Worldpanel’s Tet FMCG Outlook dives deep into how Vietnamese families prepare, shop, and celebrate the Lunar New Year—and how these behaviours continue to evolve as societal norms, economic signals, and cultural expectations shift.

A walk down the memory lane:

Tet 2025 began on a relatively optimistic note.

Vietnam’s economy entered the year with strong momentum, achieving GDP growth beyond the government’s target and reinforcing consumer confidence. Households felt notably more secure in their financial stability compared with the pre-Tet period of 2024, signalling a readiness to spend, celebrate, and rejuvenate after a couple of years of economic uncertainties.

Yet, despite this positivity, the market still carried underlying tension—from job stability concerns to global trade volatility and inflationary pressures. These early signals set the stage for how consumers behaved heading into the festive period.

What lies ahead for Tet 2026?

Looking ahead, Tet 2026 will be shaped by more unpredictable consumer sentiment.
Households are becoming increasingly cautious as they navigate news about economic restructuring, global instability, and environmental disruptions. This creates a more sensitive, watchful mindset, where shoppers reassess discretionary spending but remain willing to invest in what truly matters.

In this environment, brands need to stay agile and abreast of imminent consumer concerns to quickly adapt to their priorities and demands for the upcoming holiday.

Top of mind concerns around food safety, health risks and product authenticity have intensified, especially following recent scandals involving fake or compromised products. These incidents have made transparency and trust non-negotiable. Families preparing for Tet—when it comes to consumption and gifting—will be even more selective and demanding.

All the while, concerns about livelihoods, income and rising costs continue to weigh on consumers.

While ensuring Tet remains a priority, shoppers are increasingly balancing indulgence with prudence—seeking brands that help them stretch budgets without compromising on quality or safety.

Tet 2026 presents a complex decision-making landscape. Consumers want reassurance, authenticity, and value—but also festive uplift and emotional resonance. Brands must carefully navigate this mindset shift.

Success in Tet 2026 will belong to brands that:

• Respond quickly to changing consumer priorities
• Offer genuine, verifiable quality and uncompromised authenticity
• Communicate clear, meaningful value, not just promotions
• Balance the Price–Quality equation with transparency and empathy

Those who strike this balance will be best positioned to win shopper trust and capture the unpredictable—yet potentially significant—Tet spending that lies ahead.

Read the full report for a blueprint to a year of successful festive planning:

Click to read

Despite headline growth, employment stability and cost-of-living pressures continue to weigh on Vietnamese consumers. Informal employment rate in the third quarter is 62.4%, representing more than three-fifths of the total employed population. Without formal contracts or consistent income security, a large portion of the population remains exposed to economic fluctuations and social uncertainty, reinforcing a cautious outlook in household spending.

Meanwhile, recent incidents around product quality and counterfeit goods continue to push authenticity and trust to the forefront of purchasing decisions.

At the same time, a series of typhoons hitting Northern and Central Vietnam have caused disruptions, particularly in heavily affected regions. These natural events are likely to trigger short-term shifts in spending behaviour and could reshape long-term priorities—such as diverting household budgets toward home repair and livelihood recovery.

This complex backdrop presents a dual challenge for FMCG players in Vietnam: how to remain competitive and relevant in consumers’ baskets without compromising brand integrity and consumer trust.

Brands that communicate a clear, transparent origin, genuine quality credentials and unique value propositions will be best placed to win consumers’ confidence in this environment—turning trust into long-term growth.

Subscribe to FMCG Monitor 2025 report to gain the critical intelligence you need to make informed decisions and maintain your competitive edge.

Unlock the whole picture of Vietnam's FMCG landscape and discover:

• Consumer sentiment: Understand how Vietnamese shoppers are responding to current uncertainties and how this shapes their shopping and purchase decisions.
• Market overview: Access an up-to-date view of total FMCG performance with sector deep dives across food, beverages, dairy, personal care, and home care.
• Updated Channel Dynamics: Explore the latest shifts in retail channels, including e-commerce growth and how omni-channel shoppers move between traditional and modern trade.

Changing consumer habits and local market dynamics are driving uneven growth across Asia’s FMCG landscape. In Q2 of 2025, spend in the region’s FMCG sector grew 2.5% year-on-year, marking a slight deceleration compared to Q1. The food and beverages category led the growth, while home care outperformed personal care.

North Asia recorded steady progress with a 1.6% increase in value sales, driven mainly by food and beverages and home care. Southeast Asia experienced a slight deceleration compared to the previous quarter, growing 3.2% across most sectors. South and West Asia led the region with an impressive 8.3% growth, largely fuelled by India’s strong performance.

This report explores key consumer trends across 11 Asian markets, offering insights into how shoppers are spending, how category preferences are evolving, and where new growth opportunities are emerging.

Market highlights:

• Mainland China

China‘s FMCG market continued its soft growth in the first half of 2025, across all sectors except for dairy. The lower-tier cities, especially town and county-level markets, remained key growth engines.

• South Korea

Korea’s FMCG market recorded growth of 3.8% in Q2, a slowdown from the double-digit expansion of a year ago. The limited increase appears largely attributable to inflation, which has elevated average basket values. At the same time, the economic downturn has prompted consumers to tighten spending, resulting in lower purchase frequency.

• Taiwan

Following the robust rebound in 2024, growth momentum is gradually easing. FMCG value expanded by 7.8% in Q2 of 2025, down from 8.8% in Q1. Food and non-food sectors show similar trends, indicating the market may be settling into a more stable trajectory after the post-Covid volatility. Full-year growth is likely to normalise between +0% and 5%.

• Indonesia

FMCG is growing at a slower pace compared to last year, and volume continues to contract, suggesting a real challenge to shopper spending. A polarisation trend is evident as shoppers cope with price increases: they are either buying more to save more, or shifting to more affordable products.

• Malaysia

Malaysia’s monthly inflation rate eased to 1.2% in May 2025. In Q2, despite falling average prices and ongoing festive promotions, FMCG spending remained limited. This suggests a more fundamental shift in shopper behaviour, with value-consciousness starting to outweigh the draw of promotional offers.

• Philippines

The FMCG landscape continues to follow a positive long-term trend, albeit with a softer short-term uptick in value sales. Volume-driven growth has softened, but overall value is still increasing due to factors such as rising prices or consumers opting for more premium options.

• Thailand

Shoppers bought a greater number of categories and spent more on in-home FMCG in the second half of 2024, resulting in a decline in the first half of 2025. Due to the lack of strong government subsidy, low FMCG growth is expected for the rest of the year. Household income and levels of debt are unlikely to change much.

• Vietnam

Vietnam’s urban FMCG market posted its strongest first-half growth in 15 years, showing resilience amid global trade uncertainties. Price increases – mainly in food, foodstuffs, and electricity – contributed to this trend. By contrast, rural areas saw a sharper value decline after Q1’s holiday-driven boost, as consumers reduced purchase volumes despite paying higher average prices.

• India

Urban FMCG volume grew 4.6% in Q2, marking a slowdown from the 5.5% growth recorded in the previous year. Macro-economic factors may be prompting consumers to spend more cautiously, impacting overall consumption patterns. This shift in behaviour is particularly evident in discretionary categories, where consumers are opting for smaller pack sizes, such as milk drinks and coffee.

• Saudi Arabia

Growth is not coming from bigger baskets or higher frequency, but from population expansion (+5.5%). This means demand is tied to how many households are buying, not to purchasing power.

• United Arab Emirates

Overall FMCG volume has risen, driven by population growth and seasonal demand, though volume-per-buyer remains flat across most sectors except home care. With 59% of categories now back in volume growth, the key opportunity lies in recruitment – making entry easy with accessible packs and sustaining retention during seasonal peaks.

Stay updated with the latest insights and trends in the Asia-Pacific FMCG landscape by accessing the Q2 2025 edition of Asia Pulse. Click the download button at the top of this page to explore key developments across 11 markets and uncover growth opportunities tailored to the diverse dynamics of the region.

This new reality makes building and maintaining consumer trust more critical than ever for brands and retailers.

Join our live webinar, "Analytic Deep Dive: Sustaining growth in uncertainty," to equip your business with the insights and strategies needed to thrive in uncertain environment. This session will provide a comprehensive look at the current state of the Vietnamese consumer, FMCG landscape and a roadmap for building lasting trust and growth.

What you will gain from this webinar:

• The state of the Vietnamese consumer:  Get a data-driven overview of the FMCG market and key consumer sentiment in the first half of 2025.

• Shifting spending habits: Understand how consumers are managing their budgets—are they "uptrading" to premium products or "downtrading" to more affordable options?

• Building trust & driving growth: Learn strategies to maintain price-quality equilibrium and identify new growth opportunities by understanding what consumers prioritise while choosing brands and retailers.

While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) remains under control at a 3.31% year-on-year growth in Q2 2025, it notably indicates continuously rising costs, particularly for food and foodstuffs.

Consumer confidence

Despite the positive GDP, consumer confidence in Vietnam has plummeted to a new low, a level not seen since the major Covid wave in 2021. This instability stems from a confluence of factors: the unpredictable global trade environment, which introduces economic uncertainties, and, more recently, a significant wave of news regarding the government's intensified crackdown on counterfeit goods and substandard food products.

The government's crackdown, a necessary measure to protect consumers and uphold market integrity, has inadvertently rattled public trust in the short term. The current state of consumer worry and increased focus on product authenticity is set to significantly alter shopper behavior.

Brands can expect increased scrutiny from consumers, who will be more critical in their purchases, actively seeking out trusted brands and verified sources. This will redefine value-consciousness, moving beyond just price to include quality, safety, and brand reliability. With rising costs, consumers are likely to focus on essentials, prioritising necessary consumer goods over discretionary items, leading to more intentional spending.

Adapting to the discerning consumer

This new counterfeit goods crisis not only shakes consumer trust but also presents a critical challenge for brands and manufacturers. In an environment where the authenticity of products is questioned, businesses must double down on showing value proposition and brand reputation to regain consumer confidence.

In this context, understanding and identifying key drivers to category volume variations will ultimately sharpen the tactical marketing decisions to drive brand growth. More importantly, brands need to quantify how these factors impact the volume change happening in your categories and devise the necessary measures to stay ahead of the competition by focusing resources on these factors.

Our comprehensive FMCG Monitor Q2 2025 report provides the critical intelligence you need to make informed decisions and maintain your competitive edge.

Unlock the whole picture of Vietnam's FMCG landscape and discover:

• Consumer sentiment & behaviour: Gain a precise understanding of how Vietnamese consumers are reacting to current uncertainties and uncover how these factors may influence shopping habits and purchase decisions.
• Market overview: Access a continuously updated view of the total FMCG market performance, alongside detailed sector-specific analyses (e.g., food, beverages, personal care, home care).
• Updated channel dynamics: Get the latest insights into shifts across retail channels, including the growth of e-commerce platforms and how the omni-channel consumers are fluidly navigating traditional trade vs modern trade.

Vietnam's consumer market in 2024 presented a complex picture. The country celebrated a exceptional economic performance, and consumer confidence in the economy improved. Yet, this didn't automatically loosen consumers’ purse strings. Rising costs for essentials like food, healthcare, and education kept household budgets tight. As a result, overall in-home FMCG spend growth in 2024 slowed down compared to the robust performance in 2023.

Having dealt with constant change in the last few years, Vietnamese consumers remain cautious and deliberate with their spending. Ongoing economic uncertainty also means worries about livelihoods, income, and job stability persist. These financial pressures make them highly aware of prices. Some sectors show strong preference for affordability and promotions, even if it means switching away from brands they once favoured.

However, consumers are now looking beyond just price; they've become value-conscious, carefully weighing what they get for their money. This means they're open to exploring new options that offer the best overall value. Brands that can justify their value by elevating quality, enhancing the experience, or offering unique benefits, are those that can unlock the power of premiumisation.

The competition for consumer attention and spending is fiercer than ever. Manufacturers are launching more new products—new benefits, new variants, new uses. But this flood of new products also makes it easier for consumers to switch. If another brand or retailer offers a better combination of price, features, and benefits, consumers are quick to move.

The winning brands of 2024 demonstrated strategic foresight, achieving growth not merely by enhancing their product portfolios and market presence, but by fundamentally understanding and addressing emerging consumer needs. This approach, boosted by smart promotions, assortment and innovation strategies, can lead both immediate gains and strong overall growth. This year's Brand Footprint report dives into the stories of these successful brands, offering key insights for navigating Vietnam's dynamic consumer landscape.

READ BRAND FOOTPRINT VIETNAM 2025 REPORT

As 2025 began, Asia exhibited measured economic growth with a 2.8% increase in FMCG value during Q1. This reflects a cautious but steady performance compared to the previous quarter, though it sits slightly below the growth seen in Q1 last year.

No single sector or region dominates the story this quarter; each market and category has its own unique trajectory. The beverages sector continues to expand in some markets, while other categories like home care and food hold steady. In contrast, personal care and dairy have struggled to maintain growth in several markets.

Covering 11 markets, this report delves into the key trends and evolving consumer behaviours that are shaping Asia’s FMCG landscape.

Market highlights:

• Chinese Mainland

China’s FMCG market had a positive start to 2025, with value sales increasing by 4.2% year-on-year in the first quarter, driven by the festive holidays and the return of family visits. Consumption in lower-tier cities grew by 5.9%, while the town-level market saw volume growth of over 10%.

• Taiwan

Building on the previous quarter’s strong momentum, FMCG value increased by 9%. Food and non-food categories grew by 8% and 11% respectively, driven by higher consumer spending over the past year. 2025 presents several uncertainties – including tariffs and political tensions – that may affect market performance.

• India

FMCG value grew 7.1% in Q1, with volume increasing 4.4% and average price 2.5%. Both value and volume growth were slower than 2024. Inflation is easing overall; however affluent shoppers moved spend towards categories outside FMCG – like travel, dining out, and lifestyle experiences – while lower income households prioritised essentials.

• South Korea

While purchase frequency declined across all food sectors, household and personal care grew, primarily led by skincare cosmetics. This was fuelled by the rising popularity of K-beauty. Skincare products such as creams and essences, valued for their anti-aging benefits, significantly contributed to the overall growth of cosmetics.

• United Arab Emirates

Shoppers in the UAE bought more groceries in Q1 of 2025, led by strong Ramadan sales and steady population growth. More categories are growing than declining, reflecting shoppers’ optimism despite economic pressures.

• Saudi Arabia

FMCG volumes recovered due to population growth as inflation eased, with households shopping more frequently despite tighter basket sizes. Price drops across most categories – driven by higher promotions in modern trade retailers, as they sought to compete with discounters – have led to a decline in spending.

• Indonesia

FMCG growth in Q1 slowed down compared to last year, while volume contracted for the first time, suggesting that recent economic pressures have really challenged shopper spending. Consumers responded by buying more volume to get better value for money, or switching to cheaper products.

• Malaysia

Malaysia’s inflation rate eased to 1.4% in March 2025, driven by softer prices in accommodation and restaurants. However, a continued decline in shopping trips highlights a deeper behavioural shift: shoppers are prioritising value over frequency, reflecting sustained caution amid ongoing economic strain.

• Thailand

Despite the recovery of take-home FMCG in the second half of 2024, the market slowed down again in Q1. This suggests that shoppers have advanced purchase with government subsidy and led to a delayed purchase, combining with possible pressure from household debt. The absence of additional government subsidy in 2025 is likely to result in low or flat growth.

• Philippines

While most FMCG mega-sectors were trending positively in the short term, dairy continued to lag in Q1. Consumption of easy-to-prepare food and beverage categories slowed, whereas seasonal products remained on the rise – even after the holidays.

• Vietnam

Vietnam posted its strongest first quarter performance in five years, with a rise in the consumer price index (CPI) driven by essentials such as food and food services, housing, utilities and healthcare. In-home FMCG showed a slight recovery, with the Tet holiday delivering a moderate boost.

Get up to date with the latest insights and trends in the Asia-Pacific FMCG sector by accessing the Q1 2025 edition of Asia Pulse.

Click the download button at the top of this page to explore key developments across 11 markets, and uncover growth opportunities tailored to the diverse dynamics of the region.

Vietnam's FMCG sector began 2025 with a sign of modest recovery, in the backdrop of a generally positive macroeconomic backdrop.

The country’s GDP expanded by a promising 6.93% in the first quarter. While slightly below the government's ambitious target, this figure represents the strongest Q1 growth in the past five years, signalling underlying economic strength amidst ongoing global trade and political complexities. Meanwhile, CPI remained relatively contained at 3.22% year-on-year. The primary drivers of this inflation were increased costs in essential sectors such as food and food services, housing and utilities, as well as pharmaceutical products and medical services.

The early part of 2025 saw persistent global political and trade uncertainties, casting a shadow over local Vietnamese consumer sentiment. Additionally, in an effort to streamline Vietnamese government’s administrative apparatus, it’s projected that this plan will affect 20% of the public workforce. As a result, global instability and the domestic large scale restructuring plan changes appear to contribute to growing worries among Vietnamese consumers regarding income stability, job security, and rising costs.

Uncover the full FMCG story in Vietnam

How have recent macro and socioeconomic trends influenced consumer sentiment and FMCG purchases? Which categories are driving growth in consumer goods and what is the outlook for 2025?

Kantar’s Vietnam FMCG Monitor Q1 2025 report provides the answers you need to stay ahead of the curve.

What you’ll find:

• Macroeconomic Pulse: Stay informed about consumer confidence, household expenditures, spending patterns, and macroeconomic trends that shape the FMCG landscape.
• FMCG Overview: Gain insights into the performance of key FMCG sectors and identify the factors driving growth and decline.
• Retail Channel Dynamics: Analyze the evolving retail landscape and optimize your trade plans for maximum impact.
• Category-Specific Analysis: Deep-dive into specific categories to uncover competitive insights and identify growth opportunities
• Add-on - Tet FMCG picture: Get access to an exclusive picture of FMCG performance in Tet 2025 compared to previous years, revealing critical shifts in purchase and gifting behaviours. Identify the core trends shaping consumer preferences and behaviours and the evolving landscape of Tet celebrations and preparations to inform your festive strategic plan.

Fill in the form on the sidebar to find out more information and request a sample report and ratecard.

As we closed 2024, the FMCG sector in Asia continued to demonstrate economic resilience, with a stable value growth rate of 2.7%. The beverages sector remains the key growth driver, while the food and home care categories are sustaining their momentum. This report covers 11 markets, highlighting the key trends and evolving consumer behaviours that have shaped the region’s FMCG landscape throughout the year.

Market highlights:

• Chinese Mainland

The development of the Chinese mainland’s FMCG market remained stable in 2024. While the beverage category saw significant growth, the personal care category continued to decline, but this slowed in the fourth quarter. The dairy category continued to face considerable growth challenges.

• Taiwan

Shoppers appreciate the convenience and affordability of online shopping, keeping e-commerce on a strong growth trajectory (+15%). However, they also continue to enjoy the in-store shopping experience, with the performance of hypermarkets (+7%) and supermarkets (+5%) improving from stable to strong.

• India

The impact of inflation on household FMCG consumption remains moderate. Volume sales in the sector grew by 4.6% in Q4 of 2024; however, the pace of growth is slower compared to the 8% seen in Q4 2023. In the urban region, volume growth in the food sector was hampered in the second half of 2024 by a notable surge in price inflation.

• South Korea

The FMCG market in Korea has been growing steadily, with a 6.6% value increase at the year-end. This was driven by an expansion in consumers’ basket size. Meanwhile, the decline in frequency observed in Q3 continued.

• United Arab Emirates

As consumers grapple with rising living costs, they are trying to find ways to get more value – opting for a higher frequency of shopping trips, with smaller baskets. Spend within discounters is rising sharply, making a strategic approach essential for driving brand growth. Consumers from all socio-economic groups visited discounters in 2024.

• Saudi Arabia

Despite an expanding economy and relatively low inflation, Saudi Arabia's FMCG sector is struggling to achieve healthy growth. The influx of white-collar expatriates has contributed to an overall increase in FMCG volume, yet this has not translated into robust value growth across categories. Shoppers remain price-conscious, with spending patterns shifting toward essential goods and promotion-driven purchases.

• Indonesia

Supermarkets are the main drivers of penetration growth, bringing in new shoppers to the modern trade channel. At the same time, e-commerce complements traditional retail by attracting additional shoppers and strengthening the shift toward omnichannel shopping.

• Malaysia

Shoppers have been making fewer visits across various shopping channels, but offsetting this by increasing their spend per trip. Foot traffic in minimarkets has continued to rise, driven by the appeal of consistently low prices and convenience. However, this seems to result in a lower growth in spend per trip compared to other channels.

• Thailand

Take-home FMCG is finally recovering following two years of decline, led mostly by an increase in basket size and frequency. However, shoppers are switching to smaller pack sizes to avoid spending too much.

• Philippines

Filipinos’ top channels – sari-sari stores and hyper/supermarkets – remained stable in Q4 of 2024. Smaller channels like direct sales, discounters and e-commerce have driven overall growth, indicating that shoppers’ behaviour is becoming more omni-channel in nature.

• Vietnam

Vietnam recorded a stellar economic performance in 2024, with strong GDP growth of 7.09%, demonstrating resilience despite the economic impact of typhoon Yagi. Overall consumer confidence in economic prospects improved from 2023, but has not yet recovered to pre-COVID levels in 2019.

Stay updated with the latest insights and trends in the Asia-Pacific FMCG sector by accessing the Q4 2024 edition of Asia Pulse. Click the download button at the top of this page to explore key developments across 11 markets, and discover emerging opportunities in the region.

Navigating the dynamic FMCG landscape in Vietnam: 2025 and beyond

As we peer into the FMCG market outlook for Vietnam in 2025, it’s clear that dynamism and complexity will define the landscape. While the nation’s macroeconomic indicators in 2024, including a robust 7.1% GDP growth and rising average incomes, paint a positive picture, the reality for Vietnamese consumers is more nuanced. Rising food prices and persistent economic uncertainty continue to shape consumer behaviour, making every purchase decision a calculated one.

The Vietnam FMCG Outlook 2025 report, Worldpanel Vietnam's most comprehensive analysis to date, offers an integrated perspective on consumer behaviour and the consumer packaged goods sector within the broader socio-economic context.

You will find in this edition in-depth insights into key economic and demographic shifts, alongside crucial consumer trends that will shape the market in the years to come, and the strategic growth avenues you will need to drive your success in the next 5 to 10 years.

