Nguyen Xuan Tai, born in 1989 and from Quy Loc Commune, Thanh Hoa Province, graduated from the Hanoi University of Industry and spent five years working as a design engineer for companies in Hanoi.
In 2018, a British friend introduced him to firelighters, which are widely used overseas to start fires. Seeing an opportunity to develop a similar product using locally available materials, Tai decided to start a business.
“People in Western countries have a habit of using barbecues and fireplaces, so materials for starting fires are essential. That is why I decided to pursue this product as a startup,” Tai said.
Engineer Nguyen Xuan Tai (Photo: Thanh Tung).
He initially experimented with sawdust and other agricultural by-products but found the results unsatisfactory. He then turned his attention to rice straw, which is abundant in his hometown but often left unused or burned in fields, contributing to air pollution.
“Whenever I returned home, I saw large amounts of straw being burned in the fields after the rice harvest, causing pollution. I began thinking about using straw to make firelighters, which could both protect the environment and provide an additional source of income for local people,” Tai said.
The idea took nearly five years of research and experimentation before he successfully developed the product. In addition to straw, he uses candle wax to create a combustible mixture that can be used to start fires.
When Tai first began collecting straw for recycling, many local residents were surprised. Their attitude changed as his products began reaching overseas markets, attracting greater interest and support.
With the advantage of abundant local straw supplies, Tai has moved to expand the model to develop the economy (Photo: Thanh Tung).
From discarded straw to export product
To make the firelighters, Tai purchases clean, dry straw from local residents. The straw is then processed in a grinder, mixed with candle wax and compressed into small blocks before being packaged and sold.
Drawing on his background as a design engineer, Tai has also designed and built various machines for the production process himself.
In the early stages, he promoted the products on e-commerce platforms and attracted customer interest, but the associated costs proved high.
“Cross-border e-commerce businesses have to deal with a range of issues, from international shipping and warehousing to distribution, advertising and brand building. Every cost directly affects business efficiency,” Tai said.
Tai said he and his partners have invested about VND 1 billion (USD 38,500) in the startup so far.
Each box of firelighters sells for VND 350,000 (USD 13.5), with production costs accounting for 30-40 per cent of the retail price.
He has now sold thousands of firelighter products through Amazon. In the coming period, Tai plans to establish a cooperative and build a manufacturing plant in his hometown, allowing him to expand production and seek larger business partners.
The bio firelighter product made from straw and developed by Tai (Photo: Thanh Tung).
Dang Van Hiep, secretary of the Party Committee of Quy Loc Commune, described Tai's straw-based firelighter business as a new form of entrepreneurship for the locality.
“Recycling straw into an export product not only creates a new path for economic development but also helps protect the environment by reducing the practice of burning straw and rice stubble in fields,” Hiep said.
“The local authorities will continue to accompany and support Tai and his company, creating favourable conditions for them to expand production and develop new markets,” he added.