A customer shops for dairy products at a supermarket in HCM City (Photo: VNA) Growthin packaged foods is expected to fall from last year in Hanoi, Ho Chi MinhCity, Da Nang, and Can Tho though the rate will still be around 10 percent,while personal care products are set to grow in double digits.
Inrural areas, personal care products potentially will continue to drive growth,while the beverages segment will recover.
Lastyear, FMCG sales grew at 10.3 percent and 10.2 percent in cities and ruralareas, mainly driven by higher volumes as prices remained steady.
NelsonWoo, regional commercial director, Worldpanel Division Asia, Kantar, said withits population of more than 90 million Vietnam remains a prime market for bothlocal and regional FMCG players.
“Arelatively young consumer base, growing per capita income and increasingsophistication of use in both mobile and tech puts Vietnam high on theattractiveness index for investors, brands and manufacturers.
“Vietnamalso has a great geographic advantage bordering many Asian countries suchas China and the emerging markets of Indo-China, giving it a massive advantageas not only a country with local consumption but also a hub to reach othermarkets.”
Thecountry is now the sixth most populous in Asia behind China, India, Indonesia,Japan, and the Philippines and could easily rise to fifth, he said.
Coupledwith improvements in the standard of living and growth in both organised tradeand e-commerce, it is a market no brand or manufacturer would want to miss, headded.
In2020 Vietnam’s economy grew at 2.9 percent despite the COVID-19 pandemic, atestament to its resilience and strength to cope with challenges, which givesit a big competitive edge over other ASEAN countries.
Quality Assurance
Qualityhas been an increasingly important concern among Vietnamese consumers,especially with regard to foods. With the middle class expanding rapidly, thewillingness to pay for higher quality products is also growing.
Consumershave higher expectations when it comes to production methods and quality, butalso packaging and other features of food products.
Reliableinformation about origins and production processes is becoming increasinglyimportant. Now, before making purchase decisions, they are spending more timesearching for in-depth information about products from various sources, eitherpeople they know or social groups.
Inthe next few years consumers might be looking out for clearer visibility ofwhen, where and how products were sourced, produced and delivered to them.
Brandsshould understand that to meet customers’ expectation.
Technologyallows manufacturers to offer consumers complete transparency about allsteps in the production process./.
VNA