Understanding the Vietnamese consumer: A “brave new world”

Today’s Vietnamese consumers navigate a complex ecosystem of choices. A plethora of brands, SKUs, and retail channels, coupled with financial uncertainties, drive them to rely on a set of factors such as price, value, convenience, and experiential factors to guide their decision-making process. This intricate interplay significantly impacts shopper behaviour.

Understanding these constantly evolving consumer priorities is crucial for brands seeking to thrive in this fragmented environment. Innovation is a necessity, but quality trumps quantity in a saturated market. Brands that can effectively adapt to these shifts, tap into new sources of growth, and future-proof their strategies will be the ones that emerge victorious in the competitive FMCG landscape. 

What you will discover from Vietnam FMCG Outlook 2025 report:

• Macroeconomic and demographic shifts: We provide a comprehensive analysis of Vietnam’s macro indicators and demographic dividends, revealing their congruent role in shaping consumer behaviour at a macro scale.
• Current FMCG dynamics: Gain an understanding of the current FMCG dynamics and performance across various sectors.
• Growth avenues: Discover actionable growth avenues to propel your business forward.
• Emerging consumer trends: Uncover nascent consumer and shopper trends changing the Vietnamese FMCG market.
• Future FMCG Market Outlook: Understand the FMCG market outlook and how to stay ahead of the competition.

We hope you can leverage these insights to refine your strategies, optimise investments, and ensure your brand resonates with the modern Vietnamese consumer. Contact us today to learn how we can help you navigate the ever-changing consumer packaged goods market.

Read the report today:

Click to read Vietnam FMCG outlook 2025 - p

Vietnam’s FMCG landscape in 2024 encountered challenges even with the country's positive economic trajectory.

The Vietnamese economy expanded at a rate of 7.09%, exceeding the government's target and demonstrating resilience in the face of internal and external challenges, most recently the super typhoon Yagi. While inflation remained in check at 3.63%, aligning with the government's target, the persistently rising costs of food, healthcare, and education continue to put pressure on consumers’ budgets.

While Vietnam’s economic indicators show robust development, consumer confidence on the economic outlook and their own financial situations has also shown changes in comparison to the end of last year.

A positive economic performance may not translate to increased consumer spending. Overall FMCG spend growth has slowed down compared to the robust performance in 2023. However, there are pockets of growth within the FMCG sector and retail landscape presenting opportunities for brands that can identify and take of advantage of changing consumer trends.

Uncover the full FMCG story in Vietnam

How have recent macro and socioeconomic trends influenced consumer sentiment and in-home FMCG purchases? Which categories drove growth, and which retail channels captured consumer attention throughout 2024?

Kantar’s Vietnam FMCG Monitor FY2024 report provides the answers you need to stay ahead of the curve.

What you’ll find:

• Macroeconomic Pulse: Stay informed about consumer confidence, household expenditures, spending patterns, and macroeconomic trends that shape the FMCG landscape.
• FMCG Overview: Gain insights into the performance of key FMCG sectors and identify the factors driving growth and decline.
• Retail Channel Dynamics: Analyze the evolving retail landscape and optimize your trade plans for maximum impact.
• Category-Specific Analysis: Deep-dive into specific categories to uncover competitive insights and identify growth opportunities.

Fill in the form on the sidebar to find out more information and request a sample report and ratecard

 Numerator and Kantar Worldpanel combine to form new global consumer data company 

CHICAGO, January 14, 2025 – Numerator, a data and tech company serving the North American market research space, is combining with Kantar’s Worldpanel division to form a new global consumer data company. Numerator provides proprietary first-party consumer data and advanced technology in the US and Canada. Worldpanel is the gold standard of consumer data in 49 countries outside North America.The majority of the top 100 global FMCG manufacturers and retailers already utilize Numerator and/or Worldpanel for consumer behavior data.  

Such a devastating natural disaster not only disrupted various sectors but also impacted northern Vietnamese consumers’ purchase behaviour. The uncertainty and disruption caused by the typhoon have led to a short-term shift in consumer priorities and FMCG spending patterns. Additionally, the event posed prolonged implications for the upcoming Vietnamese New Year (Tet) season and throughout the year of 2025.

This article unpacks insights into the impact of Typhoon Yagi on consumer sentiment and purchasing behaviour, highliting the implications for purchase behaviour and FMCG growth in Northern Vietnam in 2025. 

I. Impact on consumer sentiment

Kantar Worldpanel’s quarterly consumer confidence survey reveals that concerns about climate and natural disasters have emerged as a top two concern for Vietnamese consumers in Q3 2024.

Historically, concerns about natural disasters have been more prevalent among Central Vietnamese consumers, particularly during the monsoon season typically in the third quarter of the year. However, the significant impact of Typhoon Yagi has amplified these concerns nationwide, with nearly half of all households across Vietnam’s 4 key cities expressing worries about climate change and natural disasters. Hanoi, one of hardest-hit cities,. witnessed the most dramatic increase, with concerns surging from a mere 9% in Q3 2023 to a striking 56% in Q3 2024

Coupled with rising food prices, this heightened uncertainty may influence consumer spending priorities and behaviour. While the immediate impact of the typhoon may be temporary, the recovery process for Northern Vietnam, which is less accustomed to such severe natural disasters, may be more prolonged. This could lead to potential budget constraints for certain categories and prioritisation on recovery in the coming year.

Data from Kantar also reveals that the typhoon also disrupted the recovery of consumer confidence on the country’s economic prospects, from 80% in Q2 2024 to 69% in Q3 2024. This figure was only higher than that of the challenging year-end in 2023 and the social distancing period during the Wave 4 of Covid-19. The sharpest decline in consumer confidence is concentrated in Hanoi, while residents of other cities maintain a more optimistic outlook.

II.    Impact on FMCG and intention to spend

History has shown that during crises like pandemics and natural disasters, consumer demand for essential FMCG items surges as people stock up. However, a closer look at post-typhoon FMCG purchasing behaviour in Hanoi and rural northern Vietnam reveals some nuances.

In the immediate aftermath of the typhoon, Hanoi witnessed a surge in FMCG demand, likely driven by a combination of stockpiling behaviour and preparations for potential flooding that followed.

In contrast, rural northern areas, which suffered more significant economic damage, experienced less pronounced growth in FMCG spend value. While urban centres like Hanoi experienced less household and financial damage, rural consumers may have suffered greater agricultural damage, leading to reduced purchasing power and a shift in consumer priorities. Rural consumers may also have been more reliant on donations from relief efforts, prioritised essential items like food, water, and medicine, while reducing discretionary spending on non-essential FMCG items.

Kantar Worldpanel reconnected with several panellists residing in the typhoon's direct path. While urban residents in Hanoi reported a slight increase in stockpiling behavior and minimal impact on household income, the situation was significantly different for rural households. They reported substantial losses to their livelihoods and assets, directly impacting their disposable income. Due to these losses and reliance on relief efforts, their FMCG spending either remained the same or declined. This suggests that households’ priorities will be placed on rebuilding livelihoods and recovering financially, which may impact future FMCG spending in rural North.  

While rural North did not see much change in FMCG growth, packaged foods and certain beverage categories saw more prioritisation than personal care and home care products in September. The impact of the typhoon on FMCG growth in rural maybe heavier and prolonged than in the urban centre.

It’s worth noting that while the short-term impact on rural FMCG consumption may seem less fluctuacting, the mid- to long-term consequences could be more significant. The typhoon's impact on rural livelihoods and infrastructure may lead to ongoing economic challenges, affecting consumer spending power and preferences

III. Navigating the post-typhoon FMCG landscape: What will 2025 look like in the North?

Tet 2025 remains a crucial period for FMCG brands and certain FMCG categories, often contributing a significant portion, up to a quarter or even a third, of their annual sales. Winning the Tet season is still particularly important in the North, where traditional celebrations hold deep significance.

Both Northern Vietnamese consumers and those in the rest of the country will prioritise essential spending, but their approaches to rationalisation may differ due to various factors.

1.     Short-term: Winning Tet in the North is critical for brands

• Tet holds significance in the North: Kantar’s festive studies have shown that traditional holidays such as Moon festival and Tet still hold significant relevance for northern consumers. While economic factors may influence spending patterns, the cultural importance of Tet ensures its continued importance in the North. Rationalised purchases will likely be observed in normal months rather than during the holiday season.

• Reduced disposable income: The economic damage caused by the typhoon led to a decrease in disposable income for many households, impacting their ability to spend on Tet preparations. This will be more prominent in northern rural as they have less disposable income and are more dependent on agricultural livelihoods, as highlighted by Kantar Worldpanel’s panellists.

• Prioritisation of home recovery: Again, with a focus on rural north, consumers may prioritise rebuilding their homes and livelihoods over traditional Tet spending, leading to a shift in spending priorities and budget allocations.

• Uncertainty and cautious spending: The overall economic uncertainty caused by the typhoon could make consumers more cautious with their spending, likely resulting in subdued or moderate growth in Tet 2025 versus last Tet.

 2.     Mid-term outlook: Potential delay in northern FMCG growth

• Urban vs. Rural Impact: While urban northern households may be less affected individually by Typhoon Yagi, rural households may experience decreased disposable income due to agricultural damage and economic disruption.

• Ongoing Concerns: Uncertainty and ongoing concerns about Costs of food and Natural disasters will continue to impact intention to spend

• Post-Tet Rationalisation: The traditional holiday remains relevant in the North, which is while rationalised spending will not be as evident, in comparison to the South where consumers enjoy a relaxing time and simplified holiday. However, in the quarters following the Tet holiday, consumers, particularly in the North, may adopt a more cautious approach to spending, stalling the growth of FMCG.

Leveraging consumer data to drive your brand’s success

The insights from this article are powered by Worldpanel Vietnam’s household purchase panel. We continuously track all information about household purchases of over 130 FMCG categories for in-home consumption. 

With our single-sourced panel, we can uncover and link consumer attitudes and perspectives to actual shopping behaviour to help you develop a holistic brand strategy. Through our advanced solutions and analytics, you will understand who your most valuable shoppers are, how they shop, spend and consume.  

Ready to unlock the power of consumer insights? Contact our experts today to learn how we can help you supercharge your marketing strategy in 2025.

As the third quarter of 2024 came to a close, the FMCG industry across Asia continued to show promise, with value growth reaching 3.4% – a clear improvement on the 2% increase in Q3 of last year. This upward trend underscores the region's resilience, and its ability to navigate shifting market conditions and evolving consumer needs.

Download the latest Asia Pulse from Kantar Asia's Worldpanel Division for detailed updates across 11 key markets – and uncover new growth opportunities.

Market highlights:

Chinese Mainland

China's FMCG market remained steady in Q3. The beverage and household cleaning categories maintained good momentum, growing by 5.5% and 5.1% respectively.

India (Urban)

Inflation and disruption caused FMCG volume growth to slow down in the last quarter; a contrast to 2023 when it was urban consumers propelling volume growth.

Indonesia

An increase in trip size is driven mainly by upper-class shoppers, indicating a trend of stocking up, with more volume per trip and fewer trips overall.

Malaysia

Minimarkets and online grew strongly due to their price-competitiveness. The internet has also become a source for ranges not easily found offline, such as bulk packs.

Philippines

Shoppers are purchasing from an increased number of categories, including pantry staples such as cooking oil and water, and non-food items like shampoo.

South Korea

The frozen food and sauce/seasonings segments are the major contributors to the expansion of the food sector, driven by affordability and convenience.

Taiwan

Consumers are elevating themselves through FMCG, pursuing inner and outer beauty. This has led to strong performance among health foods and personal care.

Thailand

Online channels led by TikTok and Shopee, together with modern trade – such as national supermarkets and convenience stores – have continued to gain share.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Shopping frequency has increased significantly, but consumers are spending less per trip as they purchase more at lower-cost stores.

Vietnam (Urban)

Growth has either stalled or declined across sectors, as consumers spend cautiously due to uncertainty around external factors beyond their control.

Vietnam (Rural)

While FMCG growth appears to be more stable in rural areas, most sectors are struggling to achieve volume growth. Personal care continues to record robust growth.

In Vietnam’s competitive F&B industry, understanding the intricate nuances of consumption behaviour is paramount. As consumer demands become incredibly sophisticated, having a grasp of the motivations behind consumption moments is a key driver to success.  

Tet 2024 marked a significant shift in festive shopping behaviour, with a growing emphasis on health, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. Let's delve into the key trends that shaped this year's festive season and explore their implications for 2025.

1.     A look back at Tet 2024

Despite maintain a 5 year peak, the total value of purchased in-home FMCG  has not changed since last year, marking a halt in value growth. This can be attributed to several factors, including a challenging economic climate, financial uncertainty in households, and consumers’ growing desire to enjoy a stress-free holiday.

The start of 2024 was preceded by a challenging end to 2023, marked by record-low consumer confidence and a significant increase in households facing financial difficulties since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.This consumer sentiment signalled a muted Tet season.

As financial burdens remained, consumers opted to simplify their celebrations, reduce the number of gatherings, and prioritise personal time.

2.  FMCG gifting returns as a Tet staple

Tet 2024 witnessed a notable shift towards practical and health-focused FMCG choices. This shift was evident in the reduced consumption of celebratory such as alcohol or confectionary and the rise of pantry essentials such as cooking aids and seasoning. Even within gifting, practical and health—focused gifting options prevail.

3. Right place, right time: The key to retail success

Understanding the nuances of consumer behaviour across different channels is crucial. While online shopping has gained significant traction in Tet 2024, particularly in urban areas, traditional trade channels still play a vital role in rural regions. To maximise reach and capture consumer demand, brands must tailor their strategies to the unique Tet shopping behaviours in urban and rural areas, as well as online and offline channels.

4.   Looking ahead to Tet 2025

As we look towards Tet 2025, a more positive economic outlook is shaping up. However, consumers remain cautious about their financial situation, indicating a conservative approach to spending. To best capture demand, brands must innovate and provide value-driven FMCG offerings, to resonate with consumers' evolving Tet shopping needs.

5.    Kantar's Tet GIfting Survey Solution

Gifting remains a core part of Tet celebrations, but consumer gifting preferences are evolving. How do consumers purchase their gifts? Where does your brand or category fit into their gifting choices? And why do shoppers choose one brand over another for gifting purposes?

Kantar's Tet 2025 gifting survey, combined with our extensive household purchase data in Vietnam’s Urban 4 key cities and Rural, offers a 360-degree understanding of gift-giving behaviours. Our solution provides insights into what consumers buy for gifting purposes, where they buy them, for whom the gifts are intended, and at what price they are willing to pay. It also allows you to dive deeper into details such as gifting types, channel choices and brand choices. 

Contact our experts today to elevate your Tet trade plans with actionable insights from Kantar's Tet Gifting Survey and household purchase data.

ACCESS THE FULL REPORT

The third quarter of 2024 presented a mixed bag for Vietnam's FMCG market.

Vietnam’s GDP recorded a high GDP growth at 7.4%, the strongest quarterly growth in 2 years while CPI is under control at approximately 3% y-o-y growth. The economy demonstrates resilience despite economic challenges posed by the super typhoon Yagi which happened in mid-September.

The typhoon did raise consumers concerns about the country’s economic prospects, particularly in the northern region which sustained the heaviest damage. 

While the nation's economy showed resilience, weathering the impact of Typhoon Yagi, consumer sentiment remained cautious, especially when evaluating their financial situations and spending.

Uncover the full FMCG story in Vietnam

How has consumer sentiment evolved in response to recent macro and socioeconomic trends? How have in-home FMCG purchases shifted as a result of these factors? Which categories are driving growth, and which retail channels are capturing consumer attention?

Kantar’s Vietnam FMCG Monitor 2024 report provides the answers you need to stay ahead of the curve.

What you’ll find:

• Macroeconomic Pulse: Stay informed about consumer confidence, household expenditures, spending patterns, and macroeconomic trends that shape the FMCG landscape.
• FMCG Overview: Gain insights into the performance of key FMCG sectors and identify the factors driving growth and decline.
• Retail Channel Dynamics: Analyze the evolving retail landscape and optimize your trade plans for maximum impact.
• Category-Specific Analysis: Deep-dive into specific categories to uncover competitive insights and identify growth opportunities.

Fill in the form on the sidebar to find out more information and request the full report.

[Ho Chi Minh City – 26 September 2024] – Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam has been officially accredited as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ organization.

Great Place to Work Certification™ is a significant achievement. Using validated employee feedback gathered by Great Place to Work® – the global authority on workplace culture, with its rigorous, data-driven For All™ methodology – the accreditation confirms that 92% of employees have a consistently positive experience at Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam.

Peter Christou, General Manager of Worldpanel Division Vietnam, shared: “It's fantastic to see Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam recognised as a Great Place to Work® on our first try. I firmly believe that our people and culture are what makes our company stand out.

We have a team of passionate, hardworking professionals dedicated to achieving our shared goals. Our open communication culture encourages them to share their unique perspectives and ideas, creating a vibrant workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered.

From the results we can clearly see that our company culture fosters collaboration and teamwork within a supportive and friendly environment, while also encouraging individual growth and professional development. We have a strong emphasis on improving work-life balance and creating an inclusive environment for all team members. These values are reflected in the way we work together and in the way we serve our clients.

This recognition is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our team members - thanks to each of you!

I am proud to be part of such a great team and excited to see what we can achieve together in the future.”

See more information here.

About Kantar Worldpanel

Kantar Worldpanel is the world’s leading marketing data and analytics company that provides brands and retailers with a unique, 360-degree understanding of consumer behaviour. We are shopper-centric, continuously monitoring purchase and usage behaviour through the largest omnipanel in the world.

About Great Place to Work®

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed over 100 million employees around the world, using those deep insights to define what element makes a great workplace: Trust. Great Place to Work® helps organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a truly great workplace.

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As we progress through 2024, Asia’s FMCG sector is maintaining its resilience with a stable value growth rate of 3.5%, consistent with the first quarter of the year.

The beverages sector continues to lead this growth, while food and homecare have sustained the momentum they built last year.

This report spans 11 markets, capturing the key trends and dynamic shifts that are shaping the region's FMCG landscape.

Market highlights:

Chinese Mainland

In the first half of 2024, the general trend of FMCG in e-commerce remained relatively stable compared to the same period last year. Interest-based e-commerce continued to expand its consumer base, with 37.2% of Chinese households purchasing groceries on Douyin, surpassing Pinduoduo in market penetration.?

Taiwan

The food category, which was impacted by the recovery of the food and beverage industry after the pandemic, has overcome the stagnation of the past two quarters to show growth of 3.4% in Q2. ?Meanwhile, the non-food categories continued their growth trend with a 5.8% value increase.

India

FMCG grew by 7% in value and 5.5% in volume over the year. Volume growth has revived, while value grows at a slower pace compared to last year. In the previous year, there was a significant gap between value and volume growth (with value growing faster), which now has diminished, as inflationary pressures subside. FMCG volume increases are seen across sectors, with beverages leading the growth.

South Korea

In Q2, South Korea's Foodservice Industry Index recorded a figure of 75.6, signalling a reduction in dining out. Concurrently, value in the in-home food sector has maintained consistent growth, particularly within the sauce/paste/seasoning and frozen food categories. This trend is primarily driven by consumers seeking more budget-friendly options in response to prolonged inflation.

United Arab Emirates

Compared to the previous year’s post-Ramadan period, the UAE’s spend index decreased in Q2, while volume remained steady. This shift is driven by lower prices. Shoppers restocked products from several categories in May, one month after Ramadan.

Indonesia

Although prices decreased slightly in Q2, this reduction has not translated into higher volume growth, either recently or in a year-on-year comparison. With inflation stabilised, higher purchase levels remain shoppers’ primary strategy for managing their overall spending, while they also continue to switch to cheaper products.

Malaysia

In-home expenditure remains stable, with growth in packaged groceries, beverages, and toiletries, although the dairy sector has not yet recovered. Increased spending in Q2 is attributed to festivities such as Chinese New Year and Raya. However, shoppers continue to seek promotions, downsize, and trade down due to cost pressures.

Thailand

As Thai consumers spend more time out-of-home, the demand for in-home cooking  products and beverages continues to slow, while personal care categories are growing.? Due to their limited budgets, consumers have started to shift towards more affordable choices in some categories. They are also seeking more convenient packaged snacks to eat at home.

Philippines

With inflation easing, Filipino shoppers sustained spend on FMCG in Q2, with broad-based growth across most regions and socio-economic classes. However, consumer confidence is weaker due to rising commodity prices, lower incomes, fewer jobs, and issues with traffic and public transport, leading them to adjust and rationalise their product choices.?

Vietnam

Despite general optimism, reflected by 80% of urban Vietnamese households anticipating economic growth in the next 12 months, consumer spending on in-home FMCG has not increased. In fact, the total value of urban FMCG purchases has declined, primarily due to stagnant food and beverage spending.

Stay updated with the latest insights and trends in the Asia-Pacific FMCG sector by accessing the Q2 2024 edition of Asia Pulse. Click the download button at the top of this page to explore key developments across 11 markets, and discover emerging opportunities in the region.

Note: The Asia Pulse Q2 2024 edition excludes Saudi Arabia due to local panel enhancement.

As half of FMCG categories suffering volume declines, brands face the challenge of finding the right balance between price and promotions.

What's the ideal pricing level to maximise margins without losing shoppers? Which promotion schemes offer the highest incremental returns? Is reducing your prices the right strategy in today’s market?

Discover the tools to answer these questions in our Vietnam Shopper Pulse 2024 webinar: Optimising price and promotion strategies for maximum impact.

In this webinar, you will learn more about:

• The latest trends in the retail channel landscape: Which channels are consumers choosing to shop at?
• Real-world case studies of pricing and promotion strategies
• How to leverage optimisation tools to refine your pricing and promotion strategies

The webinar will be delivered in two sessions, in Vietnamese and English. On the registration page, please select a relevant session for you:

• Vietnamese session: 11:00AM (GMT+7) I Wednesday, September 18, 2024
• English session: 4:00PM (GMT+7) I Wednesday, September 18, 2024

If you are not able to attend the webinar, please sign up anyway and we’ll share a link so you can watch it on-demand.
 
Don't miss this opportunity to stay ahead of the curve. Save your spot today! 

Globally, 2023 marked the second-highest FMCG value growth in more than a decade, with total spend increasing by 8.6% over the year. In Asia, the picture was somewhat different. The watchword was ‘stability’, with annual growth of 3.7%, compared with 3.4% the previous year. Spending per household remained flat at US$828, an increase of 1%.

