Euromonitor International expects Vietnam’s beverage industry to be worth $5.8 billion this year and post annual growth of 6.3 per cent from now until 2023.

According to a Nielsen report, 56 per cent of Vietnamese consumers are under 30 years old and Vietnam’s middle class will double from 12 million in 2014 to 33 million in 2022. It is estimated that the country will have 95 million people joining the middle class by 2030; the fastest growth in any economy in Asia.

The middle class is loosely defined as people whose average daily spending is $15, with 30-40 per cent on food and beverages.

A majority of consumers prefer soft drinks processed from fresh fruit.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade also forecast the food and beverage industry to grow at 5-6 per cent annually over the next five years, to 2025.
Food and beverages are classified in the group of fast-moving consumer goods sold quickly and at a relatively low cost.

Vietnam’s major export markets, such as Southeast Asia and China, are all seeing high growth in food and beverage consumption. A series of free trade agreements means that Vietnam’s food and beverages have been largely able to access these markets without tariffs or at very low tariffs.

Recognizing the advantages, more and more investors are keen to inject money into the industry.

Five years ago, the Ben Tre Import Export Joint Stock Company (Betrimex), for the first time in Vietnam, introduced coconut water products under the Cocoxim brand name. Its coconut water and coconut milk production plant uses Tetra Pak technology. The company then launched its own Cocoxim brand of coconut water and began exporting to the US and Europe. Betrimex is also the largest developer of organic coconut production in Vietnam. It has a project to produce organic coconuts on an area of 10,000 hectares by 2025.

The product has contributed to changing people’s habit of consuming coconut water, and also created a new export product for the country, analysts have said.

Last year, it was among the top 10 most-favored coconut water in the Philippines and Australia.