A Small Local Lao Riverweed Delicacy Producer Brings Ready to Eat Version to Market
The province of Luang Prabang, in north-central Laos, attracts many tourists for its natural sites and cultural heritage. One of its signature foods, kaipen, is a riverweed delicacy, cherished by locals and tourists alike. Buavan Dalavong, a kaipen lover herself, founded NV Riverweed to commercialize her innovation: the first-ever ready-to-eat kaipen.
Born and raised in Xienakhouang Province in a middle-class family, Ms. Buavan later moved to Luang Prabang, where she graduated with a degree in finance and accounting from the College of Finance. She currently works for the government in Luang Prabang Province.
Besides being a public servant, Ms. Buavan has an entrepreneurial spirit. Kaipen, equally loved by her family, never came ready-to-eat from a bag, and she was determined to develop a system that would allow Kaipen to be consumed anytime, anywhere.
Laos crispy riverweed, an ancestral river moss delicacy
Kaipen is made from riverweed that grows naturally around rocks in fast-flowing, clean rivers, and is harvested by hand from October to April. Riverweed has no roots, and collecting it will not prevent its regrowth the following year if clear water flows around rocks in the river, Ms. Buavan explained.
After being thoroughly washed and energetically beaten with wooden sticks to remove sand and other impurities, the riverweed is stretched into very thin layers on mats. It is seasoned with salt, sesame seeds, and sometimes tomatoes, and then left to dry in the sun.
Anybody can enjoy Kaipen as a snack or as an addition to a staple meal, according to Ms. Buavan.
However, Kaipen has to be fried before it can be enjoyed, and this is where Ms. Buavan's innovation comes in.
Becoming the first ready-to-eat kaipen
Starting in 2019, she began experimenting with various methods for roasting and naturally preserving Kaipen, developing a ready-to-eat product. After three years of intense research, she developed a crispy roasted product that comes in convenient 15-gram bags.
On 1 February 2022, she launched her company, NV Riverweed, to commercialize Lao’s first-ever ready-to-eat kaipen. NV stands for the initials of her and her sister’s nicknames: Noi and Vanh.
One strong motivation for creating a ready-to-eat product, Ms. Buavan said, was to share her passion for Kaipen with visitors from outside Luang Prabang and tourists alike. Before her innovation, visitors and tourists could buy sun-dried Kaipen, but not roast it.
She also wanted to capitalize on Kaipen’s reputation among the many tourists who visit Luang Prabang province and the local appetite for it to build a family business to increase her income.
Harvesting kai riverweed in Luang Prabang
Riverweed is entirely dependent on natural circumstances. In the past, according to Ms. Buavan, riverweed was routinely collected in the Mekong River and the Khan River. However, the amount of riverweed has decreased over time, and she now also collects it from smaller rivers.
The harvest also depends on rain. Heavy rain will fill rivers with mud, obscuring the water, and impeding weed growth.
Riverweed is 100% natural, and Kaipen is produced only in Luang Prabang, she said. Kaipen production has been passed down from generation to generation. No research has been conducted to date on the health benefits of consuming river weed, she added, hoping that it can be done in the near future.
Production and distribution of NV Riverweed kaipen snacks
After the harvest and sun-drying, the seasoned riverweed is stored in Ms. Buavan’s facility. Kaipen will be roasted and packaged according to orders received, as the product's shelf life is limited to one month.
Ms. Buavan works with her husband, also a public servant. Both tend to the company outside of working hours and on weekends. “It is not easy to work the two positions, but I manage my time carefully,” she said. Five other people work for NV Riverweed, three full-timers and two part-timers, depending on the number of orders received.
NV Riverweed products are sold in convenience stores, five supermarkets in Luang Prabang, and two supermarkets in Vientiane. The production volume varies each year, but on average, she produces 180,000 15-gram bags. She said she keeps the price affordable because she wants “people to enjoy the traditional food of Luang Prabang.”
To her knowledge, Kaipen is only produced in Luang Prabang. Many countries, she said, might prefer seaweeds, like the Japanese nori, but Kaipen is a treasured local product with a distinctive taste.
Revisiting and growing NV Riverweed branding
NV Riverweed benefited from a joint initiative of the Department of Intellectual Property and the World Intellectual Property Organization to help entrepreneurs create original brands and develop marketing strategies. A commissioned expert provided trademark and related designs advice and mentoring sessions.
As a result, Ms. Buavan registered her trademark in 2024 and said she was grateful for the initiative, which helped her to gain greater market recognition. She is keeping her processing method as a trade secret.
Equipped with a brand and a new packaging, Ms. Buavan hopes to expand her market beyond Luang Prabang and promote the province’s high-quality traditional products.
To address environmental concerns and increase her production, she plans to explore other provinces in northern Laos where river weeds are abundant.
She would then hire people from local communities to harvest the river weeds and teach them to sun-dry them, while keeping the roasting process in her facility in Luang Prabang. This would help create jobs and generate income for local communities in rural areas.