These are the headline discoveries unveiled in the 2024 edition of Kantar Worldpanel’s Asia Brand Footprint report. This comprehensive analysis covers 11 Asian markets, representing 85% of the region’s GDP, and more than 4,500 brands.

The most chosen FMCG brands in Asia

Brand Footprint examines the 232 billion brand choices made by Asian shoppers in 2023, using Kantar Worldpanel’s unique Consumer Reach Point (CRP) methodology. This combines data on population, penetration, and consumer choices (frequency) to determine the most chosen brands.

The top 5 most chosen brands in 2024 are:

Decoding Asian shoppers’ brand choices

Focusing on the number of brand choices made across Asia, we see an increase in total CRPs of 3.6% over the last year – almost exactly matching FMCG value growth (3.7%). South Asia has primarily driven this uplift.

Regarding the size of brands, 43% of CRPs are from small (with penetration between 1-10%) and medium (penetration 10-30%) brands. A notable 87% of growing brands are small and medium-sized. Asian consumers favour local brands, which account for a 77.6% share of the region’s total CRPs, especially in North Asia (81.6%) and South Asia (81.4%).

Decoding brand success

The Brand Footprint study has identified the key drivers of brand growth in Asia, and how top brands are successfully leveraging these to stay competitive and ahead in the market.

A remarkable 89% of all brands that grew in the last year did so by gaining penetration. In 2023, more than half (53%) of the brands that increased their CRPs in Asia combined greater penetration with increased purchase frequency. Improving penetration alone was successful for 36%, while only 11% grew by upping frequency.

The highest performing brands in the Brand Footprint ranking demonstrate the importance of understanding consumer behaviour and optimising their strategies. To learn from them, and set a course for success in the coming year ahead, brands must:

• Set realistic penetration growth targets, based on their size.
• Position themselves effectively as markets continue to polarise, to Predispose More People to buy.
• Optimise their omnichannel strategy to Be More Present.
• Develop a deep understanding of consumption occasions in order to Find New Space.

 To explore the full insights, read the 2024 edition of the Brand Footprint Asia report:

Click to read Asia Brand Footprint 2024 - c

Vietnam's economy in the second quarter of 2024 witnessed strong growth, signaling great momentum for the country to achieve, or even exceed the government GDP target in 2024.  Echoing this optimism, consumer confidence surpassed 2023 level. However,in-home FMCG growth has stagnated since the beginning of the year, with food & beverage sectors experiencing steeper volume loss than non-food sectors.  

Here are some key highlights from Kantar's VIetnam FMCG Monitor report - Q2 2024 edition:

1. Vietnam's macro economy

Fuelled by a strong economic performance in Q2'24, Vietnam’s GDP growth reached a solid performance at 6.42% in H1. This positive momentum in the first two quarters of the year bodes well for achieving the full-year GDP target in the range of 6-6.5%. In a more positive scenario, the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) projects that the economy could expand by 6.95% in 2024. However, inflation pressures arerising, reaching the government’s target ceiling, which could pose a challenge in the coming months. 

The year 2023 painted a challenging picture for Vietnam's FMCG market. After a strong post-Covid performance in 2022, Vietnam posted lower GDP growth of 5.05% in 2023. A slower than-expected recovery in demand for products from Vietnam’s key trade partners such as the US, EU and China put in a dent in the country’s manufacturing and export sectors. This resulted in waves of job losses, leading to increasing fears among households about their financial situation. With growing concerns over rising costs of living, income and job security, we saw a fundamental change in consumers’ spending priorities.

By Q4 of 2023 a significant portion (30%) of families reported financial struggles – the highest level of the post-pandemic era. While inflation showed signs of easing towards the year's end, its impact has lingered.

Amidst the challenges, some brands thrived

Despite a growth in total FMCG value compared to 2022, volume growth became a fading memory after a Q1 fuelled by the Tet 2023 season. The year concluded with consumers cutting back on FMCG volume, leading to negative Q4 value growth for the entire in-home FMCG sector.

However, while 46% of categories witnessed a decline in volume, a remarkable 44% managed positive volume growth, with half even achieving double-digit gains. The key to success? Adapting to a new consumer reality.

In the Vietnam Brand Footprint 2024 report, you will discover:

• A comprehensive ranking of the most chosen FMCG brands in Vietnam
• The winning formulas of growing brands in the new consumer reality
• Success stories of the most chosen brands and rising brands

 As 2024 began, Asia continued to demonstrate its economic resilience with growth in FMCG spend of 3.5%, slightly higher than the previous year. Notably, the beverages sector led this growth with an impressive 9.2% rise in value sales, compensating for slower growth in the Dairy and Home Care sectors.

This report spans 10 markets, highlighting the dynamic shifts and trends across the region.

Market highlights:

Chinese Mainland

China’s FMCG market maintained a modest recovery in the first quarter of 2024, with year-on-year sales growth of 2.6%. The eastern region showed more positive growth, increasing by 7% compared to the same period last year, demonstrating its economic vitality and the strength of consumer purchasing power.

Taiwan

Although purchase frequency decreased, consumer demand was evident in the increased spending per shopping trip, indicating no reduction in households’ overall expenditure. In categories like laundry products, consumers are spending more to meet advanced needs. Personal care is also recovering, due to increased spending in face care categories. 

India

Household shopping occasions grew across all major channels in Q1, with the fastest growth achieved by chemist shops and online platforms. In addition, consumers are spending more per trip across the channels they visit. However, basket size in terms of volume hasn’t improved, indicating continuing caution among shoppers. 

South Korea

Single-person households account for 34.5% of the total population in Korea. Consequently, there is an increasing need for small packaging and small-sized products, leading to changes in consumer trends. Additionally, as the country approaches a super-aged society, economically empowered active seniors are emerging as a key consumer group.

United Arab Emirates

In Q1 of 2024 shopping frequency increased substantially due to Ramadan, but spending per trip remained stable. Consumers made more frequent purchases without increasing their total expenditure.

Indonesia

Growth in modern trade remains constrained, whereas general trade’s growth is being driven by price rather than volume. Specialty stores and e-commerce are becoming the preferred channels for categories like baby products, beauty, and personal care, presenting the opportunity to attract and recruit new shoppers.

Malaysia

The easing of food & beverages prices has driven an increase in in-home expenditure. There is growth in packaged groceries, beverages, and toiletries, while the dairy sector continues to be impacted. Shoppers are still spending cautiously, however, making fewer trips and deprioritising non-essential categories.

Thailand

The demand for in-home consumption of cooking products is slowing, along with home care products, as consumers spend more time out of their homes. At the same time, the need for personal care is recovering. Limited household budgets are causing a shift to more affordable choices in some categories. Within packaged food, consumers seek more convenient snacks and meals to eat at home.

Philippines

During the festive season, Filipino shoppers purchased more per trip, but maintained the same number of trips. They prioritised spending on food, beverage and dairy, as highlighted in the boost in sales of soft drinks, bottled water, family milk, and cooking oil.

Vietnam

Fuelled by a positive economic outlook, Vietnamese consumers are more hopeful about the country’s economic progress. Despite positive signs, however, their spending has not caught up and FMCG growth in the main urban areas has remained stagnant.

Stay informed about the latest insights and trends in the Asia-Pacific FMCG sector by accessing the newest edition of Asia Pulse. Simply click the download button at the top of this page.

Note: The Asia Pulse Q1 2024 report excludes Saudi Arabia due to local panel enhancement.

The first quarter of 2024 witnessed a subdued performance in take-home FMCG despite a boost from the Tet 2024 (Lunar New Year) period. However, the underlying economic outlook remains positive, with consumer confidence in economic recovery reaching a five-quarter high. 

Here are some key takeaways from Kantar's VIetnam FMCG Monitor report - Q1 2024 edition:

1. Economic indicators

Vietnam's GDP expanded by a healthy 5.66% in Q1 2024, marking the strongest Q1 growth since 2020. While slower than the previous quarter's 6.7% growth, this momentum indicates the country is on track to achieve its 2024 economic targets. 

Vietnamese shopper behaviour has undergone a significant transformation in the past five years. Armed with a wealth of information, technology, and online platforms, consumers are undertaking more intricate and multi-dimensional shopping journeys.

Gone are the days of the one-stop shop. Today's Vietnamese shopper embarks on specialised missions with each trip, meticulously navigating a retail landscape populated by a clear emergence of key players. This transformation raises critical questions for brands and manufacturers: how to navigate changing channel preferences and where is the source of growth.

Sign up for our Shopper Pulse 2024 webinar on May 10, 2024 to get the most updated picture on the shoppers’ preferences and channel landscape:

1. The evolution of channel choices:

• The increasingly sophisticated shopper journey
• Channel dynamics and emerging players

2. 3 key levers to maximise opportunities at Point of Purchase

• Understand shoppers’ drivers to spend by channel
• Make every trip count – explore the power of category adjacency
• Rural shoppers – discover the future source of growth

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Asia’s FMCG sector stood strong, maintaining similar growth figures to the previous year at a robust 3.5%.

Spanning 11 markets, the report reveals a common rising trend in the beverages sector which can be seen across the entire region, whereas in other sectors the key trends are unique to each market’s conditions.

Market highlights:

• Chinese Mainland

Walmart and Yonghui increased their market share in the midst of fierce competition in 2023, while Wumart, the SPAR Group, and Hongqi Chain maintained their share at a stable level. Regional retail chains have emerged as strong competitors, winning share from the national giants.

• Taiwan

People are spending more time outside, which has triggered increased demand for beverages and led to an upturn in this category. Consumers have also increased their food service expenditure, which has affected home cooking-related categories. The trend for venturing out more frequently is driving growth in sales of personal care products, particularly cosmetics.

• India

Household shopping occasions across all major channels grew in 2023. The growth in frequency indicates that households are experimenting more. This brings an opportunity for brands to ‘meet’ their buyers more often.

• South Korea

Korea is facing demographic changes due to low birth rates, and an aging population. An increase in single-person households and empty nesters represents the largest increase in FMCG spending among all life stages – with a rise in spend of 19.7% and 18.8% respectively.

• United Arab Emirates

In 2023, shoppers shifted their priorities, marking a clear change in consumer behaviour. Dairy and beverages took centre stage as shoppers moved their priorities away from personal care to these sectors.

• Indonesia

The main factor contributing to growth across all socioeconomic segments continues to be the consistent rise in prices, resulting in a stabilisation in shopping frequency. This means brands and manufacturers must capitalise on every shopping opportunity to attract new buyers.

• Malaysia

Steady growth is observed across key channels such as supermarkets, mini markets, and drug, beauty, and pharmacy, primarily supported by higher prices. Nevertheless, consumption is dwindling in a number of channels, with higher prices driving shoppers towards those that offer competitive pricing or extensive promotions.

• Thailand

More occasions and OOH activities have led to lower in-home consumption for cooking products and beverages, and a reduced need for home care products, while demand for personal care started to resurface. Within packaged food, consumers are still looking for convenient snacks and meals to eat at home. Limited budgets are steering them to look for more affordable choices in some categories.

• Philippines

As the economy enjoys lower inflation and unemployment rates, Filipino shoppers continue to spend warily as the strain of shouldering higher prices for the past two years now takes its toll. Shoppers continue to prioritise spending on essentials like food & beverage and transport.

• Vietnam

Vietnam’s in-home FMCG sector saw steady but cautious year-on-year growth, with urban spend primarily driven by price increases. However, rural areas indicate greater potential for volume growth. A closer look at quarterly performance shows a gradual decline in value growth, specifically in the Urban 4 area.

Stay up to date on the latest insights and developments in the Asia-Pacific FMCG sector by accessing the most recent issue of Asia Pulse via the download button at the top of this page.

Note: All editions of Asia Pulse 2023 have excluded Saudi Arabia due to local panel enhancement.

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Vietnam's FMCG sector stands at a crossroads. While economic growth projections for 2024 are positive, consumer confidence at the end of 2023 remained subdued.

This disconnect reflects a complex interplay of macro forces and evolving consumer behaviour that brands must understand to thrive. Kantar's Vietnam FMCG Outlook 2024 report delves into these dynamics, equipping brands with the insights needed to navigate this dynamic landscape.

2023: A year of complexity and adaptability

2023 saw Vietnamese consumers grapple with rising commodity prices. This led to a fascinating display of adaptability, with shoppers employing a mix of strategies to manage their budgets. While some categories witnessed volume reduction, others grew by addressing shoppers’ quest for value.

This highlights the growing importance of value consciousness, where consumers prioritise essential goods but are willing to invest on categories and products that add value beyond functionality.

Notably, a trend towards reduced FMCG volume at year-end underscores the urgent need for brands to adapt to both short-term fluctuations and long-term shifts.

Macro shifts reshaping the FMCG landscape

Several key macro trends are shaping Vietnam's FMCG landscape in 2024 and beyond:

Economic Outlook: While the overall economic outlook for 2024 is positive, it was apparent rising prices had and will continue to have an impact on shoppers’ budget management strategy. Value remains a key driver, with consumers making conscious choices about where to allocate their budgets.

Demographic Transformation: Vietnam's demographic structure is painting a new picture. The once "golden population" is maturing, with an aging, urbanising population and smaller household sizes emerging. This shift holds significant potential for FMCG businesses as demand for diverse products surges across different age clusters. Rising household incomes and decreasing household sizes, however, indicate a demand for evolving value proposition, where affordability might not be the sole driver.

Changing Consumer Trends: Rising prices have led to a slowdown in in-home FMCG volume growth, even as average spending continues to rise. This raises the question: Is this increase driven solely by inflation, or are consumers changing their shopping baskets? Understanding the answer is crucial for developing effective marketing strategies.

4 pillars for growth in Vietnam's FMCG market

Decoding drivers of change

Kantar’s data reveals that over half of FMCG brands struggled to keep pace with the competition in 2023, particularly within growing categories where approximately one-third of brands began to lag.

As competition intensifies in the FMCG playground, this highlights the urgent need for brands to identify their unique growth drivers to stay ahead of competition.

Mastering the multi-channel landscape

The FMCG retail landscape in Vietnam is shifting to more convenient and modern formats but not all modern trade channels can win. By decoding the shopper missions for each channel/retailer and adapting strategies accordingly, brands can ensure their products are not just seen, but chosen in the right places, at the right time.

Building a winning portfolio

Not all categories are created equal. For FMCG manufacturers with a vast portfolio, identifying the key categories and hero SKUs to prioritise investments in is crucial in achieving category growth and profitability.

Optimising promotions: quality over quantity

In a value-conscious environment, simply offering promotions to drive short term sales growth might not always be beneficial to brand growth.  Answering regarding the efficacy of different types of promotions will allow brands to assess the true impact of their pricing and promotional efforts and refine their strategies accordingly.

Equip yourself for success in Vietnam’s FMCG Market

Vietnam's FMCG market in 2024 presents both challenges and opportunities. Kantar's Vietnam FMCG Outlook 2024 report offers the data and insights needed to navigate this evolving landscape.

Read the report today:

Our team of experts is ready to help you navigate the shifts in consumer preferences and leverage consumer insights to develop winning strategies in 2024.

2023 presented a year of complexities and unexpected turns, impacting Vietnam's economic growth. External global environment and internal constraints led to a slowdown in the economy, particularly in manufacturing and trade sectors. While the economic outlook for 2024 appears more positive, consumer confidence hasn’t quite caught up due to persistent news of layoffs and uncertainties about household income.

Worldpanel Vietnam’s FMCG Monitor – FY2023 edition dives deeper into these dynamics, uncovering key market highlights and offering valuable insights for navigating this evolving landscape.

1. Vietnam's economic picture: Growth with cautious optimism

Vietnam ended the year 2023 with a GDP growth rate of 5.05%, which fell short of the government’s 6%. However, given the prevailing global economic challenges, this growth rate is a solid performance among regional peers, proving the country’s resilience and stability.

With economic improvements recorded in Q4 2023, experts predicted Vietnam’s GDP growth rate in 2024 could reach 6%, mirroring the government’s target this year.

However, headwinds are expected to persist with export demand recovery and global economic improvement remaining key factors to monitor.

The year 2023 in FMCG has been a year of complexities and resilience. Prices continued their upward climb, prompting consumers to reassess their shopping habits and seek out value amidst increasing uncertainty.

In the third quarter of 2023, the FMCG industry in the APAC region continued its upward trajectory with a growth rate of 1.4%. Delving into the dynamics of 11 markets, the report reveals an FMCG landscape in which the West and South Asia regions have emerged as primary growth drivers in Q3 2023, while other areas within Asia are playing catch-up.

Market highlights:

• Chinese Mainland

Compared to the same period last year, the value share of the top 10 retailers in modern channels collectively declined by 4%, indicating further fragmentation. Major retailers are exploring new strategies such as premiumisation, digitalisation, and localisation to break through in this competitive landscape.

• Taiwan

While the performance of food sector remained steady overall, the leisure food and chocolate categories saw increased sales, due to the ability of brands to resonate well with consumers. Demand for health supplements cooled, while growth in dairy lacked momentum. On the other hand, personal care and cosmetics made a significant contribution to the FMCG market’s overall growth.

• India

FMCG consumption has grown at a healthy pace of 3.1%, compared to 2.6% in the period ending June 2023. Beverages is the fastest growing sector at 5.7%, led by the milk food drinks category. Grocery has the second fastest growth at 5.2%, driven by categories like chocolate, atta, and breakfast cereals.

• South Korea

The online channels continued to show positive growth even after the Korean government declared an end to COVID-19. Online channels achieved the highest growth in shopping occasions, and maintained the biggest trip basket among key channels, indicating that a continual increase should be expected.

• United Arab Emirates

Market dynamics are compelling retail behemoths Carrefour and Lulu to innovate in order to remain relevant amid shifting consumer behaviours. Rising stars like discounter Viva and new hypermarket players such as Nesto are gaining market share and reshaping expectations by offering value-driven alternatives.

• Indonesia

Ongoing price rises remain the primary driver of growth across different socioeconomic segments, and are driving lower shopping frequency. This means it is important for brands and manufacturers to leverage every shopping occasion to recruit new buyers.

• Malaysia

Higher prices continue to be the primary catalyst driving spending growth. In response, consumers are strategically managing their spending by reducing the size of their shopping baskets and eliminating non-essential ‘nice to have’ categories.

• Thailand

As Thai consumers started to resume out-of-home (OOH) activities following COVID-19, the demand for take-home groceries reduced. In addition, Thai households still have a high level of debt and are benefiting less from government subsidies, making them cautious in their spending.

• Philippines

As Filipinos spend more OOH, they are keeping control of their FMCG budgets by constantly reviewing their product and channel choices. Shoppers are also compromising by making more trips, but spending less on every purchase occasion.

• Vietnam

Although price rises are cooling off, this remains the key driver behind FMCG’s growth. Meanwhile, volume growth has hit a standstill across many sectors, except the non-food categories. Channel-wise, the value contribution of traditional trade is shrinking over time, paving the path for the development of online and mini stores.

Stay updated on the latest insights and developments in the Asia-Pacific FMCG sector by accessing the most recent edition of Asia Pulse through the download button on the sidebar of this page.

Note: The Asia Pulse Q3 2023 excludes Saudi Arabia due to local panel enhancement.

Kantar today publishes Face value: The global foundation of Beauty insights, an evidence-based view on the latest global beauty trends. The report combines Kantar’s Worldpanel division’s global beauty purchase and usage datasets to paint a rich picture of industry dynamics.

Simplified beauty routines are a global trend amid a transition to work-from-home and more relaxed social environments. Compared to 2019, the usage of products among women overall declined by 7%. In Europe, Boomers are the exception to this trend. The data shows that in Great Britain, France, and Spain, women over 55 account for nearly half of all beauty sales. This group uses beauty products 47 times every week, 8 more than average. Considering the greater spending power of this group, this trend presents a lucrative avenue for growth for brands, particularly in the context of a challenging economic environment.

Commenting, Ashley Kang, Global Beauty Director, Worldpanel division, Kantar, said: “Understanding generational nuances has never been more critical. Working from home has redefined beauty routines across generations, but each age group still wants to address specific needs. For example, data shows women over 55 are concerned about age spots, not wrinkles. This kind of precise insight allows brands to evolve their focus and find the intersection between product innovation and marketing strategies. Acting upon this kind of meaningful insight is what sets brands apart in an ever-competitive market”.  

Gen Z is redefining health and beauty in the US

The Face value report finds that Gen Z consumers are leading the pack on sustainability. In the US, almost half (47%) actively avoid products harmful to the environment, while 45.7% make a conscious choice to opt for natural products. Their belief in the efficacy of natural products is also notable, with 30.9% convinced that these are more effective. This group also expresses a preference for word-of-mouth recommendations over traditional advertising. 43.1% of Gen Z have been influenced to purchase a beauty product based on a recommendation, substantially more than the broader US population (28%).

And while they may not have the spending power of boomers, Gen Z consumers often have higher discretionary income and are more inclined to splurge. Gen Z women are 66% more likely than the average US woman to claim they spend generously on beauty products.

Ashley Kang continues: “As Gen Z rises to prominence, the beauty market finds itself at an inflexion point. This generation is not merely following existing trends but crafting new narratives and setting new standards. Some behaviours can be attributed to life stage, while others could signify a long-term shift in category engagement, particularly in areas like makeup.”

Standout global trends

The Face value study evidences a range of beauty trends from around the world, including:

• Sunscreen as a skincare step - Sun protection is no longer a solitary step but an essential part of a broader skincare regimen. In South-East Asia, increasing awareness of hair and skin issues has led to the use of UV sunscreens soaring in some markets. In Indonesia, the April heatwave of 2023 was not just another sweltering month; it was a wake-up call. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, a nuanced conversation is taking place around skincare, with the emphasis not merely on sun protection but on a more holistic approach to skin health.
• Live-commerce - E-commerce in North Asia is highly advanced, but mature buyers are just as engaged on some of the digital channels as younger ones. For example, in South Korea, live commerce has found a large viewership among the 45-54 and 55-65 age groups, for whom gaining product information is the primary reason for watching. Live commerce is still nascent in Europe and the US, where TV home shopping, mail orders and infomercials are still consumers’ preferred channels.
• Latam’s health and beauty heavy spenders – In Latin American markets, the spending heavyweights are the 35 to 49-year-olds. This age group takes the lion's share of the market, holding 41% in Brazil, 38% in Colombia, and 37% in Mexico. In the past year alone, their spending increased by 21%.
• Brazil powers Latam’s performance – Brazil is a key player in the Latin American beauty market, contributing significantly to the region's total sales. Brazilian women use products 43 times a week, 5 more than their counterparts in Western Europe and the US. They are also much more engaged in receiving professional treatments, with two thirds saying they have had such treatments in the past six months.

