Since operations began in 2003, URC Vietnam, a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of Universal Robina Corporation, has become one of Vietnam’s leading food and beverage companies. Today it is best known as the manufacturers of C2 and Rong Do beverages, Cream-O and Magic biscuits, Dynamite candy, and Jack ‘n Jill Potato Chips.
Similar to the ongoing sustainability thrust in its Philippine parent company, URC Vietnam is fully committed to this advocacy, and has striven to create sustainability programs in Vietnam, particularly in communities in which it operates.
As the tea leaves for its C2 Ready to Drink beverages are sourced from the Vietnam highlands which include Thai Nguyen, a province known for its quality tea in northeast Vietnam, URC Vietnam has undertaken substantial steps to bolster the development of a sustainable tea sector. To meet this goal, URC Vietnam has helped nurture a skilled labor force for the region’s tea industry. Together with the University of Thai Nguyen, the company trains young talents specializing in the tea sector, providing scholarships and promoting cultural exchange between Vietnamese and Filipino students.
Beyond this initiative, URC Vietnam has also engaged in activities to improve ties between our two countries.
The most recent of these events took place on May 2, 2019, when executives of URC Vietnam led by CEO and President Laurent Levan met with officials from the People’s Committee of Thai Nguyen Province and the managing board of Thai Nguyen University to discuss opportunities for cultural exchange and educational development cooperation. This opportunity came about as the Embassy of the Philippines in Vietnam and the Vietnamese-Philippines Friendship Association (VPFA) organized a ceremony to unveil busts of Philippine National Hero Jose P. Rizal and former President and Prime Minister of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh at the campus of the International School-Thai Nguyen University.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony at Thai Nguyen International School. From left: Laurent Levan, President and General Director, URC Vietnam; Tranh Viet Hùng, Vice Chairman, People’s Committee of Thai Nguyen province; H.E. Noel Servigon, Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam; Dr. Tran Viet Khanh, Vice President of Thai Nguyen University; Vu Van Tám, Chairman, Vietnam-Philippines Friendship Association.
As a special guest at the ceremony, Levan said: “The largest Filipino investor in Vietnam that has organized multiple activities to promote Vietnamese culture and agricultural products in the Philippines over the past years, URC Vietnam is looking forward to continuing promoting bilateral relations between the two nations not only in trade but also in education development and cultural exchange.”
Over the years, URC Vietnam has done much to cross-promote Philippine and Vietnamese culture and agricultural products. In 2017, URC worked with Vietnam’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organize an event at Robinsons Place Manila to promote products made in Vietnam. Then in mid-2018, URC hosted a delegation of officials from the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry and Filipino consumer goods companies to gain deeper insight into doing business in Vietnam. Toward the end of 2018, URC Philippines again supported the trade promotion festival for Vietnamese agricultural products in Manila.
To learn more about URC Vietnam and its products, visit urc.com.vn
