​WHAT:

The Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is hosting a product launch/ribbon cutting ceremony for their client T.P. Food Processing. This Westminster-based company manufactures Vietnamese cooking sauces and soup mixes that are made in the U.S.A.

The business owners are Anh Truong and her son Phillip Ma. “We are pleased to share our family recipes with the American public. We buy fresh ingredients from local farmers to ensure the best quality products to enhance local families’ diets. That’s why our tagline is ‘spice of life’,” says Truong.

The ribbon cutting will introduce T.P. Food Processing’s newest product Vị Quê Premium Fish Sauce. Other products manufactured by the company include Shrimp Satay Sauce, Satay King Sauce, Lemongrass Satay, Ground Chili Paste, Ground Chili and Garlic Paste, Thai Suki Soup, Vietnamese Sour Soup, and Tamarind Sauce.

Truong says that none of their product line includes MSG and all feature only the freshest ingredients possible. Because anchovies are not widely fished in U.S. waters, T.P. Food Processing imports concentrated anchovy paste from Phú Quốc, a Vietnamese island off the coast of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. The anchovies are prepared, heated, and filtered according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards and then shipped to the U.S. T.P. Food Processing completes the manufacturing of the fish sauce in their Westminster plant.

A formal ribbon cutting for the newly expanded Orange County enterprise will take place followed by a tour of the warehouse. Guests will be invited to sample the fish sauce as well as other T.P. Food Processing products in a food tasting.

WHERE:

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
T.P. Food Processing, Inc.
14822 Moran Street, Suite A
Westminster, CA 92863

WHEN:

Friday, February 2, 2018
Program: 11:00 a.m.
Ribbon Cutting: 12:00 p.m.
Warehouse Tour: 12:10 p.m.
Food Tasting: 12:25 p.m.

WHY:

When Truong, who had worked in the food industry in Vietnam for over 40 years, first came to the U.S. in 2009, it was with the dream of bringing her family recipes to Vietnamese people living in the U.S. and to the mainstream American public as well. Initially, the mother/son team tried to get the company going without any outside help.

Although they had enough funding to start the business, they needed working capital to help with operating expenses as they got the business off the ground. They quickly discovered that accessing business financing was not as easy as they thought. In fact, a lender first referred them to Orange County SBDC business consultant Katie Nguyen in 2012.

With Nguyen’s help, they quickly accessed an array of Orange County SBDC services. They found the support that they needed to land a business microloan, create a business plan, and to secure certification through the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). The HACCP food safety system focuses on identifying and preventing hazards that could cause foodborne illnesses rather than relying on spot-checks of manufacturing processes of finished seafood products.

“The SBDC helped us a lot with getting small loans, certifying our new products, and marketing them,” says Ma. “The paperwork for the loans and for the certification was very difficult. Their partnership helped us jump over many hurdles in time to launch our new fish sauce at many New Year expos.”

Truong and Ma encourage other small business owners to connect with the Orange County SBDC. “We decided to come to the U.S. melting pot where our products could be accepted. We are living the American dream thanks to the Orange County SBDC,” says Ma.

In February, T.P. Food Processing will be seen at Lunar New Year events at the Westminster Mall, the Asian Garden Mall, the O.C. Fair and Event Center, and Mile Square Park. Their products are available at local stores, including Da Lat Supermarket and Best Choice supermarket in Garden Grove, Mom Supermarket in Santa Ana, Green Farm Supermarket in Fountain Valley, Hawaii Supermarket in Rosemead, Thuan Phat Superstore in El Monte, Vien Dong Supermarket in San Diego and My Thuan supermarket in Westminster. They are also sold on Amazon and eBay.

The Orange County SBDC, in its 27th year of continuous service to the Orange County business community, offers free business consulting in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic.

• Since 2000, the Orange County SBDC has provided the following:
• Trained 43,237 small business owners and counseled 10,007 businesses
• Provided 85,904 hours of free counseling
• Helped start 545 businesses which created/retained 7,372 jobs
• Supported $224.04 million of sales and facilitated businesses accessing over $164.1 million of working capital
• Facilitated the award of over $ 231.2 million of contracts to small, minorities/women/veteran-owned businesses
• Supported a total economic impact of $619,271,564.

HOW:

For more information about the Orange County SBDC, contact (714) 564-5200 or visit www.ocsbdc.org.

About the Orange County Small Business Development Center
The Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC), an economic development program of Rancho Santiago Community College District, is partially supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the California State University, Fullerton. The Orange County SBDC is a one-stop source for starting a business, obtaining a business loan, growing a business both domestically and internationally, and expansion strategies.

About Rancho Santiago Community College District
Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, which serves the residents of Anaheim Hills, Orange, Santa Ana, Villa Park, and portions of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, and Tustin. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, and customized training for business and industry.

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