, is considered a way for indigenous culture to travel further alongside visitors.
A gift that embodies local identity
A packet of tea, a cake, an herbal product, or a handcrafted item can sometimes evoke memories of a land as effectively as a famous landscape.
Because what travelers bring home from their trip is not only gifts but also their memories of the people, flavors, and way of life in the places they have visited.
This shows significant potential for Da Nang, as the city currently boasts 477 valid OCOP products, including four 5-star, eighty 4-star, and 393 3-star items, along with 28 locations for showcasing and selling these products.
Culturally speaking, 477 valid OCOP products can be viewed as 477 "materials" for telling the stories of the Da Nang land.
After a merger with former Quang Nam Province, Da Nang's cultural resources have become diverse. It spans from coastal areas, plains, and traditional craft villages to the western highlands, from the city’s urban culture to the heritage sites of Hoi An and My Son, as well as the cultures of mountainous communities.
Dé Latana, a lantern brand by artisan Vo Dinh Hoang, is the first handicraft product in Hoi An (Da Nang City) with standardized packaging and barcodes meeting OCOP program requirements for export abroad. This lantern's brand is made with an all-inclusive service model, from the product' design and manufacturing to the final installation for customers.
These Hoi An lanterns are sold and welcomed on U.S. e-commerce platforms. It creates an opportunity to showcase Vietnamese cultural heritage to the world. This success also affirms the appeal of traditional handicrafts worldwide while demonstrating their role in fostering cultural connections between different regions in the world.
Building local brand
A product showcase of the "Essence of Da Nang" was opened at Da Nang International Airport in July 2026. This is a special location where local products are introduced at one of the final "touchpoints" for travelers before they leave the city. OCOP products, local specialties, handicrafts, and other items that bring distinct local identities, serve as mementos of destinations visitors have just come to.
While the airport opens a "cultural gateway" in real-world space, the "OCOP - Da Nang Specialties" marketplace on the Grab app, which was officially launched last month, extends that gateway into the digital environment.
In addition, a support program was built last month to begin the process of data normalization for over 80 OCOP producers and businesses (focusing on 4-star and 5-star products) and 14 OCOP showrooms and retail outlets. This initiative is set to expand to the remaining products, starting this month.
In particular, this digital space goes beyond product ordering. It also highlights the origins, unique characteristics, and stories behind each product. Through this digital platform, Da Nang aims to make local products more easily accessible to the public, particularly domestic and international tourists.
Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee, Tran Nam Hung, emphasised the need to establish a "touchpoint" between OCOP supply and tourism demand. Once this linkage is established, tourism businesses gain unique products to enhance their service quality while OCOP producers expand their markets, and the locality is able to leverage and promote its indigenous cultural values to the public.