Ashley Kang adds: “The global health and beauty market is a complex ecosystem of varying consumer needs, preferences, and spending patterns where the intersection of usage and purchase is important to come to grips with. Data-driven strategies that consider usage patterns, economic factors, and cultural influences are essential. Face value gives brands data and a narrative that ties insights together, providing actionable insights for success in the global beauty landscape.”

Kantar’s Face value report is available for download now.

Kantar's 360 Beauty offer

Kantar Worldpanel Beauty offers comprehensive consumer insights and market intelligence for the Beauty and Personal Care industry, leveraging its longitudinal tracking of various product categories such as facial skincare, colour cosmetics, fragrance, hair care, body care, and male grooming. We can help understand consumer choices of brand, product, competition, retail distribution together with usage behaviour and perception.

How Kantar's beauty consumer insights can help you

• Discover the dynamics of consumer behaviours across channels such as online, in-store, and direct-to-consumer when it comes to beauty products.
• Uncover generational variation: from Europe’s mature beauty buyers, Asia’s tech savvy skin care savants, to Americas’ Gen Z trendsetter and Latams’ Heavy weight Gen X, dive into the diverse Beauty narratives unfolding across the continents.
• Get the gloss on the bottom line: how are brands realigning their strategies to resonate with the ever-changing consumer Beauty ethos and aesthetics?

In recent years, Vietnamese consumers have grappled with significant socio-economic changes, from the impact of a global pandemic to economic slowdown and a surge in living costs.

Although Europe leads the charge, this change in habits spans continents – driven by convenience, lifestyle preferences, and rising costs. Counterintuitively, while grocery retailers get 10% of their value share growth from price increases, the food sector has shown remarkable agility in offering both convenience and affordability. Simpler menus, cheaper options within quick-service restaurants, and alternative meals for on-the-go consumption have been the turning point amidst inflationary pressures. Results show the industry has had a healthy 13% growth vs last year, 6% organically.

Meal deliveries are here to stay

Although 3 in 5 consumers say delivery fees are too expensive, 24% cite they ‘can’t be bothered to cook’ and opt for collecting takeaways to save money while still avoiding preparing their own meals. Globally, the number of times they buy freshly prepared food has increased. In the United Kingdom, it has almost doubled since 2021, a trend mirrored by Mainland China, already famous for its tech-savvy market of delivery app options.

As we look into 2030, Worldpanel’s forecast suggests that Quick Service Restaurants will command 32% of the total spending in the UK, France and Spain – up 50% in 2023 and almost double compared to pre-pandemic levels. Convenience, affordability, and diverse options are paramount in their dining choices, a trend that confirms that consumer behaviours have changed.

Other key findings of the report, which surveyed 15,000 people in 11 countries on research on top of Worldpanel’s Out-of-Home consumer panels, include:

• QSRs have seen a 30% increase in value growth in 2023 compared to 2019. By strategically deciding to refrain from imposing hefty price hikes and relying on innovation, 8 out of 10 consumers chose to buy from them.
• Collection appears to be a coping strategy, enabling consumers to manage costs – at 26% cheaper than deliveries.
• Younger demographics are choosing to dine out daily, breaking away from the traditional association of dining out with night-time activities.
• Delivery serves different purposes for different generations – GenX opts for weekend dinners, GenZ orders mid-week, and Boomers for lunch.
• Burgers are steadily outpacing pizzas as consumers’ favourite meal everywhere, except for Mexico.

“Amidst the challenges imposed by inflation and the pandemic, the Foodservice industry has proved the future of food is not set in stone. The value of innovation as a growth driver is undeniable. From reimagined menus at quick-service restaurants to meal delivery platforms reshaping our culinary compass, the changes are as diverse as they are far-reaching”, said Javier Sánchez, Global Business Development Director, Out-of-Home & Usage, at Kantar’s Worldpanel Division.

The full report Turning Tables: From dine-in to doorstep - Unlocking the Foodservice frontier is available here.

Vietnam’s economy continues to show encouraging signs of a better performance in the last half of the year, posting a 5.3% GDP growth in the third quarter of 2023. Consumer Price Index (CPI) in this quarter also inched up by 2.9% compared to the same period last year, driven by rises in petrolum and food prices.  

We’re thrilled to welcome our guest speaker, Jonathan Sourintha, Co-managing partner of HRK Group, an active player in the eco packaging manufacturing field in Vietnam. With his expertise in eco packaging manufacturing, Jonathan will share the latest updates about the upcoming legislation as well as solutions and best practices for brands and retailers in sustainable retail solutions to navigate the near-term inflationary context and in the long run. 

In this webinar, you can expect to gain insights into: 

• Top environmental concerns of Vietnamese shoppers
• Actions in reducing waste
• Shoppers' motivations and barriers to purchase sustainable products
• Expectations for change makers and implications for businesses
• Best practices and solutions in eco packaging in Vietnam 

The webinar will be delivered in two sessions, in Vietnamese and English. On the registration page, please select a relevant session for you: Sign up now
 

• Vietnamese session: 11:00AM (GMT+7) I Wednesday, 11 Oct 2023
• English session: 4:00PM (GMT+7) I Wednesday, 11 Oct 2023

Get ready for a dose of reality about sustainability in Vietnam.

If you are not able to attend the webinar, please sign up, and we’ll share a link so you can watch it on demand.

During the second quarter of 2023, the FMCG sector in Asia displayed robust growth, registering a 2.6% value increase. Despite supply chain disruptions and uncertainties across all markets, the industry has shown remarkable resilience, charting a positive upward trajectory.

This latest report presents a comprehensive overview of the in-home FMCG sector in the Asia-Pacific region. Our analysis delves into individual markets, providing valuable insights into their performance. Discover the growth stories of each country, as we explore some of the highlights.

• Chinese Mainland

In the first half of 2023, e-commerce continued to develop steadily, with the highly competitive landscape undergoing accelerated changes. Traditional e-commerce platforms struggled to grow, while interest e-commerce remained in rapid growth.

• Taiwan

As the pandemic subsided, out-of-home (OOH) food service grew substantially while the FMCG food category weakened. People resumed social activities, triggering greater demand for personal care, especially cosmetics – making the category FMCG’s main driver in Q2.

• India

Consumers are shopping more frequently, with food and beverages driving the rise in trips. The increase in shopping occasions is being led by the e-commerce channel. As a result of making more trips, shoppers have started experimenting with brands, and their average pack sizes have shrunk.

• South Korea

Due to an uplift in average price, the FMCG market continued to show an increase in value along with a downturn in volume. Meanwhile, thanks to a weakening downtrend of shopping frequency, the decline in volume slowed in Q2 compared to MAT Q2’23.

• United Arab Emirates

A balanced interplay between costs and consumption, along with a thriving property market and growing demand in the non-oil sector – including FMCG – bodes well for the UAE’s economy.

• Indonesia

The country’s strong and resilient economy is reflected in a slower inflation rate of 3.5%,  combined with steady consumer confidence. FMCG growth during this year’s festive season was at its slowest for five years, but the uplift remained high.

• Malaysia

Modern trade is growing strongly, mainly mini markets, which continue to attract shoppers due to their convenience and better pricing. The fastest-growing channel is drug and pharmacy, driven by an influx of shoppers.

•  Thailand

Convenience stores continue to grow, as consumers shop for in-home FMCG through this channel due to its proximity, attractive promotions, and convenience. On the other hand, local channels experienced a decline due to the lack of government support programmes during COVID.

• Philippines

The Philippine economy remains in growth, but the pace is slower than the previous quarter, coinciding with higher inflation (7.6%) in March 2023. While the inflation rate is softening, shoppers are expected to remain cautious in their spending.

• Vietnam

Although GDP growth picked up to 4.14% in Q2, the economy remains lacklustre. Inflation has cooled down; however, retail sales growth has slowed due to weakened domestic demand from the a proportion of consumers being impacted by rising living costs.

Stay up to date with the latest insights and developments in the Asia-Pacific FMCG sector. Download the most recent edition of Asia Pulse through the button at the top of this page.

Note: The Asia Pulse Q2 2023 report excludes Saudi Arabia due to local panel enhancement.

The fifth annual Who Cares? Who Does? study, the largest ever global sustainability survey, involving more than 112,000 shoppers, which connects consumers’ sustainability attitudes and actions to in-depth shopping behaviour data across all FMCG categories, reveals how brands need to evolve to tap into the ~$500 billion annual sustainable shopping spend.  

Access Kantar global sustainability report

Who Cares? Who Does? identifies that the ‘Eco-actives’ segment, made up of the most eco-conscious consumers, has rebounded from its 2022 cost of living crisis-related decline. In 2023, sustainability-conscious shopper segment rebounded to represent 22% of shoppers, compared with 18% in 2022 and 22% in 2021. These consumers spend almost $500 billion in the FMCG market each year, with this projected to reach $1 trillion by 2027.

That said, 43% of overall respondents say that financial constraints are making it harder for them to act sustainably. This suggests that brands that invest in making sustainable choices affordable will be able to reverse the shift to own label products – a major coping strategy during the cost of living crisis. Currently, sustainably marketed products cost 70% more than the category average price. Tactics that will secure these returning consumers include using non-plastic packaging, locally-sourced and natural ingredients, increasing refill and recycling options, and adopting fairtrade practices.

Global Eco-Actives household population share projection

Source: Worldpanel Division, Kantar, Europanel, GfK - Who Cares? Who Does? 2023

FMCG spending in year ending 2022

Eco-conscious behaviour is now mainstream

When it comes to their own behaviour, Who Cares? Who Does? finds that three quarters of people (74%) now bring their own bags when shopping (+3% since 2019), including almost half of people using fabric bags (+12%). Almost two-thirds of consumers now use refillable bottles, while the use of "to-go cups" is closing in on majority status – now at 42% (+6%).

“Consumer habits have changed significantly over recent years. It is clear that retailers and brands can shape habits by offering sustainable options and incentives, while governments are increasingly seen as responsible for addressing environmental issues at a systemic level. By aligning actions with eco-conscious consumers' changing needs and desires, brands can win back shoppers who are switching en-masse to white-label goods and contribute to a more sustainable future.” comments study author, Natalie Babbage.

The price of progress: balancing living costs and environmental values

The study also reveals:

• The cost-of-living crisis is inadvertently creating more sustainable behaviour in spaces like clothing, where cost is a major driver in the growth of second-hand clothes sales, while food waste is now a major concern for 24% of people globally. Consumers’ tactics to minimise food waste include proper food storage (80%), making meals with leftovers (70%), meal planning (64%), creating shopping lists (62%), and finding alternative uses for foods at risk of spoiling (55%).

• Sustainability concepts remain poorly understood among consumers. Only 8% frequently choose carbon-neutral products, citing their own lack of understanding (24%) or availability of such products (27%). However, recyclable packaging is a fundamental expectation, with 72% frequently or occasionally choosing products with 100% recyclable packaging.

• The perception that sustainable options are expensive remains the top barrier to sustainable choices, with 60.9% globally citing cost as a hindrance.  

Natalie Babbage, Global LinkQ Solution Director, Worldpanel Division, Kantar, continued: “The reality in 2023, is that the media and public discourse play a significant role in driving sustainability engagement. Governments have power in shaping consumer behaviour, with actions that raise all boats, like banning specific products. And while consumers desire better products which have less environmental impact and waste, realistically sustainability is not the primary driver for most decisions at a time when budgets are tight. Brands should view sustainability investment as an avenue to gain trust, and to signify quality, health, and taste.”

Download a copy of the Who Cares? Who Does? 2023 study, register to watch the webinar “Eco-insights 2023: what consumers (really) want” on demand and contact our experts for more information including local market and category-specific data.

This report will delve into the changing dynamics of consumer preferences that are shaping the retail landscape as well as implications for brands and retailers in Vietnam.

Post-Covid consumer behaviour shift: Less frequent shopping, higher spend per trip

One of the notable shifts in post-COVID consumer behaviour is the decline in shopping frequency. This trend had existed before Covid but intensified during social restrictions and maintained post-Covid. Furthermore, it is observed not only in urban areas but also in rural regions, indicating a nationwide change in consumer habits. As lifestyles become busier, consumers are optimising their routines by shopping less often while focusing on more substantial shopping trips.

This presents both challenges and opportunities for retailers. While reduced foot traffic poses challenges, retailers can leverage this trend by focusing on enhancing the overall shopping experience, ensuring each visit is valuable and memorable.

The evolving retail landscape

Over the past five years, the retail landscape in Vietnam, particularly in urban areas, has witnessed significant changes. Traditional channels such as street shops, wet markets, and general trade outlets have seen a decline in their contribution, paving the way for the growth of modern trade and online platforms.

One remarkable development is the impressive rise of online retail, with penetration increasing from 2% in 2018 to 7% in 2023. Within the modern trade sector, certain channels have emerged as growth leaders, including minimarkets and specialty stores focusing on mom and baby or health and beauty categories, as well as pharmacy outlets.

In contrast, in rural areas, general trade remains dominant, with traditional channels still playing a crucial role. However, there is a gradual shift in consumer preferences, with modern trade and online platforms gaining traction, albeit from a smaller base. This indicates a potential for further growth and transformation in the retail landscape across Vietnam, as consumers in both urban and rural areas increasingly embrace modern retail formats and online shopping options.

Outstanding Consumer Behaviors Shaping the Retail Landscape

1. Consumers are Smarter and More Demanding:

Consumers today have higher expectations when it comes to their shopping experiences.

However, rural and urban shoppers have different drivers when choosing a store. In urban areas, they prioritise factors such as product assortments, store accessibility, and layout. A well-designed and organised store helps streamline navigation, reduce shopping time, and enhance overall convenience. In rural areas, shoppers are seeking stores with a wide range of new product offerings.

Furthermore, shoppers’ decision-making processes seem to take longer as they require more information about promotions, nutrition facts or product origin before making a purchase. To cater to these demands, online and offline retailers are investing in creating rich sources of product information, including ingredients, origin, prices, promotions, and video demonstrations.

2. Shopper Disloyalty: No Ties to One Store

Consumer loyalty to a single store is eroding. Shoppers are no longer confined to a single store for all their purchases. They have a destination in mind for each of the products they want to buy. As a result, the buying journey and shopper expectations greatly differ across product categories.

With an increasing number of options to choose from, shoppers are exploring diverse shopping channels, leading to a decline in the dominance of top modern trade retailers. The competition is fiercer, with various players vying for market share, including emerging modern trade retailers, e-commerce platforms, and specialty stores. Brands and retailers need to adapt to this trend by offering specialised experiences and collaborating to retain customer traffic and loyalty.

3. Exposure to New Experiences

Online shopping has become more than just a trend; it's a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour.

The adoption of eCommerce has grown rapidly, with a boost from the pandemic-induced accelerations. The penetration rate of online shopping has reached 50% among urban households and is rising exponentially in rural territories, accompanied by an increase in shopping frequency.

What does it mean for FMCG brands and retailers

The evolving landscape calls for a strategic transformation for retailers:

• Channel Evaluation: Brands must meticulously evaluate the roles that different channels play in the shopping journey. Understanding which channels drive equity, volume, and revenue is crucial for effective strategy development.

• Assortment Optimisation: A crucial aspect of navigating the changing retail landscape is optimising product assortments across various channels. Retailers must ensure that the right products are available in the right places, enhancing the shopping experience and convenience for shoppers.

• Execute with Excellence: It's vital to acknowledge that what works effectively in one channel may not translate seamlessly to another. This underscores the importance of tailoring strategies and promotions to specific channels. For instance, promotions that resonate well in physical stores might not be as impactful online. Understanding and catering to the unique needs of shoppers across diverse channels will pave the way for a superior shopping experience.

• Innovation and Flexibility: In a rapidly evolving landscape, retailers must embrace innovation and maintain an agile business model. Adapting to changing consumer demands and trends will be instrumental in achieving sustained growth.

As Vietnamese consumers become more discerning and open to new experiences, brands and retailers must not only cater to their immediate needs but also create experiences that resonate on a deeper level.

By aligning strategies with consumer behavior, optimising product offerings, and tailoring experiences to different channels, retailers can not only weather the challenges of change but emerge as leaders in a transformed retail landscape.

Download the full report by clicking on the Download button on the sidebar of this page. 

This report is a special publication in Kantar’s Brand Footprint 2023 series, a study that annually assesses the performance of the most chosen brands globally and across different markets. To see the most chosen brands in Vietnam in 2023, click here. To access the Global Brand Footprint 2023 report and brand Rankings, visit Kantar's global Brand Footprint site.

However, as we entered 2023, Vietnam is facing headwinds that may impact consumer spending behaviour. The country’s manufacturing sector continues to suffer a decline in production orders from foreign export countries, leading to layoffs and reduced incomes. Combined with rising prices that happened as soon as Q4 of 2021, these economic factors are exerting direct and indirect impact on consumers’ ability to spend as well as changing the way they buy and consume in 2023.

In the face of inflation, shoppers employ various mechanisms to cope with the rising costs of living. On the other hand, the modern consumers have become smarter, more sophisticated, and more purposeful in their spending. They are ready to invest in products and services that offer them extra value or improve their lives. The brands that can capture the consumers’ hearts and wallets are the ones that can adapt to the changing preferences of the discerning consumers.

Key Economic Indicators and Insights

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam's GDP grew by 4.14% in the second quarter of 2023, outpacing the 3.28% expansion in the first quarter. This growth was primarily driven by the service sector, while trade experienced a slowdown, indicating potential challenges. Retail sales of goods and services in the 2^nd quarter 2023 recorded an 8.8% increase compared to the same period last year, accompanied by a cooldown in consumer price change. However, to achieve the target of 6.5% GDP growth by year-end, Vietnam will need to achieve an 8.9% GDP growth in the remaining six months of 2023, which is not an easy feat.

Consumer Sentiment: Shifting Concerns in Uncertain Times

Vietnamese consumers, traditionally optimistic, have been affected by recent downturns such as layoffs and income reductions. Concerns regarding household income and job security have become more pronounced, which add on to the worries about rising prices. These mounting financial pressures and uncertainties have prompted consumers to adopt more selective shopping behaviours.

Under the impacts of the economic slowdown, there has been a staggering growth in number of households struggling financially compared the pre-Covid period. As a result, more than half of families intend to reduce their spending on out-of-home activities such as eating out and entertainment while the essential categories such as food and personal care are less vulnerable, suggesting more moments will be spent at home.

Analysis of FMCG spending over the past three months reveals distinct behaviours among different consumer groups. The comfortable segment continues to spend 10% more compared to the same period last year, while the struggling segment maintains their spending levels. FMCG prices have increased by an average of 5%, indicating volume stagnation among the managing group and a decline among the struggling group.

Polarisation in Consumer spending – Key Factors

Under financial pressure, shoppers are employing various strategies to save costs, while still willing to invest on priorities that offer extra values to their modern lifestyle. What are consumers’ cost-saving strategies and what are they willing to splurge on?

1. Prioritizing the Essentials:

The number of buyers, also known as penetration, is a critical metric in evaluating the development and relevancy of any category or brand.

Approximately 40% of FMCG categories have experienced a decline in penetration over the past 12 months, affecting both small and large categories. Some large categories face buyer loss while many small and medium-sized categories have the potential to recruit more buyers.

This highlights the significance of product relevancy and emphasizes the need for all brands to focus on building relevancy during these challenging times

2. Downtrading - Consumers Shift to Lower Priced Products:

Among various factors contributing to market growth, such as promotional offers, increased store visits, and volume uplifts, the two key factors that are particularly important during this time are inflation and product mix. Inflation has been a significant driver in FMCG spend growth, while product mix trends mostly towards lower-priced choices. This behaviour is particularly evident in rural areas, where income levels are lower.

Moreover, downtrading, previously observed mainly in homecare categories, has now expanded to baby products, food, and personal care.  As downtrading becomes more prevalent, brands should focus on providing value for money through their products. This can be achieved by offering affordable options and promotion schemes, emphasizing cost-saving benefits, and communicating the value proposition effectively. By addressing consumers' concerns about rising costs and offering budget-friendly alternatives, brands can retain buyers and build loyalty.

3. Bigger Trip Size: A Budget Management Strategy

Another budget management strategy employed by consumers is buying more per trip. Compared to 2021, the year of stocking up, approximately 64% of FMCG categories have seen an increase in trip size.  This trend can be achieved through the purchase of larger packs or multi-pack offers, observed in both food and non-food sectors. Saving benefits play a key role, especially when savings are strongly emphasized on packages, in stores, and on e-commerce platforms. 

4. Promotion Seeking: Impact on Shopping Choices:

Consumers are not only comparing prices of different products but also seeking the best deals from various stores. This behavior translates into shopping choices, resulting in a 30% increase in products purchased under promotions in the period of March – May 2023. 

However, it is important to note that not all promotions are effective. Some categories experience a decline despite increased promotional efforts, while others manage to grow without a push in promotions. Understanding consumer preferences and reactions to different promotional strategies will help brands plan more efficiently.

5. Health and Wellness: A Key Consumer Focus

One area where consumers are willing to spend more on is products that deliver health and wellness benefits. Health remains a top concern for consumers, with a heightened focus following the pandemic.

Worldpanel Vietnam's annual Managing my Health survey indicates that consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about a wide range of health issues, from hair, teeth, and skin problems to more serious conditions like diabetes and high blood fat levels. Brands that can help address specific health and wellbeing concerns have a greater chance of winning consumer choice.

6. The Rise of In-home Indulgence:

Consumers have embraced more in-home experiences due to changes brought about by Covid-19. With hybrid working and studying becoming more prevalent, people are spending more time at home. In the beverage sector for example, in-home occasions have increased, now accounting for 63% of total non-alcoholic beverage consumption.

Home delivery and delegation services have become more convenient and widely available, creating more opportunities for FMCG products to be delivered to and consumed without leaving the house. This trend presents opportunities and challenges for brands to cater to consumers’ preferences to spend more time at home.

7. The Me Needs - Individualised Consumer Preferences

Driven by younger consumer groups, individualised consumer preferences have gained traction. For instance, the needs for sophisticated and personalised products are observed through an increase in the number of beauty steps adopted by families, with an average of 7.5 beauty categories per family. Similarly, consumers are trying a wider variety of beverages, and families are purchasing more products that offer advanced benefits in established categories like toothpaste and hair care. This indicates that each family member has their own preferences and choices.  

