Vietnam confectionary market competition heats up

The competition in the Vietnamese confectionery market has become fiercer with the return of KIDO Group (KDC) two years ago.
Vietnam confectionary market competition heats up ảnh 1A KIDO bakery in Hanoi. Photo: baotintuc.vn
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The competition in the Vietnamese confectionerymarket has become fiercer with the return of KIDO Group (KDC) two years ago.

KIDO Group transferred its confectionery business to aforeign partner with a commitment to not participate in the sector for fiveyears. After a six-year absence, it officially returned to the confectioneryindustry in October 2021. After heavy investment in the KIDO Bakery brand, thecompany now aims to be the No. 2 position in the bakery industry in Vietnamwithin the next three to five years.

KIDO this year is targeting its highest pre-tax profitsince 2017. Accordingly, the company has set a net revenue goal of 15trillion VND and a pre-tax profit of 900 billion VND for 2023, up 20% and76% respectively compared to the previous year.

KIDO also carried out a strategy to restructure the business thisyear into four sub-groups focussing on cooking oil, ice cream,confectionery and fish sauce.
According to Tran Le Nguyen, general director of KIDO, the step isto create conditions for the company to link with multinational companies ineach segment.

KIDO's products will not be only consumed domestically but alsoexported, which will help improve the company’s profit margins. If the price ofraw materials is stable, the profit will increase even more.

KIDO’s board of directors has also submitted a plan to shareholders forapproval to reduce the rate of special dividend in 2022 to 10% in cash,instead of 50% as previously approved. KIDO said the dividend reduction isbased on the reality on the ground as well as new investment plans this year.KIDO has recently completed the acquisition of a 25% stake in the Tho PhatDumplings brand and plans to increase its ownership of Hung Vuong Plaza to76%.

According to the latest data from market research company Euromonitor, KIDO iscurrently the market leader in the ice cream industry with a share of 44.5%, ofwhich the Merino brand accounts for 24.2% and the Celano brand accounts for19.2%.

KIDO is also leading the margarine industry in Vietnam with a market share of74.9% and ranks second in cooking oil with about 30% of the market share.

PAN Group is another top confectionary brand in the country. At its annualgeneral meeting of shareholders, Nguyen Duy Hung, chairman of PAN Group’s boardof directors, said the business plans of each member company and PAN Groupitself have been developed under careful guidance.

Specifically, PAN Group’s consolidated revenue and profit in 2023 will increaseby 8 to 9% compared to 2022 to more than 15.15 trillion VND and 991 billion VND.

PAN Group’s leaders have identified food and confectionery as its core businesssegments with a revenue growth of 15% thanks to the gradual recovery ofdomestic demand. Pre-tax profits from the company’s core business activitiesare expected to double over 2022 (excluding extraordinary profits fromplant transfer transactions).

PAN Group is considered a big player in the country’s agriculture,fishery, and confectionery industries with many big brands under its control.In particular, in the confectionery segment, it completed the acquisition ofthe famous Bibica in the middle of last year with ownership increasing to98.3%.

Besides KIDO and PAN Group, the country’s confectionery market also has theparticipation of other big names such as Mondelez Kinh Do (UK), Orion (theRepublic of Korea), and domestic brands such as Huu Nghi and Hai Ha.

The race of big names in the confectionery industry is not only happening inthe domestic market that has an average growth rate of only 5 to 8% a year. Forfaster growth, many companies choose to find new markets through export.
Nguyen Quoc Hoang, general director of Bibica, told the company’sinvestor conference last year that this was not the time for Bibica to be onthe defensive.

The statement of the head of Bibica, as well as the market developments and thetargets of remaining domestic confectionery companies, show giants in the localconfectionery industry are considering long-term and sustainable plans toexport./.
VNA

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