Officials in Thua Thien-Hue province are causing quite a stir after attempting to enact a regulation that would place trademark restrictions on the province’s signature soup, bún bò Huế.
According to Tuoi Tre, the regulation would require all vendors of the soup to travel to Thua Thien-Hue and apply for permission to use the term bún bò Huế in their branding and signage.
The new rule, signed on July 13 by the province’s Deputy Chairman Phan Ngoc Tho, will help to manage the sale of the soup, officials say.
“In principle, with a trademarked and protected brand, any individual or organization who wants to use the ‘bún bò Huế’ brand must register with the province’s administration,” Nguyen Hoang Thuy Vy, general secretary of the Thua Thien-Hue Tourism Association, told Tuoi Tre.
Opponents of the new rule argue that it is impossible for all vendors of the soup to travel to the central Vietnam province in order to receive such a license. Bún bò Huế vendors would also be required to undergo tests confirming that they are able to make the soup in line with specific food safety and preparation standards.
If vendors pass the test, they are able to use the name bún bò Huế and the province's official logo on their signage, however if not, vendors are only permitted to refer to their soup as “bún bò” or “Huế bò”.
Thua Thien-Hue province's official bún bò Huế logo. Photo via Thanh Nien.
According to Vy, if the provincial administration of Thua Thien-Hue owns the rights to bún bò Huế, “there will be no monopoly or corruption”. However both Vy and Deputy Chairman Tho admit that putting the new regulation into practice is somewhat infeasible.
“We acknowledge that it is never a possible thing to ask people to come to Hue to register to use the bún bò Huế brand,” Tho told Tuoi Tre. “But we have to enact this plan so that no one will steal our brand.”
While the new regulation has led to much confusion among local vendors, Chairman Dinh Manh Thang of the Thua Thien-Hue Tourism Association clarified with Thanh Nien that those who wished to receive official recognition for their soup could apply, however those who did not wish to do so could continue operating normally.
“Only those who wish to use the logo of the provincial ‘bún bò Huế’ brand must register and operate in accordance with required criteria,” Thang told the news outlet. “For those who sell normal bún bò Huế, if they do not wish to use the logo of the provincial government then they can continue selling as normal and it will not affect anything.”
It remains to be seen how the province’s branding efforts will be received, but diners can now start looking out for the official bún bò Huế™ logo on street carts in Hue and across the country.