While short-term challenges may impact category and brand growth, brands and retailers that offer consumers convenience benefits and help them feel more beautiful, happier, cared for, will gain their favour in the long run. 

Brand Loyalty and Emerging Competition from Small Players

As a result of evolving habits and a wider range of avaialble options, Vietnamese consumers demonstrate lower brand loyalty and freely change their shopping patterns to optimise their purchase repertoire. This lack of loyalty is particularly prominent in the southern region, where new brands and stores first enter the market. Additionally, small brands have shown high growth performance, posing a potential threat to established brands.

In the context of inflation, small brands are prevailing across countries, from Europe to Asia. They are growing in categories that they traditionally had less of a foothold, such as food, dairy and home care.  

Gaining momentum across most FMCG sectors, small and local brands will continue to be a formidable force in the coming years as consumers are become more open to trying new brands and looking for low-cost alternatives. The challenge for bigger or global brands lies in localisation and compelling value proposition to justify the price points and stay relevant.

The Importance of Consumer Insights in Challenging Times

Developing actionable plans requires consumer insights and a holistic understanding of the factors driving consumer purchase behaviorus. Brands must identify their unique value proposition, focus on category development, break habits of current category shoppers, and emphasize premiumisation to justify a higher price.

In uncertain times, challenges and opportunities coexist. Our global Brand Footprint 2023 report indicates that 88% of brands that grew did so by increasing penetration, emphasising the importance of this metric for brand growth particularly in inflationary times. By understanding consumer behavior, leveraging insights, and tailoring growth strategies to their specific situations, brands can navigate uncertainties and position themselves for success in Vietnam's evolving market.

If you have any questions about your brand's penetration and how to further grow in times of challenges, our team is here to assist you.

Download the full report by clicking on the Download button on the sidebar of this page. 

This report is a special publication in Kantar’s Brand Footprint 2023 series, a study that annually assesses the performance of the most chosen brands globally and across different markets. To see the most chosen brands in Vietnam in 2023, click here. To access the Global Brand Footprint 2023 report and Brand Rankings, visit Kantar's global Brand Footprint site.

Join us as we delve into the preferences and behaviours of Asian consumers, revealing the winning brands known as the "Most Chosen Brands."

In this report, you will learn about:

1.      Asian Consumers' Response to Post-Covid Reopening and Inflation

As the world grappled with the aftermath of the pandemic, Asian consumers showcased their resilience and adaptability. We meticulously examine how consumers in the region responded to the evolving landscape, particularly in the context of post-pandemic reopening and inflationary pressures. Gain valuable insights into shifting consumer behaviours and expectations during these uncertain times.

2.      Global vs. Local vs. Super vs. Small Brands: A Comparative Analysis

The battle for consumer attention and loyalty rages on, pitting global giants against local champions and everything in between. Our engaging comparative analysis reveals which types of brands are thriving in the ever-competitive Asian market. Discover the factors that propel brands to success, whether they are international powerhouses, homegrown gems, super brands, or nimble small-scale enterprises.

3.      Most Chosen FMCG Brands in Asia and Local Winners in 11 Markets

Which FMCG brands hold the key to Asian consumers' hearts and wallets? In this section, we present a comprehensive list of the most chosen FMCG brands across the region. Additionally, we spotlight the local champions in each of the 11 markets. Explore the reasons behind their popularity and understand how they have built lasting connections with consumers.

4.      Unlocking Success Factors of Industry Leaders: Sunsilk, Lay's, Sprite, and More

Certain brands seem to possess the superpower when it comes to captivating consumers. We take a dive into the success stories of iconic brands like Sunsilk, Lay's, Sprite, and others, uncovering the strategies and unique aspects that have propelled them to the top. Gain valuable insights into their marketing approaches, product innovation, and customer engagement strategies that set them apart from the competition.

The Asian consumer landscape is ever-evolving, influenced by many factors. From the response to global events like Covid to the emergence of local heroes in various markets, understanding these trends and insights is crucial for brands seeking to impact the region.

As you delve into the detailed analysis provided in this report, may you uncover valuable opportunities to connect with Asian consumers and build brands that resonate deeply with their preferences and aspirations.

Read Asia Brand Footprint 2023 full report here:

Contact our experts to start fueling your brand growth story in Asia. 

As anyone familiar with the fast-paced world of FMCG knows, understanding the retail landscape is not a mere luxury – it's a vital necessity for any brand aiming to make its mark.

The latest edition of Kantar Worldpanel’s Omnichannel Report provides a detailed map of the shifting retail terrain. From changing consumer behaviour influenced by inflation to the growing dominance of discounters and private label in some markets. This report is your trusted compass to explore new opportunities.

Click here to read the report

With a focus on long-term perspectives, the report also illuminates how different markets are addressing the ripple effects of inflation and the legacy of COVID-19. Understanding these shifts is paramount.

What does this mean for your brand? How can you harness these changes to ensure your brand not only survives but thrives? Dive into our detailed report and let us guide you through the FMCG currents of change.

If you saw our recent webinar, we hope it was helpful. This report builds on that with new additional findings, particularly on the surge of private label.

Read the report here and contact our experts for further information.

• Chinese Mainland

Interest commerce, O2O thrived with proximity channels, while mainstream offline channels - hyper & large super- wereimpacted by logistic disruptions. The fast growth of O2O and the interest in e-commerce benefit the “Local” retail eco-system and fulfil the rising instant purchase needs. 

• Taiwan

As the pandemic gradually subsided, consumer demand for FMCG turned flat, with a year-on-year growth rate of 2.6% in the first quarter of 2023. Both the food and non-food sectors saw a slowdown in growth. 

• India

To beat the inflationary pressure, Indian consumers downsize their spending per trip across all purchase channels. As FMCG prices hike, HHs cut down on their volumes across categories like jams, ketchup, butter/ cheese, talcum powder, hair oils, floor cleaners etc.

• South Korea

Drinking carbonated drinks has been considered one of the biggest enemies of health care. Demand for ‘zero sugar’ drinks is gradually increasing in Korea with the ‘Healthy Pleasure’ trend. Consumers try to care for their health and pursue pleasure simultaneously, even when drinking beverages. 

• United Arab Emirates

Hypermarkets adapt well to shopper behaviour shifts, while promotions seem less effective. Significant potential for growth exists in UAE online shopping, particularly among higher SEC and Emiratis. 

• Indonesia

Steady growth in consumer spending was also seen this quarter vs last year, with more spending for FMCG, transport, and fashion, as might be attributed to this year’s festive season. 

• Malaysia

With increased mobility, offline channels are seeing recovery driven by more occasions, while Internet dropped significantly. Proximity channels remain vital and resilient during these times –key channels for shoppers to pick up smaller quantities with lower spending. 

• Thailand

For in-home FMCG, convenience stores continued to grow in 2023, as consumers continued to shop through this channel due to its proximity, attractive promotions, and convenience. On the other hand, local channels experienced a decline due to the lack of government support programs during the COVID period.

• Philippines

The Philippine economy continues to grow, but growth is slower than the previous quarter, coinciding with higher inflation (7.6%) in March 2023. However, the inflation rate is softening, but despite the improvement, shoppers are expected to remain cautious of their spending. 

• Vietnam

Beverages and Personal Care are driving the stronger growth of FMCG value in Q1 this year. The comeback of celebratory categories this Tet 2023 period boosts the performance of the entire Beverages sector, mainly thanks to Soft Drinks, Coffee & Beer. 

Keep yourself informed about the most recent developments and knowledge in the FMCG sector in Asia by exploring the latest issue of Asia Pulse using the download button in this page’s upper section. 

Note: The Asia Pulse Q1 2023 has excluded Saudi Arabia due to local panel enhancement.

So how do brands (and categories and retailers…) generate volume growth? Three words:
Penetration Is King.

It is a well-known fact that the brands with the highest penetration will capture the largest share of category volume. Therefore, achieving volume growth is inextricably linked to finding and attracting more shoppers. In fact, 90% of brands that grow volume did so via increasing their annual penetration level.

In the current climate of low volume growth whoever understands what drives penetration for their brand and also where their next group of buyers is, will gain the competitive advantage to thrive once price inflation-led growth comes to an end.

Shopper Magnet from Kantar has been designed specifically for this purpose, leveraging our continuous shopper behaviour data to understand each brand’s “penetration magnetism” in two ways:

• Past drivers of penetration change: Quantifying the factors that most influence shoppers entering and leaving your brand.

• Future sources of penetration growth: Uncover current penetration ceiling of your brand and identify “white space” opportunities for your portfolio.

The report, a part of Kantar's 11th edition of the global Brand Footprint study, a detailed analysis of the shopping habits of shoppers in 53 countries, representing 85% of the global population. 

The Brand Footprint Vietnam report, leveraging Worldpanel’s household purchase data, highlights top 10 FMCG brands in 5 sectors, including Health & Beauty, Home Care, Food, Beverages, Dairy and Dairy Substitutes as well as the top 5 Brand Owners that were purchased the most by consumers, in Urban 4 Key Cities (Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho) and Rural Vietnam.

The ranking employs the unique and insightful Consumer Reach Point (CRP) metric to assess brand success. CRP, a proprietary metric of Kantar, measures how many households around the world are buying a brand (penetration) and how often (frequency), thus providing a true representation of shopper choice.

A look back at FMCG in 2022

In 2022, Vietnam witnessed a remarkable GDP growth of 8%, the highest in over a decade. However, the country's economy faced challenges due to global instabilities and inflation, resulting in a significant rise in the consumer price index (CPI) during the latter half of the year.

Despite these hurdles, the FMCG sector in both urban and rural areas experienced overall value growth, primarily driven by increased prices. While rural areas showed potential in terms of volume consumption, it grew at a slower pace compared to price increases.

As consumers become more price-conscious, brands face heightened competition, especially from smaller and local brands. The 2023 edition of Vietnam Brand Footprint celebrates the brands have found their ways to win consumers in a time of uncertainties.

FMCG brand rankings by sector

1. Top 10 Most Chosen Packaged Foods Brands - Urban 4 & Rural

Hao Hao and Nam Ngu continue to defend their leader positions as the most chosen food brands in Urban 4 and Rural Vietnam, respectively. Hao Hao, with its widespread promotional campaigns across various consumer touchpoints and segments, solidifies its position as the No. 1 household name in Urban 4 cities.

Chinsu gains an additional 12 million purchase occasions, securing its place as No. 2 in both Urban 4 and Rural rankings. Cholimex and Maggi make significant advancements in Urban 4 while Kokomi experiences notable growth in Rural areas. Additionally, Simply, owned by Calofic, climbs two spots to become the eighth most chosen brand in both rankings.

2. Top 10 Most Chosen Brands in Beverages - Urban 4 & Rural

Coca-Cola emerges as the most chosen beverage brand in both Urban 4 and Rural areas, achieving the remarkable feat of recruiting over 1 million new household buyers.

Tiger Beer held its place as the second most chosen Beverage brand in Urban 4 while its counterpart in Rural is Saigon Beer, giving up the No.1 position to Coca-cola.

A formidable contender in the Beverages sector is the Suntory-PepsiCo owned energy drink brand, Sting, which has consistently ascended to No. 3 in urban 4’s beverages rankings, attracting more than 122,000 household buyers in Urban 4. In Rural, Sting also makes strong stride, with 31% CRP growth while another player in energy drinks, Red Bull, steadily makes its way into the top 5 most chosen beverages brand by rural consumers, gaining 1 spot from last year’s 6^th position.

Two shopper-favourite coffee brands, G7 and Nescafé place fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Urban ranking.

3. Top 10 Most Chosen Brands in Dairy & Dairy Substitutes - Urban 4 & Rural

Vinamilk remains the undisputed leader in the Dairy and Dairy Substitutes sector, having been purchased by a staggering 155 million consumers in Vietnam.

TH True impresses with its remarkable performance, gaining more purchase occasions and recruiting over 130,000 households.

Yakult and LiF-Kun are two other Dairy brands that were able to gain double digit CRP growth in Urban 4, alongside TH True. Notably, these three brands are also the only ones to also gain penetration uplift in Urban 4, proving penetration is still king.

Sweetened condensed milk remains a staple in many Vietnamese families, regardless of their geographical location, with both Vinamilk-owned brands, Ngoi Sao Phuong Nam and Ong Tho, making it to the Top 5 most chosen Dairy & Dairy Substitutes brands for the 3^rd consecutive year.

4. Top 10 Most Chosen Brands in Health & Beauty – Urban 4 & Rural

Unilever-owned brands reign supreme in the Health & Beauty sector, with six out of the top 10 personal care brands in both urban and rural rankings belonging to the consumer goods giant. However, their success is not simply a result of chance.

The leading brands consistently reinforce their positions through constant innovations in their product range, introducing new formats, captivating scents, and convenient pack sizes. They also focus on expanding their presence across all crucial retail channels, particularly online, to cater to a larger consumer base and meet their increasingly sophisticated preferences.

In Urban 4, P/S toothpaste has ceded its first place to Diana, a Japanese-owned brand specializing in hygiene and feminine care. Nevertheless, P/S toothpaste remains the number one choice in Rural areas, trusted by 80% of households.

Diana, impressively advancing one place in each ranking, stands out as the only Health & Beauty brand that managed to gain Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) in Rural areas. This remarkable feat was accomplished through the brand's unwavering commitment to innovation and its widespread presence across various retail formats, allowing it to reach more buyers.

Pantene, a Procter & Gamble brand, has climbed one place to No. 9 in the Urban ranking, achieving the highest CRP growth among the top 10 Health & Beauty brands.

5. Top 10 Most Chosen FMCG Brands in Home Care – Urban 4 & Rural

Unilever’s staple home care brands: Sunlight, Omo, and Comfort, continue to lead the top 3 most purchased brands, albeit slightly declining in CRPs.

Positioned at No. 4 among the top five most purchased Home Care brands in Urban 4, Downy has experienced an 8% growth in CRPs. The brand has not only maintained its buyer base but also increased the purchase frequency.

Vim and Gift have retained their respective positions in the ranking while managing to grow their CRPs and penetration rates. Each brand has attracted an additional approximate 42,000 additional household buyers.

Surf, Unilever's affordable laundry detergent brand, made its debut in the top 10 last year and continues its ascent by climbing one more place in the ranking, boasting a 7% growth in CRPs.

In rural areas, Net, a Vietnamese laundry detergent brand, stands out as the only Home Care brand that experienced CRP growth. It has gained two places, becoming an increasingly popular low-cost option for consumers in this budget-constraint time.

6. Top 5 Most Chosen Brand Owners

The top five most chosen brand owners in 2022, in both urban 4 and rural regions, remain unchanged from the previous year.

Vinamilk and Masan successfully maintain their No. 1 positions as the most bought chosen brand owners, owning multiple top-ranking household brands. Unilever continues to dominate the home care and personal care fronts, holding the No. 2 position in Vietnam's urban 4 and rural rankings.

Suntory-PepsiCo, among a group of other consumer goods giants, is the sole brand owner in Urban 4 to achieve incremental purchase occasions. By swiftly adapting to the in-home demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, the manufacturer of Tea Plus and Sting achieved notable success through robust integrated marketing campaigns. These campaigns enabled them to effectively reach a wider consumer base, contributing to the recovery of the Beverages sector in a year marked by resilience.

The majority of brand owners in the top 5 rankings experienced a decline in CRPs as consumers transitioned from a predominantly in-home lifestyle to the new normal in 2022. This shift is accompanied by increased competition from smaller, local brands, as well as low-cost options that gain appeal during times of budget constraints.

In this landscape of heightened competition, winning consumer choice requires brands to leverage growth drivers such as increased presence, expanded categories, continuous innovation, and creating more meaningful moments for consumers.

Access the full Vietnam Brand Footprint 2023 report here:

To explore the data itself, and request more information please visit www.kantar.com/brandfootprint

* CRPs: Consumer Reach Points  

**Total FMCG includes gifts

***Urban include 4 key cities: HCMC, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho

About Kantar Brand Footprint

Kantar’s annual Brand Footprint study is based on the real shopping behaviour of over 550,000 households around the world, representing a total of 1.2 billion households across in 53 markets across five continents—covering 87% of the global GDP. As part of the study, we track more than 37,000 brands across beverages, food, dairy, health and beauty and homecare.

*Brand Footprint data was collected over a 12-month period between November 2021 and October 2022.

Worldpanel by Kantar is thrilled to introduce our Tet 2023 report capturing the key highlights about consumer behaviours during the biggest holiday of the year in Vietnam. This report offers insights on how FMCG performed during Tet 2023 in Urban 4 key cities and rural Vietnam, over a five-week period that ended on January 29th, 2023.

Tet 2023 was a new year where we truly resumed normal lives, prompting a bigger celebration after two years of living with restrictions that prevented festive gatherings. However, people still had worries about the year ahead. As of Q4 2022, consumers reported a drop in financial confidence due to rising prices and inflation as well as worries about household income and job security.

1.       Strong Recovery in Value Growth

The anticipated challenges rounding out 2022 did not dampen the holiday spirit as FMCG made a strong recovery in value growth during Tet 2023 in Vietnam’s Urban 4 Key cities and Rural areas. This growth was driven by increases in both volume and price, indicating that purchasing power has increased despite the ongoing effects of global economic headwinds and rising inflation.

As brands and manufacturers look to connect with consumers through relevant and meaningful offers, it's important to note that FMCG volume growth has been slower than price increases. With inflation predicted to average at 4.5% this year, brands must find ways to create value for consumers while maximising brand potential.

2.  FMCG gifting returns as a Tet staple

FMCG gifting is a longstanding tradition during Tet, and FMCG has recovered its place in gifting, led by Beverages and Personal Care. More households reported receiving FMCG as gift this year, with a 29% value rebound in Urban 4 key cities and 22% increase in rural areas.

This trend indicates that FMCG products are still seen as a practical, convenient, and valuable gifting option, alongside non-FMCG categories like money or clothing. Brands can leverage this trend by creating special packaging or promotions that emphasise the gift-giving value of their products.

3. Growth in FMCG Real Purchase Driven by Higher Spending per Trip

The growth in real purchase of FMCG during Tet 2023 was driven by higher spending per trip. The Beverages sector is once again the star of the show, achieving the highest growth thanks to the rise in consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Non-food FMCG sectors like Personal Care also helped drive FMCG value growth during Tet 2023, as consumers had more reasons to increase usage occasions this past holiday.

Healthy growth is seen across all retail channels. While Street Shops and Hyper and Super remain the most popular channels for holiday shopping, the contribution made by emerging channels such as Online and Mini Stores to overall channel value continue to rise.

Get in touch with us to learn how you can leverage consumer insights to transform your holiday marketing plans and engage with consumers in meaningful ways. Take advantage of this opportunity to make a lasting impression in the next festive season.

ACCESS THE FULL REPORT

Despite inflation, FMCG in Asia grew by 3.1%, maintaining a stable level compared to the same quarter the previous year.

In this latest report, we capture the highlights of the in-home FMCG market in the region as a whole, and by Asian markets:

• Chinese Mainland

Consumers' FMCG purchases in major Chinese cities rapidly rebounded at the end of December 2022. The market is expected to recover in Q2 of 2023, with opportunities for brands in health, convenience, pleasure, and indulgence, particularly in lower-tier cities and towns.

• Taiwan

Online FMCG sales went up by 20% in Q4 versus the previous year. Health supplement and facial skincare categories were the biggest contributors to this growth.

• India

Beverages is the only sector where both volume and value see sturdy growth. While food, home care and personal care sectors grew in value, they declined in volume. The fastest value growth was seen in categories including chocolates, soft drinks, and ready-to-eat mixes.

• South Korea

Thanks to a strong digital infrastructure, the online channel gained in importance, and now accounts for a 35% share of total FMCG value. While other channels marked subpar performance in frequency, online successfully increased shopping occasions due to its convenience.

• United Arab Emirates

Indicators for 2022 have pointed to a strong economy in UAE. The first half of 2023 may see a slowdown in oil GDP, but the government’s agenda and Dubai's transformational projects offer support for non-oil sectors, including FMCG.

• Indonesia

In most sectors, price increases remains the growth driver, which means it is important for brands to anticipate category prioritisation. However, the home care sector has managed to grow volume, indicating that smaller packs are gaining traction.

• Malaysia

Spending remains cautious, with shoppers planning carefully, and prioritising saving for a future downturn. In-home FMCG spend per trip grew slightly, with household and personal care outperforming the total food sector. However, consumers are making fewer trips overall.

• Thailand

For in-home FMCG, convenience stores continued to grow after COVID, when consumers built a habit of shopping via this channel due to its proximity, good promotions, and convenient experience. Local channels, which benefited from government subsidy programmes during COVID, lost some share to hypermarkets.

• Philippines

Although FMCG spending remained higher during the 2022 holidays than the previous year, shoppers are starting to deprioritise personal care and continue spending on food and beverages due to inflation.

• Vietnam

In 2022, Vietnam's economy recorded impressive GDP growth of 8%, the highest in over a decade. However, the economy felt the impact of global inflation, with the consumer price index (CPI) rising significantly in 2022 and further increases anticipated in 2023, putting pressure on purchasing power.

Stay up to date with the latest trends and insights in the FMCG industry in the Asia region by checking out the latest edition of Asia Pulse via the "Read the report" button at the top of this page.

Note: The Asia Pulse Q4 2022 has excluded Saudi Arabia due to local panel enhancement.

With prices still rising faster than wages, shoppers are continually making tough decisions to manage their household grocery budget. Kantar’s Worldpanel division can now reveal exactly how these decisions are impacting categories across FMCG. 

By continuously tracking what shoppers are putting in their baskets, and where they are shopping, it is possible to identify and quantify the actions being taken in response to rising prices:

How inflation is impacting and reshaping your category is clearly revealed once these individual responses are summed up for the millions of households in each market. 

Let’s have a look at an example below from Indonesia, where Total FMCG inflation has fallen to 6% in Q4 22 from a peak of 12% in Q2 22. What is immediately apparent is that Indonesian shoppers have absorbed a lot of the price increases, as shown by the yellow bars. Crucially there hasn’t been a net drop in FMCG volumes, in fact category repertoires have increased (blue bars). Where Indonesian shoppers are trying to offset rising prices is via downgrading, actively seeking out lower priced products than they have been buying previously. One concern for the industry is that this downgrading trend is increasing despite the rate of inflation cooling off. 

