Grey Label VN is not a marketplace.

It's a sourcing and advisory partner — built by a founder who has been on the buyer's side of every decision you're facing. I built it from Ho Chi Minh City because that's where the manufacturing relationships are built, and because the US brands I work with deserve a point of contact who is actually in the market they're paying to access.

How it came to be.

Grey Label VN came directly out of my experience founding and operating a DTC dog accessories brand sourced from Asia. I sourced it, branded it, marketed it, and shipped it to US customers. I navigated unreliable factories, unclear pricing, failed samples, and the kind of tariff volatility that shut the brand down entirely in 2025. That experience — including the expensive mistakes — is the foundation of everything Grey Label does.

I'm currently rebuilding that brand with products sourced across Vietnam and the broader SEA region. So when I talk about navigating today's sourcing environment, I'm not drawing on something I've stepped back from. I'm doing it.

On Vietnam — and honesty about its limits.

Vietnam is my primary sourcing market and where I'm based. I attend regional trade shows and build supplier relationships in person. But I won't tell you Vietnam is always the right answer. Pet product manufacturing here is developing quickly — it's the right fit for many categories, and genuinely isn't for others. Some products require raw materials or components from China or elsewhere because that is the only place to get them or the most cost effective. For smaller brands, low-MOQ Vietnam suppliers can be hard to find. If your product needs a different solution, I'll tell you that early — before you've committed to anything. That's what "Manufacturing Without Mystery" actually means in practice.

On the marketing side.

Before Grey Label VN, I spent 20 years in digital advertising — planning and executing performance campaigns for Toyota, Universal Studios, Sony, and others at US agencies, and selling performance marketing solutions to those same agencies. That dual-sided experience gave me a view inside how major campaigns are built and bought. I ran my own brand's performance marketing entirely in-house. The e-commerce audits and paid media account reviews offered here come from the same place as the sourcing work: real experience, real spend, real consequences.

What working with me looks like.

You deal directly with the founder — not an account manager, not a sourcing coordinator. Fees are flat. Pricing is transparent. The advice you get is the same regardless of your order size or budget tier, because I have a direct interest in your project working out. A client who sources successfully and comes back is worth more than a client who overpays once and disappears.

Grey Label VN exists because I spent long enough on the buyer's side to know exactly what a better sourcing partnership would look like — and decided to build it.