Sustainable U.S. Soy Takes Off with Vietnam Airlines

Sustainable U.S. Soy is now taking to the skies.

On a recent non-stop Vietnam Airlines flight from Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco, Ichiban soymilk, manufactured with sustainable U.S. Soy, was served to more than 300 passengers onboard. ThaiCorp International’s Ichiban soymilk was among nine high-quality U.S. products featured on the specially designed menu, which was created to celebrate the 1st anniversary of Vietnam Airline’s direct flight from Vietnam to the U.S. in November 2021.

The anniversary celebration was jointly produced by Vietnam Airlines and United Tastes, supported by the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Consulate and USDA-FAS. United Tastes is a program initiated by the USDA with the mission to advance the development of U.S. food and beverages in Vietnam. 

The introduction of U.S. Soy-labeled Ichiban soymilk comes after ThaiCorp unveiled plans last year to refresh the packaging for their soy-related brands. This included the signing of a licensing agreement with the U.S. Soybean Export Council to use the soy checkoff’s Sustainable U.S. Soy logo on 23 products.

The 350-ml soymilk bottle was the first product to feature the new packaging with the SUSS logo, opening up new sales and marketing opportunities for ThaiCorp by allowing it to differentiate the brand from its other products and be selected as a product of choice by Vietnam Airlines.

The news received widespread coverage in the media and social media in Vietnam.

The exclusive use of U.S. Soy by ThaiCorp comes after representatives from the company’s Ichiban product line joined a Southeast Asia Trade Mission visit to the U.S. in 2019. During that week-long visit, which also included participation in the Global Trade Exchange (GTE), visits to U.S. farms and meetings with U.S. exporters, ThaiCorp gained a first-hand understanding of the value that U.S. Soy delivers from the perspective of sustainability, consistency and reliability.

Since returning from that trade mission three years ago, the company has been sourcing 100% of their soy requirements from the U.S. for use in products including tofu, bean curd, tofu noodle and soya milk. Not only is ThaiCorp assured that the soy it sources is produced in a sustainable manner and verified with the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP), but it has also managed to eliminate product quality issues they encountered previously due to multi-origin sourcing. The shift to U.S. Soy has allowed the company to elevate its UHT (Ultra-High Temperature) soymilk market share to 90%.

Through the use of U.S. Soy, ThaiCorp said that the consistent quality and reliable supply would allow them to diversify their product range, including in commercially packaged tofu.

This story was partially funded by U.S. Soy farmers, their checkoff and the soy value chain.