【Case Study】The Reality of Vietnam Market Research and Market-Entry Support: The Challenge of Robotic Agritech and a Relationship-Building Approach
In recent years, with rising interest in sustainable agriculture and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), attention to organic farming has been growing worldwide. Amid this trend, a project to roll out the "Aigamo Robot" — an innovation from Japan — into the Vietnamese market was launched. In this blog post, we share the insights gained through this effort from the perspective of Vietnam market research and market-entry support.
Table of Contents
- Project Overview: What Is the Aigamo Robot?
- Challenges and Goals in Entering the Vietnamese Market
- SOLARA & CO's Market Research and Market-Entry Support
- Findings and Outcomes: A Real-World Example of Vietnam Market-Entry Support
- Future Outlook and the Significance of Vietnam Market-Entry Support
- Conclusion
- 【Case Study】The Reality of Vietnam Market Research and Market-Entry Support: The Challenge of Robotic Agritech and a Relationship-Building Approach
- Bringing Innovation to Organic Farming: The Arrival of the Aigamo Robot
- The Wall of Market Research and "Building Empathy"
- Support from SOLARA & CO: Leveraging Networks and Relationship-Building
- Findings and Outcomes: A Real-World Example of Vietnam Market-Entry Support
- Conclusion: What Moves a Market Is "Trust" and "Dialogue"
Project Overview: What Is the Aigamo Robot?
The Aigamo Robot is a self-driving robot designed to suppress weeds in paddy fields. In organic farming, where pesticide use is restricted, weed management is a major challenge. Developed as an efficient and low-environmental-impact method to replace traditional manual weeding, this robot aims to reduce the burden on farmers and stabilize harvest yields.
In introducing this groundbreaking technology to Vietnam, an emerging market, our company, SOLARA & CO, provided comprehensive Vietnam market research and market-entry support.
Challenges and Goals in Entering the Vietnamese Market
📌 Background and Challenges:
In Vietnam, there is insufficient information about the organic rice market and the receptivity to new technologies. Traditional agriculture remains mainstream, and a cautious attitude toward adopting new technologies is also a challenge. Furthermore, conventional quantitative market research tends to underestimate demand related to organic rice.
📌 Main Goals of the Project:
🔷 Survey the receptivity to the technology in the Vietnamese market
🔷 Build a market-entry strategy
🔷 Verify the usefulness of the technology through trials
SOLARA & CO's Market Research and Market-Entry Support
In ordinary Vietnam market research, quantitative surveys centered on questionnaires and statistical data are the norm, but in this project the limits of that approach were clear. We therefore adopted our own approach centered on fieldwork.
📌 Research Methods Employed:
🔷 Interviews with university academics: examining the technology's potential and challenges from a researcher's perspective.
🔷 Exchanges of views with major companies and agricultural corporations: assessing practicality and cost-effectiveness.
🔷 Meetings with government agencies: investigating the policy significance from the standpoint of ESG and GHG reduction.
In this way, the major difference from conventional methods is that we did not confine "Vietnam market research" to mere demand analysis, but placed importance on dialogue with local stakeholders.
Findings and Outcomes: A Real-World Example of Vietnam Market-Entry Support
Thanks to our support, the following concrete outcomes were achieved.
🔷 Securing endorsement from the Vietnamese government: As an environmentally beneficial technology, it received government support, raising the prospect of future institutional backing.
🔷 Provision of demonstration opportunities: Universities and agricultural corporations in Vietnam offered venues for field trials, realizing a cycle of local evaluation and improvement.
🔷 Improved awareness and understanding: Through dialogue with various institutions and organizations, trust in and interest toward the robot technology spread.
Future Outlook and the Significance of Vietnam Market-Entry Support
Through this project, the importance of "dialogue-driven market development to raise receptivity" — rather than simply conducting market research — was reaffirmed. Especially in emerging markets that are concerned with environmental issues and ESG investment, the key lies in how well one can share the social significance when introducing a technology.
At SOLARA & CO, we will continue to strengthen our know-how regarding "Vietnam market research" and "Vietnam market-entry support," giving our full effort to supporting Japanese companies' overseas expansion.
Conclusion
The market research for the "Aigamo Robot" was a prime example showing that this is not mere data analysis, but requires a strategic approach centered on building trust with the local community. We hope that companies interested in entering the Vietnamese market will refer to this case study to expand the potential of their own technologies.
