A confectionery aisle at the Aeon Supermarket in Hanoi.(Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) - Confectionery giants arestruggling to compete for market share during the Tet (Lunar New Year), which fallson January 28.
Big companies like Kinh Do Mondelez, Bibica, Topcake, Hai Ha, Huu Nghi, andBiscafun have launched promotion to attract more customers.
With the slogan “Seeing Kinh Do Means Seeing Tet”, Kinh Do Mondelez hasintroduced more than 40 confectionery products to serve the Tet market, pricedat 40,000-200,000 VND (1.8-8.8 USD) to serve a range of customers.
Vu Quoc Tuan, deputy general marketing and communication director of Kinh Do Mondelez,said Kinh Do began running promotions for Tet since the end of last month.
Bibica has also introduced more than 1,800 tonnes of new confectionery productsto the market, a rise of 10 percent over the same period last year.
Most of Bibica’s confectionery products are available at more than 500 stores,supermarkets and 10,000 retail shops nationwide.
Truong Phu Chien, general director of Bibica, said sales had doubled the targetafter nearly a month of introducing new products.
“Bibica focused on improving product quality and selling Tet products earlier.It has emphasised various segments of products to meet customer demand,” hesaid.
Meanwhile, Topcake is ready for competition with two major segments, includingthe high-end segment priced at 100,000-150,000 VND and the low-end segment at 40,000-100,000VND.
Lam Ngoc Tham, general director of Topcake, said Topcake early last yearinvested in advanced technology and improved production capacity.
Other well-known brands such as Hai Ha, Huu Nghi and Biscafun are also expectedto increase confectionary output by 10 percent to serve the holiday thisyear.
Business Monitor International (BMI) reported that Vietnam’s confectionerymarket is expected to generate 40 trillion VND (1.76 billion) in 2018.
BMI pointed to the high market potential in Vietnam, where the average personconsumes around two kilos of sweets a year, compared to the global average of2.8 kilos.
The high growth has attracted many foreign businesses.
The confectionery sector generates 1 billion USDevery year in Vietnam and most of the profits go to foreign firms.
Many Vietnamese economists worry that outsiders are taking over the marketsince local consumers appear to have lost their appetite for locally madecookies, cakes and candies.
Although accounting for more than 70 percent of market share at bigsupermarkets like Big C, Lotte and Aeon, more and more foreign confectionarybrands are present in Vietnam.
Severe competition between local and foreign brands exists in minimarts, retailshops, traditional markets and industrial parks.
There are few major local names to compete with Tous Le Jours, Paris Baguetteand Orion from South Korea, Break Talk from Singapore, Mars and Kraft Foodsfrom the US, or Euro Cake from Thailand.
The foreign snack brands import all of their supplies instead of usingVietnamese ingredients.
A representative of Pat’a Chou, a French bakery brand with two outlets in HCMCity, said they imported everything from wheat flour to milk powder fromEurope.
A vendor at wholesale Binh Tay market in District 6 said it was very difficultto sell local confectionery products as they were not as eye-catching asforeign brands and the selection was quite poor.
“Most of my customers prefer foreign brands,” he said.
Luu Thuy Van, 42, a confectionery importer in HCM City, said customers seemedto prefer foreign confectionery products over local ones.
Imported sweets are becoming more diverse in the high-end segment with famousbrands from Europe such as Denmark, France and the UK as well as in themid-range segment with products made in Thailand andMalaysia.
More and more foreign confectionery companies have invested in localbusinesses.
For example, the Kinh Do group now belongs to Mondelez International Inc., themaker of Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers after a merger and acquisitions deal.
In addition, Orion Vina was invested in by the Orion group of the Republic ofKorea.
To compete with foreign brands, industry insiders said the local confectionerybusinesses should reform its practices, from packaging to quality to price ofproducts.
Fake and counterfeit products are another challenge faced by local businesses,which has become a serious issue during the Tet holiday.
Nguyen Thanh Phuong, a representative of the HCM City Market ManagementDivision, said counterfeit confectionery products had become a critical issueas it was becoming more difficult to identify counterfeit products.
