Tshejor’s Ayzey has been declared as the winner of the National Trademark Award 2018 during the award ceremony held at the Department of Industry’s conference hall, economic affairs ministry, yesterday.
Tshejor’s Ayzey was also awarded a cash prize of Nu 70,000. Bhutan Alternatives came second and bagged a cash prize of Nu 50,000, while Crystal Moon Products came third and took home Nu 30,000.
The winner of the award, Tshewang Dem, who is also the founder of Tshejor’s Ayzey and from Sarpang, said having the product trademark adds lots of advantage to her business.
She added that it creates branding and helps gain trust from the customers.“When some of the Bhutanese take my products outside the country, it has easy accessibility, having the trademark in my products,” said Tshewang Dem.
Meanwhile, Tshejor’s Ayzey is a homemade Bhutanese pickle that started operation in 2000. It registered for trademark in 2011 and offers seven different products.
The founder of Bhutan Alternatives, which came second, Leki Dawa, 35, said he could capture around 70-80 percent of the market across the country after the trademark registration.
He added that he supplies his products (eco-friendly cartridge) to 18 Dzongkhags and other corporate offices across the country. The company started operation in 2015 and registered for trademark last year. So far he has supplied around 15,000 printer cartridges.
Meanwhile, the founder of Crystal Moon Products, Chimi Dema, 50, produces around 30 products and deals mostly with Bhutanese homemade candy, juice and pickle. She also exports her products to India.
The Department of Intellectual Property, which launched the award, envisions that the introduction of this award fits in well with the National Intellectual Property Policy 2018, which requires the government to implement measures to encourage innovation and creativity in the country.
The objective of the award is to recognize the role and significance of the trademark system in promoting brand competition leading to quality goods and services in the market.
The awards this year were presented to registered owners of the three best national trademarks in the cottage and small-scale industry category. The rationale for awarding to this category is to encourage small, individual and home-based entrepreneurs to create, register and protect their trademarks, and to leverage on the benefits of the trademarks to enhance their competitiveness in the market.
Meanwhile, the prize money for the award was supported by the Department of Cottage and Small Industry.
Dechen Dolkar from Thimphu