It is vital that manufacturers and retailers have a clear view of the shopping decisions reshaping their priority categories, and take a shopper-centric approach to decision-making relating to price increases, promotional support, assortment, innovation etc. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any inquiries or would like to discuss further opportunities for your brand or category. 

And for more insights into the evolving needs and behaviours caused by social and economic challenges in Southeast Asia please watch our recent webinar “Under Pressure in Southeast Asia: What marketers need to know now for strategic planning”.

In 2022, FMCG in Vietnam posted a value growth of 5% in Urban 4 key cities and 11% in rural areas, owing primarily to rising prices. In the current global economic environment, inflationary pressures in Vietnam are expected to persist, affecting both consumers and businesses. To stay competitive, brands must understand consumer priorities as well as the importance of each FMCG category in consumers’ expenditures and purchase decisions during this period.

Despite recent headwinds from global inflation, Vietnam remains a promising market, with a robust GDP growth rate of 8.02% in 2022, the highest of any Southeast Asian country. By 2030, the country is expected to be the world's tenth largest consumer market.

We’ve identified 5 major consumer trends that will shape the FMCG market in Vietnam in 2023.

FMCG growth stalling

In 2022, rising prices drove FMCG value growth while volume consumption in Urban 4 remained flat. Rural regions showed promising signs as FMCG volume picked up after a period of stagnancy in 2021.

Global economic slowdown: it gets worse before it gets better

The global economy is expected to continue to slow down before rebounding in 2024. In early 2023, with China’s reopening and resilient demand from EU, the IMF raised its Global GDP forecast for 2023 from 2.7% to 2.9%, albeit still a slower growth than that of last year.

The future of online shopping

The emergence of TikTok shop and other technological advances will enhance the online shopping experience and fuel the growth of this channel.

Health & wellness as a lifestyle

Health motivations are becoming key decision drivers in FMCG purchases, with more consumers prioritizing and willing to pay more for products that offer health benefits or align with their wellness goals.

Momentum for a sustainable lifestyle

Sustainability is returning to the forefront of discussions among businesses, policy makers, and consumers in Vietnam. FMCG brands need to seize this opportunity to help consumers turn their desire to do good into action. By focusing on environmentally friendly practices and sustainable packaging solutions, companies can differentiate themselves in the market and appeal to increasingly eco-conscious consumers.

The way forward for brands

2023 will be a challenging year for Vietnam's FMCG market, but brands that are able to adapt to these trends and prioritize consumer needs will be well-positioned for growth. Talk to us to stay abreast of consumer trends in your category, gain a competitive edge and capture a growing market in Vietnam.

Download our full report on the 5 prominent trends that will impact the FMCG market in 2023 on the right side of this article.

We’ve encapsulated how consumer behaviour has been transformed as one of the epic events of the year as reported by our imagined digital newspaper. We hope you enjoy Worldpanel’s summary of the year and can relate to the new behaviours that have determined whether brands achieved success or whether they struggled to find growth in 2022

Smart economies

For many consumers, this has been a year of adjusting spend, finding new ways to budget in a world where prices are constantly rising. Globally we’ve experienced the worst inflation for 40 years and that’s hit FMCG volume even as total spend has risen. The gap between movements in value and volume has reached more than 4 percentage points.

But shoppers are nothing if not adaptable and a number of strategies have emerged to help them adapt.

At a global level it has meant more private label. Worldpanel’s shopper data shows that private label has been particularly successful in the UK, Ireland, France, Colombia and Portugal.

And we’ve changed where we shop as well. Discounters are now a regular destination for a significant proportion of shoppers in Western Europe and Latin America. Put simply, more of us are going to Aldi, Lidl, D1; Bodega Aurrerá and DIA. Discounter share could hit 19% in the UK and 27% in Colombia in 2023.

At a more local level, we’ve also changed our diets. In France the menu has become simpler. There’s less meat, less cheese and less organic produce on the dining table. In Mainland China, our data shows that shoppers are choosing cheaper products in three quarters of categories.

Making cuts

But a journey through the decisions that allowed us to stretch our budgets wouldn’t be fully rounded without also reflecting on the other ways we found more money for essentials, by cutting back.

Streaming services took a hit and subscriptions were cancelled or not renewed and the replacement cycle for smartphones got stretched. 16% of Chinese now have a handset that is more than four years old, for instance.

We’ve cut back on our green ambitions, worried that many better-for-the-planet products are more expensive than the ‘normal’ alternatives. In Brazil, we see key moments of the day reinvented as consumers chose not to use soap during one of their two daily showers, for example.

Small treats

But it’s not all been doom and gloom. We’ve perked ourselves up with small treats, although these vary by market. In China it’s skincare that brings a smile to the end of 2022, while the French are still dining out, albeit on pizza and burgers.

For some the year has been tougher than for others. Lower income families, in particular, have had to make more tough decisions as their purchase power diminished. They cut back on purchase volumes and in France we saw FMCG volume fall by 6.1% among the poorest citizens.

The challenge for brands and retailers in 2023 is to work even harder to provide more affordable options for these struggling citizens. Contact our experts for more insights.

Vietnamese consumers can finally embrace a new year free of lockdowns and restrictions. However, with climbing inflation and the rising costs of consumer goods being top of mind, shoppers are not entering Tet 2023 free of worries.

So how might consumer FMCG spending differ during the upcoming festive season? And how can brands best position themselves for success in this optimistic yet cautious climate?

The outlook for Tet 2023

Following declines in FMCG growth during the last two Tets, the prospect for Tet 2023 is better, as the wider Vietnamese economy is recovering and consumers are feeling positive about this. However, growth will be hindered due to rising concerns around income and job security. With pressure from inflation still present, shoppers are feeling the squeeze on their wallets, and are adopting different strategies to adapt to the economic situation. On the other hand, we can anticipate a boost in spending power coming from two big holidays happening in a single month (New Year and Tet 2023).

However, when we take a closer look at consumer confidence on a personal level, many people are still under financial pressure exacerbated by inflation and rising costs of living.

To help brands quickly adapt to consumer behaviour changes, we introduce a new way of anticipating buyer behaviour by segmenting them into pressure groups, based on their levels of personal financial confidence.

Consumer confidence returned to pre-pandemic levels

Q3 2022 saw financial difficulties alleviated to the levels before the pandemic. Consumers are optimistic that the financial situation in their families will improve in the next 12 months.

Introducing pressure groups

Along with strong GDP growth, Consumer Price Index (CPI) has also reached an all-time high in October 2022. In Vietnam, prices have been increasing since the final quarter of 2021. If we take a more granular look at consumer confidence, more than half of consumers are still under pressure, with rising grocery prices being the top concern.

Financial pressure, exacerbated by inflation, means that shoppers will continue to react and adapt in ways that we must support.

Understanding how consumers across the financial spectrum react to changes such as rising prices is crucial to developing the right strategy to cater to them and boosting your brand’s performance during this financially challenging time.

High income does not imply comfortable spending

In our most recent Consumer Confidence Survey, only 3 out of 10 high and mid-high income households are comfortable with spending while the rest are feeling the strain to a certain extent. Struggling shoppers are cutting back on grocery spending one way or another. A careful dissection of consumer’s future spending intention will reveal which categories they are most likely to reduce their spending on in the future.

Kantar Expert Solutions

Kantar Expert Solutions help brands examine how each pressure group shops and reacts to rising prices differently under personal financial pressure. Using our data and in-depth analysis, you can answer the most critical questions about how price changes affect your customers:

• Who among your shopper base is the most under pressure, in comparison to your competitors’?
• How shoppers in different financial situations behave and react to changes, such as rising inflation?
• In what ways can you cater to your shoppers across the financial spectrum?

Download our report to learn more about how consumer groups in different financial situations respond to economic factors. Contact us if you would like to understand your consumers better.

Inflation in South-East Asia presents huge challenges for the FMCG industry, pushing brands to be aware that shoppers, categories, and markets are responding differently to the pressure of rising prices. This playbook will explain how FMCG brands should react to South-East Asia’s rising inflation.

The playbook covers the following topics:

• Shoppers’ reaction to the inflation

Shoppers, of course, will have different reactions when facing rising prices. There are three factors that marketers will want to consider as they develop their strategies, which are covered in the playbook.

• Markets, categories, and shopper understanding

How much demand for each category will be affected by inflation will depend on whether it’s classed as an essential ‘need’ or a nice-to-have ‘want’. The former might include necessity categories like cooking oil and eggs, while the latter could include indulgent or occasional treats like hair conditioners.

• Choosing the right strategy

There are five options for boosting performance in an inflation-driven market; each has its condition and perks. Understanding how cash-strapped shoppers are encouraged or discouraged when selecting a brand is important for brands to choose the right strategy in each market.

For more information and expert advices on how shoppers are dealing with inflation in Vietnam and how your brands can choose the right path to boost their performance in this market, please contact us. 

Asia leads the world in eating out and ‘eating out at home’, with South Koreans averaging 148 ordered meal orders per year, an increase of 13% year over year. Thai and Chinese people make up the top three, averaging more than 100 orders per year. In Europe, the British lead the way with 67 orders per year, up 40% year over year.

Dining out has recovered to pre-pandemic levels in value-terms, although not in the number of visits which remains at about 80% of 2019-levels. On each visit to a restaurant, people are spending, on average 15% more compared to H1 2019. Quick Service restaurants are the big winners in the category, growing 21% in revenue compared to H1/2019. Full-service restaurant revenues are still down 7% compared to pre-pandemic levels, while pubs, bars and café revenue is still down 1% vs 2019.

Meal delivery, which exploded during the pandemic, having attracted venture capital funding around the world, has become a post-pandemic staple for many households. While in Europe, penetration rates have slipped back from their pandemic peaks, in all measured countries, they are still higher than their early 2020 levels. Across Europe’s capital cities, more than half of people order food delivery at least once per month. More than 90% of suburban population in South Korea, China and Thailand order home delivery at least once per month. 

Food delivery aggregators now dominate the home delivery scene, accounting for more than half of all deliveries in every measured market except Mexico. In China the top aggregators are Meituan and Eleme. In Great Britain, Uber Eats and Just Eat lead, while in Spain, Just Eat and Glovo are market leaders. 

Growth in frequency of orders has been key to the success of the food delivery industry. Across Asian metropoles, more than one in three consumer order at least weekly. In European capitals, the number of people ordering at least weekly has doubled since the beginning of 2020. The number of Londoners ordering up to three times per month has grown from 14% to 25% in two years.   

Other key findings of the report, which surveyed 15,000 people in 10 countries on a research on top of Worldpanel’s Out-of-Home consumer panel, include:

• People choose to dine out or ‘eat out, at home’ for lunch or dinner every 4 days on average vs every 6 days last year.
• One in 4 meal delivery orders is triggered by treating ourselves or children’s suggestions.
• Pizza is the most ordered food delivery in Paris, Madrid and São Paulo. Brits prefer ordering burgers, while Asians and Mexicans prefer their local cuisine.
• People visit coffee shops almost as much as they did before (91% recovery in value through on-premise sales).

“The past two years taught us the true meaning of disruption and adaptability,” said Javier Sánchez, Foodservice Industry expert, Worldpanel Division, Kantar. “As we navigate increasing financial volatility, we expect consumers to become even savvier with their money. The battle for loyalty will continue the hardest to win across the industry. Becoming meaningfully different through deeper insights that enable innovation and new types of eating experiences is the only way for the food services industry to continue its post-pandemic recovery path.”

The full report is available here.

It's that time again when retailers and manufacturers come together to kick-off their joint business plans for the coming year, and Kantar is here to ensure both parties keep the all-important shopper at the centre of the JBP process.

Why is a shopper-centric approach to joint business planning important? Because the shoppers of any given retailer in Southeast Asia are highly promiscuous, spending much more of their FMCG wallet elsewhere with other named account retailers, online, in traditional trade outlets etc.

Let’s look at an example:

Retailer A is a top-5 modern trade player in Thailand which runs a highly successful loyalty card program, rewarding millions of its shoppers every time they shop for FMCG inside its stores. However, despite these benefits, Retailer A’s shoppers are only 15% “loyal” with the $600m they spend in Retailer A’s stores dwarfed by the whopping $3.2 billion (i.e. the remaining 85% of their FMCG wallet) they spend outside its stores.

And Retailer A is not a unique case: the average loyalty of the top 5 modern trade retailers in Thailand is 13% with no one managing to capture more than 20% of their shoppers’ FMCG wallets.

On the plus side, low loyalty means huge potential gains. By fully understanding what is in the baskets of Retailer A’s shoppers when they shop outside of its stores, the retailer and its suppliers can develop more effective strategies to tap into the $3.2 billion that is currently being missed.

If you are keen to know more about how shoppers shop inside and out of store, please reach out to us. Our experts are available to discuss how Kantar can help you today with shopper-centric joint business planning.

Worldpanel by Kantar has released its latest annual Beauty Trends in Asia report, unveiling the insights behind beauty shoppers’ decisions. Covering nine Asian markets – Mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam – it looks at trends in the facial skincare, colour cosmetics, hair care and body care categories.

Asian consumers are known for being agile and adaptable in the face of change. Never has this been more vividly demonstrated than in the last year. Like much of the world, the APAC region has been under the influence of two major forces – inflation, and post-pandemic recovery.

Learning to live with inflation

The inflationary surge isn’t being felt as hard across Asia as it is in the US, EU or UK. The rate of inflation rate has gone as high as 9.6% in the EU, and 9.1% in the US, compared to 7.7% in Thailand – the most impacted market in our study – and just 2.5% in Mainland China.

In Mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand inflation is a relatively new phenomenon, and is giving rise to more extreme behaviours than can be seen in most South-East Asian markets. Consumers there are familiar with the experience of rising prices, and are likely to be more adaptable in their purchase patterns.

Post-pandemic positivity

The factors affecting the beauty sector are not all negative. The end of the pandemic in most markets has been a positive for many shoppers. People want to celebrate. Beauty, a key element in the joy of going out again, has benefited.

As a result, the market is almost stable: in Q2 of this year data from Kantar’s household panels revealed a drop of just 0.1% in total beauty spend compared with the same quarter in 2021.

In the Beauty Trends in Asia 2022 report, we look at three key trends, through the lens of the specific markets in which they are particularly strong:

• Sophistication in affordable beauty in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam 

Here we see value decline year-on-year based on the relative levels of inflation in each market, with drops in sales of between 1% and 5%. Consumers can be won even here, however, with brands willing to lower trial barriers and make affordable beauty a reality. There remains a desire to try new formats and products.

• Continuous premiumisation in Mainland China and Taiwan 

Despite minimal inflationary pressure in Mainland China (3.6%) and Taiwan (2.5%), rising concerns about the pandemic and mobility constraints caused by the lockdown led to a 5% drop in value sales in Taiwan and -1% in China for the year ended June 2022 compared to the previous year. In both markets, mask-wearing is still mandatory in public spaces. However, it appears that some facial skincare categories are being picked up by shoppers as the ‘new lipstick’, to satisfy their desire for a little bit of luxury even while their daily lives are disrupted, and disposable income decreases.

• Resilient beauty in Indonesia, South Korea and India 

With total value growth of between 5% in Indonesia and 8% in both India and South Korea, these markets did experience inflation but benefited more from the post-pandemic lift. As a result beauty purchases continued to rise. The challenge for brands here is to determine what beauty add-ons will encourage consumers to drive further growth.

Asia is not a homogeneous region. Inflation may be changing consumer behaviour and priorities, but it’s doing this in different ways in different markets.

The counter-trend to inflation is, of course, post-pandemic optimism, with consumers eager to make new memories and get out once again.

The impact of inflation depends on local shoppers’ experience of rising prices, while the post-pandemic bounce will be influenced by how restricted consumers were during peak moments of concern.

Understanding the balance between these two opposing pressures is critical to knowing where to invest the marketing budget, and which messages are likely to be most engaging.

[Read the report]

[Contact our beauty experts]

In this study, we tracked the beverage purchase and consumption behaviours of 3,500 people in urban and rural areas, including over 70,000 drinking occasions, both in-home and out-of-home, for all types of non-alcoholic beverages. Our goal is to present a holistic picture of how Vietnam's beverage market has transformed in 2022 after 2 years of pandemic and lowered consumption.

In our findings, we have outlined five highlights we have observed in Vietnam's beverage consumption as well as the 7 key demand segments in people's drinking habits, to help brands adapt to emerging trends and underserved demands.

Through the report, you will get insightful data and expert views on the following topics:

• An overview of the beverage market in Vietnam after the pandemic

• Market-leading trends in Vietnamese consumers' drink purchasing and consumption habits

• 7 demand spaces in Vietnamese consumers' drinking habits

• Growth opportunities for beverage brands

Both the supply and demand sides of the beverage market have recorded positive signs of acceleration, resuming the growth momentum seen prior to Covid-19. We are witnessing an explosion in beverage types and flavors, various emerging trends in consumer preferences and the diversification of shopping channels. It is critical for businesses to gain a deeper understanding of consumers' tastes and demands in such a dynamic playground.

Kantar Vietnam is pleased to host a webinar on the topic "Vietnam's Beverage Consumption: 7 demand segmentations that matter" to reveal the findings from our Vietnam Drink Usage Study 2022. We tracked the beverage purchase and consumption behaviours of 3500 people in urban and rural areas, including over 70,000 drinking occasions, both in-home and out-of-home, for all types of non-alcoholic beverages. Our goal is to present a hollistic picture of Vietnam's dynamic beverage market contoday, including new trends and niches, in order to assist businesses in appealing to a wider range of consumers' palates and winning their hearts.

In the webinar, we'll take a look at Vietnam's current beverage landscape and the most prominent trends we've discovered from the Drink Usage Study:

• An overview of the beverage industry in Vietnam after the pandemic

• Market-leading trends in Vietnamese consumers' drink purchasing and consumption habits

• 7 demand spaces in the beverage market

• Growth opportunities for beverage brands

The webinar will be delivered in 2 sessions, Vietnamese and English:

Throughout all these events, we observe shoppers across APAC continuously adjusting their FMCG purchasing to deal each new challenge. And the brands and retailers with the deepest understanding of FMCG shopping behaviours have been best placed to win hearts, minds – and baskets!

Looking to the future, we expect to see further upheaval in FMCG shopping behaviours. Therefore, shopper-centric decision making will continue to be more important than ever, ensuring brands and retailers achieve their growth targets by delivering what the shopper wants and needs.

Join us on our journey through these changes as we launch Ready, Steady, Shop! - a monthly series of bite-size insights into FMCG shopping behaviours, uncovering opportunities and pockets of growth, and leaving with some food for thought.

Get the insight by clicking on the download button on the right side. 

If you are keen to explore more on this topic, please send your queries to this LINK. Our experts will be happy to support.

Who Cares? Who Does?, which surveyed almost 100,000 shoppers in 24 countries, finds that, for the first time in the report’s four-year history, the number of ‘Eco Actives’ shoppers has declined. Eco Actives, those most engaged in sustainability issues, dropped by 4% in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020 – while ‘Eco Dismissers’ rose by 7% to 44% of the global population. The Eco-actives decline is widespread, with the largest drops seen in Spain (-8%), Portugal (-5%), Ireland (-5%) and India (-5%). More positively, France, the US, and Colombia experienced flat or growing Eco Active groups.

Despite the overall fall, Eco Actives shopping power is still worth $376 billion to the FMCG market in 2022. The Eco Active segment is forecast to grow to $763 billion by 2027 in a pessimistic scenario or to $1.12 trillion in an optimistic prognosis. The broader population, that has at least some interests in sustainability globally, is equal to $1.14 trillion in spending in 2022.

Household segments

The Who Cares? Who Does? study segments households into three categories based on their actual behaviours:

• Eco Actives: Shoppers who are highly concerned about the environment and are making the most of actions to reduce their waste.
• Eco Considerers: Shoppers worried about the environment and plastic waste but are not taking many actions to reduce their waste. 
• Eco Dismissers: Shoppers who have little or no interest in the environment and are making no steps to reduce waste.

Environmental attitudes segmentation of global households

Economy vs environment: the cost of conscious consumption

The ‘cost of living’ crisis is having an environmental impact. Almost one-half (45%) of respondents reported that it was harder to act sustainably due to social or financial constraints. Recent findings from our Sustainability Sector Index study revealed that the cost of living means sustainability is becoming a luxury of wealthy consumers. The Who Cares? Who Does? study reinforces this point. In the UK, for example, the top 20 brands that outperform with Eco Actives are, on average, 75% more expensive than the average price in their category. However, given the financial headwinds, this positioning may face challenges. Within the total FMCG market, brands with price points more than 10% over the category average are already experiencing share declines.  

Good intentions are a great opportunity

When it comes to consumer behaviour around packaging, there is a large value-action gap – between people’s stated values and their actions. 62% of people try to buy products with environmentally friendly packaging. Only 24% however, regularly avoid buying products packaged with plastic. These unfulfilled good intentions mean there is a market opportunity for brands in helping shoppers to close this gap. Closing this value-action gap represents a $991 billion opportunity for those FMCG companies willing to pursue stronger environmental credentials.

Value-Action gap in packaging

Discussing the findings, Natalie Babbage, Global Director for Kantar’s Worldpanel LinkQ Solution, commented: “Amidst a difficult world climate – from conflict and political instability, to spiralling costs and inflation, environmental issues have dropped down the priority list for many people in their day-to-day worries. It is unsurprising that against these very prominent and present issues, sustainability and its more long-term negative effects are not being prioritised.

The post-pandemic era has had a life-changing effect. As lifestyles have got busier, with more people back at work and social lives back on track, people don’t have the time they may have had during government and state-enforced lockdowns. This means a return to seeking convenience over plastic-free items: we see people buying fewer refills, avoiding plastic less and buying plastic drink bottles more, which may all be symptoms of this ‘back to normal’, time-poor lifestyle we experienced pre-COVID.

Frustration at lack of progress from companies also appears to be a factor for shoppers. Eco Actives are a group that thrives on optimism, yet we found that there is cynicism among them regarding how far brands are going, and how much brands truly care about the environment.”

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Who Cares?, Who Does?, Kantar’s study into sustainable shopping behaviour can be found at www.kantar.com/whocareswhodoes

Contact us to learn more about Eco-shopping trends in Vietnam market. 

