Thuong said dried mangoes are yellow, and sweet and slightly sour. In previous years, dried mangoes were simply canned or packaged.

This year, artisans have made dried mangoes more attractive by creating roses with the material. Mango slices are arranged to create a big yellow flower which is put into a transparent plastic box. The flowers are beautiful and eye catching. They can be used as Tet gifts.

Each mango-made flower weighs 500 grams and sells at VND100,000. 

“I have sold 4,000 roses so far and I stored one more ton for sale in upcoming days, when people rush to buy food for Tet parties,” Thuong said.

Chu Hong Giang in Ha Dong district, Hanoi, was busy putting boxes of mango-made roses into Tet gift baskets before they would be delivered to clients.

Giang said sweets and jams are not selling well this year, but mango-made flowers are popular.

Asked about the origin of the flowers, she said they are from Mekong Delta, which is the ‘mango granary’ of Vietnam. She has placed many orders with producers.

“There are more buyers these days, as Tet will come in just two weeks. Most clients order 2-3 boxes of flowers. But I also have bigger clients. They are businesses and they want large quantities to give to workers as presents,” Giang said.

In November 2023, she received one consignment of mango-made flowers a week, but now she has 2-3 consignments. She advised people to buy the flowers now, because there won’t be many consignments in upcoming days. Producers say that they will close workshops one week before Tet.

Mango-made flowers are available on private online markets and e-commerce platforms with clips showing how the flowers are made.

After harvest, mangos are peeled, cleaned and put into machine to be cut into thin, bite-sized slices. After that, the mango is put into the heating drying chamber to create dried mangoes before the slices are arranged to create flowers.

Sellers all said that with the closed processing line, dried mango can retain the flavor of fresh mango.

Nguyen Thao