Counterfeit products are produced not only locally but are also imported,requiring businesses to work more closely with agencies to fight such products,he said.-VNA
Big companies like Kinh Do Mondelez, Bibica, Topcake, Hai Ha, Huu Nghi, andBiscafun have launched promotion to attract more customers.
With the slogan “Seeing Kinh Do Means Seeing Tet”, Kinh Do Mondelez hasintroduced more than 40 confectionery products to serve the Tet market, pricedat 40,000-200,000 VND (1.8-8.8 USD) to serve a range of customers.
Vu Quoc Tuan, deputy general marketing and communication director of Kinh Do Mondelez,said Kinh Do began running promotions for Tet since the end of last month.
Bibica has also introduced more than 1,800 tonnes of new confectionery productsto the market, a rise of 10 percent over the same period last year.
Most of Bibica’s confectionery products are available at more than 500 stores,supermarkets and 10,000 retail shops nationwide.
Truong Phu Chien, general director of Bibica, said sales had doubled the targetafter nearly a month of introducing new products.
“Bibica focused on improving product quality and selling Tet products earlier.It has emphasised various segments of products to meet customer demand,” hesaid.
Meanwhile, Topcake is ready for competition with two major segments, includingthe high-end segment priced at 100,000-150,000 VND and the low-end segment at 40,000-100,000VND.
Lam Ngoc Tham, general director of Topcake, said Topcake early last yearinvested in advanced technology and improved production capacity.
Other well-known brands such as Hai Ha, Huu Nghi and Biscafun are also expectedto increase confectionary output by 10 percent to serve the holiday thisyear.
Business Monitor International (BMI) reported that Vietnam’s confectionerymarket is expected to generate 40 trillion VND (1.76 billion) in 2018.
BMI pointed to the high market potential in Vietnam, where the average personconsumes around two kilos of sweets a year, compared to the global average of2.8 kilos.
The high growth has attracted many foreign businesses.
The confectionery sector generates 1 billion USDevery year in Vietnam and most of the profits go to foreign firms.
Many Vietnamese economists worry that outsiders are taking over the marketsince local consumers appear to have lost their appetite for locally madecookies, cakes and candies.
Although accounting for more than 70 percent of market share at bigsupermarkets like Big C, Lotte and Aeon, more and more foreign confectionarybrands are present in Vietnam.
Severe competition between local and foreign brands exists in minimarts, retailshops, traditional markets and industrial parks.
There are few major local names to compete with Tous Le Jours, Paris Baguetteand Orion from South Korea, Break Talk from Singapore, Mars and Kraft Foodsfrom the US, or Euro Cake from Thailand.
The foreign snack brands import all of their supplies instead of usingVietnamese ingredients.
A representative of Pat’a Chou, a French bakery brand with two outlets in HCMCity, said they imported everything from wheat flour to milk powder fromEurope.
A vendor at wholesale Binh Tay market in District 6 said it was very difficultto sell local confectionery products as they were not as eye-catching asforeign brands and the selection was quite poor.
“Most of my customers prefer foreign brands,” he said.
Luu Thuy Van, 42, a confectionery importer in HCM City, said customers seemedto prefer foreign confectionery products over local ones.
Imported sweets are becoming more diverse in the high-end segment with famousbrands from Europe such as Denmark, France and the UK as well as in themid-range segment with products made in Thailand andMalaysia.
More and more foreign confectionery companies have invested in localbusinesses.
For example, the Kinh Do group now belongs to Mondelez International Inc., themaker of Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers after a merger and acquisitions deal.
In addition, Orion Vina was invested in by the Orion group of the Republic ofKorea.
To compete with foreign brands, industry insiders said the local confectionerybusinesses should reform its practices, from packaging to quality to price ofproducts.
Fake and counterfeit products are another challenge faced by local businesses,which has become a serious issue during the Tet holiday.
Nguyen Thanh Phuong, a representative of the HCM City Market ManagementDivision, said counterfeit confectionery products had become a critical issueas it was becoming more difficult to identify counterfeit products.
Counterfeit products are produced not only locally but are also imported,requiring businesses to work more closely with agencies to fight such products,he said.-VNA
VNA