In these exclusive webinars, Kantar’s beauty experts from across Asia will share insights on how shoppers are living through the age of inflation, and where the most significant opportunities lie for beauty brands seeking to grow in the region.

In this webinar, we’ll take a detailed look at the current beauty landscape in Asia, including:

• A birds-eye view of the macroeconomics
• The impact of inflation by Asian markets
• Beauty consumers’ priority in categories & how it is evolving now
• How consumers react to premiumisation in beauty offers
• Key brands & products leading the trend

The Modern Vietnamese Consumer

The rising of the affluent class defines Vietnam’s consumer market: Vietnam’s consumer market is having new needs, reallocating their priorities and adopting new products and services.

The Vietnamese household size is getting smaller: About 40% of household population in Vietnam has one to three members. The main implication of a decreasing household size is lower consumption, and the development of delegation services and pet food. 

New experiences are driven by young consumers and digitalization: The rate of innovation for FMCG products is 1.5 times faster in 2021 than it was in 2014. It increases the pressure on already-existing items to draw in new customers and, more importantly, keep the ones they already have.

Online shopping and transactions are becoming dominant: In 2021, the size of the FMCG online shopper base has expanded 10 times and the online value share of FMCG produces increased 20 times in the last 7 years. Online is not just the channel of sales, in fact it has a role in every step of the consumer journey. 

Growing demand for personalisation: The demand for more personalised products or services are concentrated much on female, Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers. 

For more detailed insights into the changing Vietnamese consumer persona and Vietnam's FMCG market, you can watch our webcast and download the report.

More insights from Kantar Vietnam's report

In the latest edition of Vietnam Brand Footprint 2022 we measure hundreds of FMCG brands in Vietnam across 5 sectors: Beverages, Food, Health and Beauty, Homecare, and Dairy. The report will help you have a complete picture of trends and movements of the consumer market of past period as well as future predictions. Access the Vietnam Brand Footprint 2022 to know what brands are loved by consumers and for more helpful insights.

Please get in touch with us if you want to find out how our insights on the Vietnamese market can help your brand reach more consumers.

The food sector continues to lead market growth, doubling from 2.0% in Q2 2021 to 4.8% in 2022. The Home Care category has seen a particularly strong upward movement in its growth rate during the second quarter, up 5% from 3.4% the previous year.

Reviewing the performance of each market in depth, the report reveals some key insights.

• Chinese Mainland: Competition has been heated up for Modern Trade retailers since offline shopping has faced more significant challenges resulting from COVID. With this, shopping habits have developed toward faster, closer, and lighter occasions.
• Taiwan:  Though the pandemic has eased, shoppers keep their pandemic shopping behaviour—lower frequency, higher spend per trip—which seems to be the new normal.
• South Korea: Online channel kept expanding its share with double-digit growth and solidified its position as a leading channel in the FMCG market.
• India (Urban): To tackle inflation, consumers seek promotions, experiment with brands, shift to unbranded products, purchase smaller packs and move to mass products.
• Indonesia: Although consumers had to adjust to higher inflation during Ramadan, the celebration remains as the festive uplift for FMCG this year is back to the pre-pandemic level.
• Malaysia (Peninsular): FMCG managed to grow marginally, supported by higher average prices. Food, Dairy and Home Care segments grew from higher consumer spending per trip.
• Saudi Arabia: In a quarter of Ramadan, shoppers are reducing their volume, especially in the Food and Beverage sectors, but still spending 10.6% more. 
• Thailand: While the inflation rate is driving market value growth, it also results in buyers buying a smaller number of products at a lower price.
• The Philippines: Shoppers are returning to traditional trade and proximity channels, particularly sari-sari stores. Spending in SSS has surpassed pre-pandemic spending.
• Vietnam: Spending on in-home FMCG rises in Q2 2022 thanks to the increase in average price paid; however, volume consumption remains low.
• United Arab Emirates: Shoppers have ramped up their effort to manage their wallets by reducing their purchase volume by 6% this quarter.

We value your thoughts; if you have any builds or suggestions on how we can make the Asia Pulse report more relevant and actionable to your business, please do not hesitate to contact us.

FMCG in Asia maintains positive growth of 2.3% in the first quarter of 2022. This slowdown from the same period in 2021 (4.1%) is bolder in Dairy, Food, and Personal care categories.

In terms macro economy, the surge of inflation is evidently seen across market, impacting consumers behavior in various measurements such as spend per trip and basket size. Our experts have talked about how brand can lead amidst this inflationary time, you can read the report here and watch the on-demand webinar here.

Reviewing the key highlights of each markets this quarter:

• Chinese Mainland: The first quarter of 2022 saw a robust FMCG growth but witnessed a slowdown in March due to the surge in Omicron cases and the implementation of lockdown.

• Taiwan: Although macro economy’s momentum slowing down, FMCG kept having a growth rate of 6.3%, which was still mainly driven by the Food sector.

• South Korea: Online mall showed sustained growth and due to the upsurge in confirmed cases of Omicron, more consumers were able to utilize the online mall services.

• India (Urban): As inflation soars, consumption trends are witnessing an adverse impact. FMCG volumes remain stable as compared to last year while value grows marginally by 4%.

• Indonesia: Despite consumer confidence picking up, the inflation trend started to be seen as an impact of the supply chain crisis and higher festive demand, which can hold the spending.

• Malaysia: In-home consumption begun to normalize in Q1’22 after experiencing double digit growth in 2020 before stabilizing in 2021, leading to fewer and smaller shopping trips.

• Thailand: With less disposable income, inflation, and less in home demand for consumption, the basket size stopped growing and consumers are more careful about their spending.

• The Philippines: With favorable conditions, as expected shoppers spend more this quarter vs last year. Consumers spend more on Food, Beverage, and Household Care.

• Vietnam: Consumers’ demand for in home FMCG remains low due to the cut-down of volume consumption. The market growth is mainly driven by the increase of average paid price.

Reach out to us to have a full picture on your category and brand performance across Asia.

In the latest edition of Vietnam Brand Footprint 2022, we witness that:

• Vinamilk retains its position as the No.1 most chosen FMCG manufacturer in Urban 4 key cities. Meanwhile, Masan Consumer takes the lead spot in the Rural ranking.
  
  
• Coca-Cola keeps its number 1 spot in Urban 4 Cities and number 3 spot in Rural rankings among the top 10 most chosen Beverages brands.
  
  
• Hao Hao and Nam Ngu successfully maintain their crowns as the most chosen Food brands one more time in Urban 4 cities and Rural respectively.
  
  
• Sunlight, Omo, and Comfort all continue to take the top 3 most chosen Home Care brands in both Urban 4 key cities and Rural rankings.
  
  
• Unilever continues to reign supreme within the Health & Beauty sector.
  
  
• Vinamilk maintains its stronghold as the leader among the top 10 most chosen Dairy and Dairy substitutes.

We measure hundreds of FMCG brands in Vietnam across 5 sectors: Beverages, Food, Health and Beauty, Homecare, and Dairy. Are you interested in discovering their stories?

Fill in the form on the right side of this page to get the full report.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or want to book a discussion to further explore. 

1. Economic indicators

Despite the uncertain times of COVID-19 and Ukraine-Russia conflict, GDP in Q1 2022 sustains a stable growth coupled with low CPI. However, Vietnam's economy is likely to face a new wave of challenges in upcoming months.

2. FMCG overview

In Q1 2022, consumer demand for in home FMCG remains low due to the cut-down of volume consumption. The market growth is mainly driven by the increase of average paid price.  Re-watch our on-demand webinar to know more about how consumers are reacting to these price pressures.

Almost all sectors suffer from a decline in volume consumption due to a weaker performance of Tet shopping season, according to Tet 2022 report. In line with total FMCG market, the increase of paid price is the key driver across major sectors. 

The same picture is witnessed in Rural Vietnam when average paid price also drives market growth. Dairy shines bright as the only sector that achieves positive performance driven by volume consumption as well as price growth.

3. Hot categories

Modern sauces such as Ketchup, Chili sauce and Mayonnaise still successfully gain more volume consumption in the 1st three months of 2022, despite the increase in average price paid witnessed in most of categories.  

4. Retail landscape

As of Q1 2022, 22% of FMCG spending has been made in emerging channels including Online, Ministores and Specialty Stores in Urban 4 key cities, which are also expanding fast towards Rural. As such, understanding how shoppers purchase FMCG in these channels is crucial for both brands and retailers to capture more growth.

5. Spotlight: 

5.1  Nuclear families is growing importance

Surging prominence of Nuclear Families with fewer members leading to the smaller basket which is 80% of an average trip size, indicating for manufacturers and brands to take action with more multi and small pack options.

5.2  How do Vietnamese consumers react to inflation?

Inflation is being witnessed in almost FMCG categories, reaching around 7% peak on average and becoming a challenge for both consumers and brands. Vietnamese shoppers are changing their behavior to adapt to this pressure in different ways. Re-watch our latest webinar to take out key findings to navigate this challenging wave. 

Online grocery/FMCG sales grew more than 15% in 2021, in a global grocery market which grew 2.1%. The total market growth of 2.1% is in line with the average pre-pandemic growth, and means the market held on to the double-digit growth gains it made in the 2020 phase of the pandemic. The data was revealed in our Winning Omnichannel report, an annual wrap of global FMCG and grocery sales.

Key findings from the study include:

• Ecommerce was again the fastest growing channel, delivering 15.8% growth, building on the 45.9% growth delivered in 2020. This growth lifted ecommerce’s share of the grocery market to 7.2% compared to 6.3% in 2020 and 4.8% in 2019.
• At 2.1%, global annual growth is back in line with the pre-pandemic five-year average of 2% - as much of the displaced out-of-home spend from 2020 remained in-home in 2021.
• Western Europe declined 0.2% as purchase patterns began to normalize with fewer lockdowns in the year. Latin America delivered 9.2% growth in 2021, mostly driven by inflation and continued lock-downs, while the U.S. grocery market grew by 2.7%.
• Supermarkets/hypermarkets remain the dominant channel for FMCG sales, however with growth of just 0.1% its share of sales fell to 51.4%, from 52.4% in 2020 and 53.1% in 2019.
• Groceries bought on a promotion accounted for 21.6% of sales during 2021. That's up from 20.9% in 2020, but still not back to 2019’s pre-pandemic level of 22.1%.
• Beverages were the strongest sector growing at 2.9%, driven by sports and energy drinks and carbonated soft drinks. Food, excluding dairy, grew at 2.5%, while dairy grew 2%. Home care fell back to 1.1% growth, while health and beauty products grew only 0.7%.
• Kantar forecasts global growth in the FMCG market will slow to 1.3% in 2022.

We can already see that 2022 is challenging on a number of fronts. We forecast growth for the global FMCG market will slow to around 1.3%, as consumers develop different coping strategies to deal with the cost of living crisis. Innovation in ecommerce, promotions and ranging will all be important tools for retailers in tackling the challenges of this year.

Access the report by completing the form HERE and reach out to our experts if you want to get more detail on retail exploration, e-commerce performance as well as the growth forecast in uncertain times.   

1. Citizens’ migration back to hometown: Being suffered from the biggest wave of Covid-19, more than 1 million migrants had to return to their hometowns, according to VnExpress, leaving behind their job and the financial pressure of living in the big cities. This led to certain changes in Vietnam market, one of them might be the shift in terms of consumption between urban and rural areas.
   
   
2. Rising Covid-19 cases in rural: There was a sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in rural areas as a result of a considerable number of people returning to their hometowns. Especially this time was very close to Tet festival, which partly affected family gatherings, visits to give gifts, restraining the strong spending on gifting during the festive season.

Would consumers cut back on their spending level, or would they increase grocery budget to stock up for Tet under Covid-19 situation? Were there any changes in gift-giving custom among Vietnamese consumers in the latest Tet?

Let’s explore the main findings in our 2022 Tet report by filling out the form on the right side of this page.

Book a consultation if you want to further discuss on your brand's performance during Tet under Covid-19 time and to well prepare for the next season.

• Weekly makeup usage falls 28% and lipstick usage down 40% compared to 2019
• Women now wash and style their hair less often, embracing longer hair styles
• Market recovery driven by less, higher quality usage with environment in mind.

Kantar, the world’s leading data-driven analytics and brand consulting company, today releases a new study revealing how COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and the related work from home (WfH) culture shift have transformed the beauty market. The data shows a striking decrease in the weekly use of cosmetics in every market, with weekly usage down an average of 28% Vs pre-pandemic levels and down 31% vs five years ago, as women choose simpler routines.

The study also identifies that more shoppers are opting for fewer, higher quality usage occasions. The increase in premium beauty product usage along with a surge in demand for natural beauty products, which moved from, on average, 18% of sales in 2017 to 24% of sales in 2021, helped the market recover to pre-pandemic levels of revenue. 

1. Transformed beauty regimens

The study shows a global trend towards fewer usage occasions, particularly apparent amongst European beauty consumers. Face and lip occasions have significantly decreased YoY, and there has been an increased focus on eye makeup, which may be a consequence of face mask wearing during the pandemic: 

2. The Haircare market

Through the pandemic period, the percentage of women choosing to wear their hair longer grew from, on average, 58% of women in 2017 to 62% in 2021. Simultaneously, women chose to wash their hair less frequently, down almost 10% over five years to 2.8 times per week on average. Illustrating the premiumisation trend, despite falling usage, hair conditioners and treatments grew in sales value, generating 5% growth in 2020 (vs 2019), and 7% growth in 2021 (vs 2020). 

3. The shift to environmental consciousness

Natural and vegan cosmetics continue to grow in popularity as the world becomes more conscious of ingredients and sustainability in the beauty products they buy:

Commenting on the findings, Ashley Kang, Global Beauty Director at Kantar said: “Our study underlines an opportunity for beauty brands to understand the lifestyle changes triggered by the pandemic, and therefore the evolution in needs in consumers’ lives."

Re-watch the Webinar and access the report by submitting the form HERE.

Discover how to grow your beauty business during the recovery phase in Vietnam, please get in touch with our experts.

*Notes to editor 

• Purchase Behaviour: Great Britain, Spain, France, Mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Colombia
• Markets for Usage Behaviour: US, Great Britain, Mainland China, Spain, France, Germany, and Brazil.
• *Data for countries of TH, GB, TW, KR, CN, SP, FR.

After two years of uncertainty living under the pandemic, we thought we will finally see a new normal in Asia. However, before this happens, we are now hit by another challenge of inflationary pressure that is affecting both consumers and brands. 

Looking across the key markets in Asia, we are indeed seeing price increase seen across most markets with volume slowdown. Shoppers in Chinese Mainland, Indonesia and Philippines are potentially switching to cheaper products. 

Data Source: Kantar Worldpanel

The good news is, we are still expecting FMCG to grow in 2022.

Across South East Asia markets, we are projecting that Q4’22 growth will be around 3% despite price increase as likely due to the opening of local economy. 

Data Source: Kantar Worldpanel

Understanding how shoppers will react to price and inflationary pressure will help in determining our brand growth strategies and in this paper we will be looking at the different behaviours that shoppers will potentially demonstrate during uncertain times across FMCG categories. Some of the key potential shopper reactions to categories are:

1. Increase/reduce in Overall Category Volume
2. Increase/reduce in Choice of Segments
3. Switch Channels
4. Increase/reduce Promotional Reliance
5. Switch brands or move to Private Label
6. Changes in Product Mix (segment, pack sizes)
7. New/Lost Buyers

In addition, we have enlisted key industry views from our key partners who each excel in their sector: Friesland Campina, Coca Cola, Mars Wrigley and Unilever who will also be sharing their insights and views on how brands can cope with inflation and continue to reach consumers during these times.

Don’t miss out, download your copy on the right side of this page.

Reach out to us to discuss strategies for your brand in times of inflation.

FMCG spending for in-home consumption in Asia continues to grow by 3.2% in the second year of the pandemic, higher than the growth of 2.9% in 2020, reported in our latest issue of Asia Pulse.

The market growth is mainly driven by the rebound of Beverages sector, particularly in Chinese Mainland.

FMCG performance across sectors, in general, enjoyed healthy growth. Dairy and Personal Care showed an improved growth in North Asia while flatting or slowing down in other areas. Meanwhile, Food and Home Care cooled down its year-on-year growth pace after last year’s pick-up.

In terms of retail landscape, Online kept the good momentum in 2021 with a robust increase in both FMCG value sales and number of purchases across the region.

Reviewing the performance of each market in-depth, the report reveals some key insights:

• Chinese Mainland: The growth in e-commerce channels slowed down in 2021 due to the traffic peaking and diversion from the new digital formats.

• Taiwan: Ecommerce kept growing with double-digit growth over years and is now the 3rd largest channel in Taiwan FMCG market since shoppers are getting used to shop online.

• South Korea: Personal Care especially skincare products showed an upsurge in value thanks to the increased demand for skin recovery.

• India (Urban): Consumers made more shopping trips yet less spend in each trip, rationalizing their spends by shifting to small packs.

• Indonesia: Shoppers have spent more on home-cooking categories, such as cooking oil and sesame oil, with major growth coming from the online channel.

• Malaysia: FMCG sustained at a higher level after double digit growth in 2020 with Packaged Foods being the fast growing sector.

• Thailand: Consumers continue to purchase larger basket sizes while reducing shopping trips as the stock up trend remains during COVID-19.

• The Philippines: Filipinos continue to prioritize food staples and home & hygiene essentials, but they also deprioritized some categories already stocked up in 2020 such as baking products.

• Vietnam: Convenient retail formats including Online and Minimarket kept winning consumers' choice amid the social distancing periods.

Reach out to us to have a full picture on your category and brand performance across Asia.

OOH value sales rose for the third consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2021, increasing 19% compared with a drop of 25% in the same period in 2020. This boosted the value of the total in-home and OOH market by 6% year-on-year; almost three quarters of which was contributed by the UK, Spain, Mainland China and France.

While this overall picture is positive, looking at the evolution of OOH spend in these categories over a three year period provides valuable perspective: it is still 10% lower than it was in the fourth quarter of 2019, before COVID-19 hit. In addition, while the proportion of total value contributed by OOH sales has risen to 34% from 30% in the fourth quarter of 2020, this has still not reached the pre-pandemic level of 39%.

Read the complete article to find out more about the global snacks and non-alcoholic drinks market, download the full Q4 Out-of-Home barometer at the right side of this page and reach out to our experts if you have any questions.

1. Economic indicators

Despite the strong hit of COVID-19’s Delta variant, 2021’s Vietnam economy sustains a positive performance, thanks to the fast economic recovery in Q4 coupled with the low CPI. Yet, 2022 might be still challenging as inflation is more likely to come back due to the rising oil prices and the number of unemployed people and suspended operations remains high. 

2. FMCG overview

FMCG growth slows down compared to last year’s peak as not much change in volume consumption.

In the short term, consumer spend on FMCG continuously posts a high growth in Q4 compared to the same period last year, mainly driven by the increase of average paid price – the highest rate over the past 4 years.

In the second year of the pandemic, Packaged Foods and Dairy continue driving the market growth in both Urban 4 key cities and Rural areas. Meanwhile, Beverages suffer a negative impact in the wave 4 of pandemic, especially in Rural.

3. Hot categories

The increase of average paid price is witnessed in many FMCG products and Sugar in particular.

In 2021, Sugar achieves a robust growth which is mainly driven by the double-digit increase of average paid price.

4. Retail landscape

Convenient retail formats such as Online and Minimarket keep winning consumers' choice amid the social distancing periods. Together with an impressive growth, these channels are gaining in importance in today’s retail landscape in Urban areas.

The similar picture is also observed in Rural areas with the expansion of emerging channels like online and minimarkets. 

5. Spotlight: Key Trends in Consumer Shopping Behaviors in 2022

• Consumers will continue to rationalize their spend.
• Home life remains important.
• Toward a more digitalized life offering new experience.
• Embrace the rising of convenience-driven retail.
• Rethink: Well-being & sustainable living.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Reach out to us for a free consultation.

Vietnam’s 2021 GDP growth forecast is down to 2% due to the impacts of the COVID-19 wave 4 together with stricter and longer lockdown periods compared to last year. Consumers, therefore, were forced to adapt to the unexpected situation, leading to significant changes in their daily routines. They have reevaluated what matters the most to them and reprioritized their needs towards safety and essentials, which was beneficial to both FMCG and digital consumption as people prefer to stay more at home rather than going out. However, the impacts were not the same across sectors and categories.

Given the new coronavirus variant, the pandemic will continue affecting Vietnam's economic development and consumer lives at least for the next 6 months, posing both challenges yet emerging opportunities for businesses to revival and growth.

We are delighted to share with you Kantar’s Vietnam Insight Collection 2022 to provide you a comprehensive read on the impacts of the pandemic in the short term as well as consumer changes in the long term, which will support you to reshape business strategies in 2022 and beyond.

Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

Download report by clicking the link on the right side of this page.

We are almost 2 years into the pandemic and whilst we observe certain countries opening up and going back to normally, in most countries we had just battled one of the fiercest waves of Covid-19. This recent surge in cases has led a move back into the in-home economy and despite the effort to ramp up vaccination, mobility restriction is expected to continue for the next 6 – 12 months.

Shopper behaviour will continue to change and knowing how shoppers are adapting and evolving will continue to be important. Hence, the question of understanding how to win in Festive has now become critical in order to be ahead of the game.

In this publication we will be examining the following:

1. How festive are Asians and how important is it to FMCG since Covid-19? How much more would consumers spend during festive vs the average months of the year?
   
   
2. What are the key drivers of shopping behavior during Festive?  Do we see higher frequency, more transactions, or more spend?
   
   
3. In terms of products and categories, has consumer preference changed? Are there new sectors that have risen in importance due to the pandemic?
   
   
4. Who are the key cohorts that is key to reach during festive? Do the lower income or SEC spend as much as the higher income during festive?
   
   
5. Where are the key channels to reach to drive festive sales?

We will also be hearing from local market experts on what the key lookouts for 2022 would be, in order to help us navigate the new normal.

Any further questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

Follow the link on the right side of this page to download the full report.

Total FMCG value sales grew by 3.6% compared to the same period last year. Beverages shone brightly as the fastest growing sector, recovering rapidly with a 5.3% increase in value, mainly driven by the Chinese Mainland market.

Nutritional and hygiene categories are still benefiting from the pandemic, with value sales in Dairy and Personal Care rising by 3.1% and 4.2% respectively. Meanwhile, Food and Home Care slowed down following their peak in 2020.