For any consultation on Vietnam market research or Vietnam market-entry support, please feel free to contact SOLARA & CO.
【Case Study】The Reality of Vietnam Market Research and Market-Entry Support: The Challenge of Robotic Agritech and a Relationship-Building Approach
In recent years, Japan's environmentally conscious technologies have been seeking to create new value across Asian countries. Among them, the fusion of organic farming and robotics is drawing particular attention. In this article, through the journey of a Japan-born agricultural robot taking on the Vietnamese market, we share the real-world insights that emerged in the field of "Vietnam market research" and "Vietnam market-entry support."
Bringing Innovation to Organic Farming: The Arrival of the Aigamo Robot
The "Aigamo Robot" is a paddy-field robot developed to streamline weed management in organic farming. By self-propelling through the water and stirring up the soil, it suppresses weed growth and reduces environmental impact without using pesticides.
In 2024, field trials began in several regions of Vietnam, and this new technology was prominently covered by local media as well. While organic farming attracts attention, there is also a cautious mood toward technology adoption in Vietnam, so how to raise receptivity became an important theme.
The Wall of Market Research and "Building Empathy"
🔷 In Vietnam, official statistics on the organic rice market and the receptivity to advanced agricultural technologies are limited, posing the challenge that ordinary quantitative surveys do not yield sufficient material for judgment.
🔷 What was leveraged here was field-type market research that emphasizes relationship-building with the local community. As an individual, the author had the opportunity to support the initial formation of a network, and through dialogue with university academics, agricultural corporations, and policy officials, was able to carefully grasp the institutional perspective and cultural background.
Support from SOLARA & CO: Leveraging Networks and Relationship-Building
Initially, it was SOLARA & CO's President for Vietnam participating as an individual, but by incorporating SOLARA & CO's distinctive approach, we place importance on "co-creative market-entry support" that goes beyond the framework of conventional market research. Below is one example of the approach taken in the past when seeking to disseminate a certain Japanese agricultural technology to Vietnam.
📍 Main Steps:
1️⃣ Leveraging existing networks: Through trusted local key persons (e.g., a former newspaper editor-in-chief who is now chairman of a Vietnamese high-quality association), build points of contact with local governments, farmers' cooperatives, and major agricultural corporations.
2️⃣ Building consensus and gathering multifaceted perspectives: Collect views on and conditions for technology adoption from officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the presidents of three major companies, and the farmers' cooperatives of various provinces.
3️⃣ Outreach starting from opinion leaders: While sharing the policy and social significance, expand the network in stages.
4️⃣ Deepening relationships and developing referrals: Through building win-win relationships, natural business introductions arise, forming a chain of trust.
5️⃣ Outcome: Holding a seminar at the Vietnam High-Quality Association (4,000 member companies): Creating a venue to introduce the usefulness of the technology to local companies and administrative officials.
In this way, going beyond mere research or promotion, "market research and market-entry support that leverages trust networks" is precisely SOLARA & CO's distinguishing feature❗
Findings and Outcomes: A Real-World Example of Vietnam Market-Entry Support
The following concrete outcomes were achieved.
🔷 Securing endorsement from the Vietnamese government: As an environmentally beneficial technology, it received government support, raising the prospect of future institutional backing.
🔷 Provision of demonstration opportunities: Universities and agricultural corporations in Vietnam offered venues for field trials, realizing a cycle of local evaluation and improvement.
🔷 Improved awareness and understanding: Through dialogue with various institutions and organizations, trust in and interest toward the robot technology spread. (A TikToker picked up the topic, achieving over 500,000 views in just three days.)
🔷 We also earned JICA's trust, succeeded in securing a budget for a needs survey, and were able to continue a one-year pilot trial.
Conclusion: What Moves a Market Is "Trust" and "Dialogue"
In Vietnam market research and market-entry support, there are things that numbers and data alone cannot reach. That is cultural empathy and the building of relationships.
At SOLARA & CO, through such "invisible support" as initial network-building and stakeholder coordination, we flexibly and carefully back the Vietnam expansion of Japanese companies.
For any consultation on Vietnam market research or market-entry support, please feel free to contact us.