Convenient channel formats – especially ecommerce – continue to perform well, leading growth in the APAC region with a double-digit increase in transactions. 

Reviewing the performance of each market in-depth, the report reveals some key insights:

• Chinese Mainland: Instant retail (O2O) has maintained a strong growth trend since 2020, with 57% of urban households using O2O home delivery services to purchase FMCG in the first nine months of this year.
  
  
• Taiwan: Taiwanese shoppers have become more used to purchasing FMCG products online, across all categories and age groups.
   
• South Korea: In-home beverage consumption is likely to decrease in the coming months as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
  
  
• Indonesia: Despite a slowdown, Food and Dairy continue to lead the market’s total FMCG growth.
  
  
• Malaysia: All sectors continue to record growth except Beverages, due to the implementation of a national lockdown in 2021.
  
  
• Thailand: Consumers keep reducing their shopping trips, with larger basket sizes a result of stockpiling during the pandemic.
  
  
• The Philippines: Households continue to value traditional trade and proximity stores over other channels.
  
  
• Vietnam: The level of FMCG spending remains higher than before the pandemic, driven by another peak in the purchasing of packaged foods during periods of lockdown in the country’s fourth wave of COVID-19.

In Module 2 of our Retail & Shopper Insights series, we deep dived into the eCommerce development across the region zooming into the key stages of the shopper journey, exploring the next source of frontier for growth and how online can drive incrementality.

In this module 3, we will be looking specifically at brick and mortar stores which have been resilient through the pandemic era to the surprise of key industry experts. This channel still contributes to about 80% value to FMCG. And with mobility restrictions that will continue into 2022, we expect to see the current behaviour of larger trips to keep momentum, but with frequency of shopping will continue to be challenged.

We breakdown the analysis, looking into big format modern trade channels (hypermarkets and supermarkets) and proximity channels (minimarkets, convenience stores and general trade). It is key to understand the difference in missions and categories mix across the different channel types.

Understanding the different roles of categories and having the right mix and assortment (including efficiency of promotions) will become even more crucial, against the changing basket missions due to the continuity of ‘stay at home’ and consumers being cautious. Creating the right shopper experience and engagement is also key to how big format modern trade will continue to evolve and sustain.  

Our key partner experts across both key manufacturers (Nestle, PepsiCo & Reckitt Benckiser) and retailers (Dairy Farm Group & Lazada) continues to provide insight and food for thought into our last and final module for the year on brick and mortar stores.

*Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown - giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see post lockdown?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of October Week 2 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

Digital ecosystem for Beauty: How to play to win!

Beauty is a highly developed category within Asia, but it never stands still. COVID-19 has driven many shoppers to become more digital savvy – and brands must not get left behind. Our webinar – Digital ecosystems for Beauty: How to play to win – will provide the vital knowledge you need to understand how to build your brand’s presence in the e-retail environment, and to grow business.

The Worldpanel division of Kantar in Asia will be hosting an exclusive webinar featuring its Beauty experts from the region, who will be sharing insights on where the greatest opportunities lie for Beauty brands seeking to grow in APAC.

In this webinar we will take a detailed look at the current beauty landscape in Asia, including:

• The evolution of online vs offline environments
• Who is buying beauty online?
• Key beauty products consumers are purchasing
• Biggest platforms, how they are developing and how shoppers use them

What you will takeaways from this webinar:

Where to focus investment. We will explain how to select and prioritise the digital platforms that will work best for your brand. Is it more profitable to focus on the top two or three? Or should you be present across them all?

Which types of shoppers you should target. Taking into account the platform, and the ‘evolutionary’ stage the buyer is at. We will also describe how to reach new addressable markets, including the growing Boomer and Silver segments.

How to deliver sustainable growth. Our Beauty experts will share strategies for increasing digital sales while protecting offline business, ensuring growth is incremental. And we’ll explore how to win new buyers while retaining existing ones. Should you use ecommerce to drive trial? Or to strengthen loyalty, example by encouraging trade-up?

The route to category captaincy. Through examining your competitors, to determine opportunities to source growth and increase your brand’s share of the market. Excellent for new or emerging beauty brands looking to capitalize and grow market share.

A comprehensive report is yours! At the end of the webinar, each participant will receive a detailed report with all the data and insights across markets in Asia. This will provide you with the competitive edge to drive brand growth into 2022.  

3 November 2021

16:00 – 17:30 (Singapore time)

SGD$120 per participant

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

In Module 1 of our Retail & Shopper Insights series, we examined the channel landscape in the region, identifying the drivers of growth and the diverse strategy required of brands and retailers across the region - simply because we cannot average Asia.

In this module, we deep-dive into the stages of eCommerce development across the region and how understanding occasions along these different stages along with search and entertainment needs are important in helping us sharpen our online growth strategy. We will also provide examples of key initiatives to drive growth to inspire brands and retailers to act on the next opportunity for shopper growth.

Driving incremental growth is key and insights reveal that highly penetrated categories online exhibit a strong overlap with other offline channels. It will be important to understand how the right portfolio and promotional mix that will best bring incrementality is critical both to manufacturers and retailers.

Our key partner experts across both key manufacturers (Nestle & Reckitt Benckiser) and retailers (Dairy Farm Group & Lazada) continues to provide insight and food for thought into this eCommerce module.

The question remains, how do we make it easy for shoppers to shop online to drive wider reach & recruitment, and more importantly how do we continue to ensure that eCommerce brings incremental growth to our business?

Stay with us to embark on this journey to unlock key opportunities and pockets of growth via our Omnichannel Asia series.

*Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see so far?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of September Week 2 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see so far?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of September Week 1 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

This webcast series delves into the depths of FMCG industry and major sectors particularly.

In each episodes, we will look at both consumer changes in the short term under the pandemic as well as sector performance and behavioral changes in the long term in order to unearth evidence-based insights and anticipate the future.

Register here!

If you like this webcast series, follow us and feel free to share it with your networks.

Get in touch if you have any questions.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see so far?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of August Week 4 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

Almost a year and a half into the pandemic and whilst we observe certain countries opening up, in most countries we continue to battle one of the fiercest wave of Covid-19. This recent surge in cases has led a move back into the in-home economy for many countries across Asia and despite the effort to ramp up vaccination, mobility restriction is expected to last between 6-12 months.

Shopper behavior will continue to change and knowing how shoppers are adapting and evolving will continue to be important as we navigate through these unprecedented times. Both manufacturers and retailers cannot emphasize further the importance of the need to make shopper-based data decisions to understand what shopper want.

In this 1^st module (over a series of 3 modules) we have sought key industry views from across both key manufacturers and retailers as well as looked at how shoppers are now evolving across both eCommerce and Brick & Mortar to give us insight into the evolving omnichannel landscape.

The question remains, how will the future look for eCommerce and Brick and Mortar as mobility restrictions continue and when the pandemic eases?

Join us to embark on this journey to unlock key opportunities and pockets of growth via this Omnichannel Asia series.

*Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see so far?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of August Week 3 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

Total FMCG value sales rose by 4.5% year on year, an improvement on last year’s growth of 3.1% over the same period. Beverages was the star performer, with a 6.1% increase in spend; a big turnaround compared with 2020 when value sales dropped by 3.1% due to the first wave of COVID-19 hitting the region.

Food, dairy, home care and personal care also achieved growth of between 3.9 and 4.8 percentage points each. Home care sales climbed by 4.1%, with growth remaining high following 2020’s peak increase of 8%, indicating that hygiene concerns due to the pandemic remain high.

Growth across Asia Pacific was largely driven by shoppers in the Chinese Mainland, where FMCG value sales grew by 4.2% compared with the same period in 2020. Only the UAE and the Philippines reported declines, of 5.1% and 4.8% respectively.

Reviewing the performance of each market within APAC, the report highlights some major trends, including: 

• Chinese Mainland: Out-of-home (OOH) food and beverages are recovering well as consumers return to their regular routines, with growth of 15.1% in Q2.

• Taiwan: A new wave of COVID-19 helped to drive total FMCG sales upwards, as shoppers stayed at home and stockpiled goods.

• South Korea: The beverages category grew significantly due to restrictions on OOH, with the majority of growth coming from online channels.

• India (Urban): Dairy reported the fastest value growth, followed by personal care.

• Indonesia: People shopped less often, but compensated for this with bigger baskets and higher spend.

• Malaysia: For the first time ever, shoppers bought more food than non-food online in Q2 of 2021, as COVID-19 cases soared.

• Thailand: Financial support provided through government subsidy programmes encouraged shoppers to spend more; the take-home FMCG market grew by 2.7%.

• The Philippines: As mobility restrictions eased, shoppers returned to their favoured sari-sari stores (mom and pop stores), but remain open to smaller formats.

• Vietnam: Emerging channels including online and mini-markets have gained share. 

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see so far?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of July Week 4 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see so far?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of July Week 3 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

What do we see so far?

For more details, we invite you to have a look at the update of July Week 2 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

Staying Ahead and Abreast with the Changing Consumer & Shopper behaviour.

At Kantar's Worldpanel Division, we believe behavioural evidence plays a greater role to help us see what is happening; more than ever. Having the clarity of sight allows us to develop or calibrate our growth strategies and responses to them. Our focussed insights reveal what happens to people behaviour whilst staying at home and post lockdown -giving a closer reality which allows us to measure the consequences of future behaviours.

Given the current development of COVID-19 situation, to ensure that you stay on top of what is happening, we would like to provide a more frequent update read on how consumer and shopper behaviours are changing in FMCG market through the series of The FMCG Weekly News.

We invite you to have a look at the first piece July Week 1 of the FMCG Weekly News 2021 by downloading the report on the right side of this page.

If you have further queries looking into your category on a weekly basis and/or in periods of time, please feel free to contact any of your existing client service team who will be able to assist or contact us.

• Yakult Vietnam remains the leading position among the Top 10 fastest growing brand owners in Urban 4 key cities
• Calofic – one of the Top 10 most chosen brand owners stands out with a continued CPR increase of 15% in Rural areas
• Orion Vietnam and Mondelez enjoy a healthy CPR growth in line with the strong performance of snacking categories

1. Economic indicators

In the 1st five months of 2021, Vietnam continues seeing a rebound of retail sales of consumer goods, import and export while the CPI is maintained at low rate. On the opposite side, business activities and foreign investment still feel the impact of the on-going pandemic.

Given the new wave happening massively since May, the situation poses risks and challenges to the whole economy in the rest half of 2021.

2. FMCG overview

FMCG growth returns to pre-COVID-19 level in both value and volume consumption. In short term, consumers reduce FMCG spend versus the same period last year when there was a spike due to the pandemic. Yet, the purchasing level is still higher than pre-COVID19 time, up more than 10% versus 2019.

The reduction in spend has been seen in dairy and packaged foods. In contrast, beverages return to positive growth in Urban 4 key cities.Due to the current spread of infected cases, FMCG spend is expected to pick up again in coming weeks yet might not reach the new height in growth, compared to the peak of last year.

3. Hot categories

Hybrid drink shines bright with a robust growth in both Urban and Rural areas. This category growth is driven by the expansion in shopper base and the uplift in volume consumption.

Due to small base, hybrid drink holds huge potential to further develop by capturing the rising demand of health and nutrition, especially in Rural market.

4. Retail landscape

Online FMCG shows a continuous potential for growth as it is the only channel keep growing double digit rate after the 1st year of COVID-19.

With the reoccurrence of COVID-19 preventive measures, value share of online and minimarkets will be likely to keep up with that of wet market – a more-established traditional channel by 2022.

5. Spotlight: Who were the best performing brands of 2020 in Vietnam?

Penetration is king! The key driver of growth among the best performers is the ability to win new consumers, reinforcing the important role of growing consumer base in brand growth.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

• Vinamilk and Unilever reinforce their leading position in urban 4 cities and rural areas respectively
• Nestlé is honored as the 3^rd brand owner achieving healthy growth in Urban ranking
• Calofic becomes a rising star with a highest growth rate among the Top 10 the most chosen brand owners

Asia’s Most Chosen FMCG Brands in 2020

The unique circumstances of the pandemic have accelerated four key trends in Asia:

• An increased focus from physical hygiene to inner health and wellness. People are taking a more holistic view of wellness. Prevention, protection and function become more important, and they are also paying attention to emotional wellbeing. Health supplements are booming as consumers are willing to spend on products that will boost their immune systems. FMCG brands have embraced this trend by targeting communications towards specific concerns, reassuring shoppers and developing innovative products that meet these new needs.

• Behaviours differ by market and category therefore do not average Asia. As we predicted last year, some consumers shifted their spend to value brands, while others have moved to the premium end of the market. Not everyone was willing to give up luxury during lockdown and many bought treats to give themselves a boost when they could not go out. Successful FMCG brands excelled at showing consumers they do not need to compromise, by creating great “moments” and generous promotions to encourage trading up.

• Stay home economy will continue to remain important. Consumers’ desire to live better during this period of lockdowns has boosted in-home categories. For example, consumers started recreating their favourite dining experiences, making more exquisite meals in their homes or mimicking the out of home experience at home. For example, personal care brands launched ‘home spa’ products that enabled people to give themselves that moment of relaxation and self-care. Consumers have also become more environmentally friendly in their product selection. 

• Ecommerce with continuous potential for growth. Millions more consumers have turned to ecommerce as a regular shopping channel. Users have increased in quality as well as quantity, with a rise in ‘middle aged’ shoppers, a group with huge spending power. Brands are using digital platforms to transform the way they sell, with livestreaming video proving highly effective as both a sales conversion point and a brand communication channel. Many have introduced delivery services to ensure they retain existing shoppers and maintain loyalty.

Also, in this year’s publication, you will find the overview for the Asia region, detailed profiles for each market, brand success stories and outlook for 2021. In addition, the publication identifies the implications of this year’s changes for the future of brands and retailers.

Marcy Kou, Managing Director, Worldpanel Asia at Kantar, said: “2020 was a challenging year for companies to navigate, but FMCG brands across Asia have remained consistent and responsive to consumer trends. The events of COVID-19 turned the previously slow growth of FMCG brands on its head, with more innovation enabling many brands to accelerate their growth in 2020. With penetration being the crucial driver of brand growth, 86% of growing brands saw an increase in the number of shoppers choosing them, pointing to more consistent growth with shopper gains seen across more markets.”

Fabrice Carrasco, Managing Director, Vietnam & Philippines Asia Strategic Projects Director Worldpanel Division at Kantar, added: " Vietnam in-home FMCG market hit a five-year high as a result of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We witnessed a clear shift among Vietnamese consumers towards essentials, cooking and hygiene as well as a shift from out-of-home to in-home occasions. As such, food sector was the biggest winner last year, and therefore, all the rankings, especially the top risers, are dominated by food brands. Also, penetration is still king! Growing consumer base remains the key driver for brand growth while innovation plays an important role in attracting new consumers, something we see in common across many of the fastest growing brands. 2021 will pose challenges. In order to grow, brands need a constant understanding of ever-changing consumer behaviours and must move quickly to respond to new trends, whether they are in terms of evolving expected product benefits (convenience, health or value for money, for example) or in terms of channel choices (such as e-commerce or minimarkets)."

Access the report and explore the complete rankings here.

Listen to Future Proof Asia video podcast with Marcy Kou - Managing Director, Worldpanel Asia, click here.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

There is a decision point in every FMCG purchase; a point at which the shopper decides to buy one brand instead of another. 2020 was the most successful year for FMCG market, with 30 of the Top 50 Most Chosen Brands growing, almost doubling that of 2019. In Kantar’s upcoming webinar – Brand Footprint Vietnam 2021, we will reveal which brands performed best in 2020 by winning the moment of truth, based on Consumer Reach Points measure. This measures a brand’s strength in terms of the number of times the brand is chosen by shoppers.

Within this session, we will go through our most important findings, including:

• How FMCG brands grew in 2020 across Asia
• The rankings of the Most Chosen Brand Owners, the Most Chosen Brands and the Fastest Growing Brands in Vietnam
• Successful brand stories and what was behind their success

Watch on-demand our Webinar on 17th June PM (HCMC) to see which brands grew the most in 2020, how they did this, and what you should aim for in 2021.

English session: 2-3PM (HCMC), register
Vietnamese session: 3-4PM (HCMC), register

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

The food sector continues to lead market growth, doubling its value gain from 3.1% in Q1 2020 to 6% in 2021. The dairy category has seen a particularly strong upward movement in its growth rate during the first quarter, up 5.1% from 2.4% the previous year. In line with the positive performance of the overall FMCG market, the beverages sector has experienced a rebound, achieving value growth of 3.5% compared to a drop of -0.1% the year before. In contrast, a slowdown in growth was observed across the non-food sectors.

Reviewing the performance of each market in depth, the report reveals some key insights:

Chinese Mainland: The National Bureau of Statistics has released year-on-year GDP growth figures of 18.3% for the first quarter of 2021. With the pandemic under effective control and the economy getting stronger, the FMCG market here has been recovering very well.

Taiwan: In Q1 of this year ecommerce powered up to become the channel with the third highest FMCG value share in the market, with spend growing 13% thanks to a double-digit increase in the total number of online shops. This indicates that Taiwanese shoppers are getting used to purchasing FMCG products online.

South Korea: COVID-19 has had a noticeable impact on consumers’ FMCG baskets. Shoppers have spent more on home-cooking categories, such as cooking oil and sesame oil, with major growth coming from the online channel. In contrast, the cosmetics market is declining, mainly driven by the decrease in both frequency and volume per trip as people wear less make-up. 

Indonesia: Shoppers are rationalising their FMCG spend, while maintaining the same number of shopping trips. With continued restrictions on outdoor activity, households are opting for higher in-home consumption and bigger packs to manage their budgets. 

Malaysia: Online and supermarkets have been the biggest winners during the pandemic. But while online gained spend from an increase in number of trips and penetration, supermarkets mainly benefited from higher spend per trip, in addition to increased penetration.

Thailand: Since the last quarter of 2020 the government has launched various subsidy programmes designed to provide Thai shoppers with more financial support. This is encouraging them to spend more, which helped the take-home FMCG market to grow by 2.9% in Q1 of this year.

Philippines: The country’s GDP is still contracting, which indicates that recovery might prove to be more challenging than originally expected. Filipinos continue to reduce their in-home FMCG spending, however, the food sector remains resilient as shoppers’ top priority. 

Vietnam: Economic growth has recovered during Q1 of 2021, and this trend is coupled with an improvement in consumer confidence. The online channel is increasing its share of retail value, outstripping more established channels in both urban and rural areas.

1. Economic indicators
Vietnam economic growth shows a recovery in Q1, together with an average CPI at 20-year low. Other economic indicators such as FDI also rebound significantly in the first quarter of 2021. However, the number of suspended operations still increases, remaining challenges.

2. FMCG overview
FMCG growth slows down in both Urban 4 key cities and Rural Vietnam, yet still growing at faster pace than pre-COVID-19 time. In short term, FMCG value in quarter 1 seems on par with that of the same period last year which was an all-time high driven by COVID-19 impact.

As 2020 was a successful year for FMCG market, almost all key FMCG sectors experience either a decline or a slowdown in the first quarter of 2021 in comparison with the same period last year, except for beverages which show signs of rebound in Urban areas.

3. Hot categories
Cooking oil achieves a healthy growth in both value and volume consumption, especially in modern trade.

4. Retail landscape
Despite the slight decline of FMCG market in the first quarter of 2021, emerging channels sustain growth, especially online, outstripping more-established channels in Urban areas.

5. Spotlight: How did FMCG categories perform in 2020?
In Vietnam, more than one third of FMCG categories achieve a double-digit increase in 2020 under COVID-19, growing faster than pre-COVID time and even faster than average growth of FMCG market, driven mainly by hygiene, cooking and transfer from Out of Home.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across the globe with different levels of lockdowns. However, thanks to well coping with the pandemic, Vietnam is able to resume economic and business activities, it’s not completely back to “normal” though. We witness changes on consumer lives and behaviors to a certain extent. There is specifically a consumer shift towards essentials with a surge of FMCG spend, yet this trend has gradually slowed down since end of 2020.

Moving to 2021 with uncertainties remained at least in the first half of this year, how did Lunar New Year 2021 (aka Tet) - the biggest festive season of the year look like? Are there any changes in gift-giving custom among Vietnamese people and in the way of shopping for Tet consumption, in FMCG market particularly?

Let’s explore the main findings in our 2021 Tet report.

Any further questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports in both English and Vietnamese.

Within the report, we provide a quarterly update of FMCG market across Asia, including a variety of categories across China Mainland, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, India, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

In this latest report covering the period Q4, 2020 we capture the highlights as follows:

• China Mainland: With the stable recovery of China Mainland‘s economy, China Mainland’s GDP increased by 2.3% year-on-year; Dispensable income of urban residents increased by 3.5%, and the FMCG market gradually recovered from the COVID-19 epidemic.

• Taiwan: Taiwanese shoppers spent more time at home with more home cooking or party occasions that “cooking necessity” as new keyword in FMCG.

• South Korea: Online continues to grow in Korea, with fiercer competition as Hypermarkets entering the online market. Many online platforms are now marketing themselves for one stop shopping destination.

• Indonesia: FMCG has grown in 2020 as households have re-prioritized their spends resulting in FMCG growing at a higher rate compared to 2019. The driver of this growth coming from the food sector which grew significantly compared to other sectors.

• Malaysia: Malaysian economy contracted by -5.6% in Q4, this is largely due to the Covid-19 forcing strict semi lockdowns which weighted on economic activity. FMCG has grown +12% in Q4, a 10.3 percentage point increase from last year driven by measures of staying and working from home.

• Thailand: Number of shopping trips have been declining for past 7 years, while basket size gradually increased. Stocking up at the begging of first lockdown in Q1 contributed to the trend. In Q4 when there was government subsidy program, spend per trip showed growth in both Urban and Rural.

• Philippines: Among the top 10 categories, instant noodles and family/adult milk are best performing. After recovery in Q3, the Non-Food sector slows down for Q4.

• Vietnam: FMCG in 2020 showed a stronger growth, mainly driven by the impact of COVID-19. Almost all sectors grew at a faster pace with Packaged Food sector being the biggest winner.

Like other countries hit by the pandemic, Vietnam’s economy has also suffered significantly over the course of the outbreak. Encouragingly, Vietnam is still considered as one of the fastest recovering markets, thanks to well coping with the COVID-19 situation since the very beginning.

The health crisis has continuously led to behavioral changes of consumers. Some are quick adoption, yet some we believe are long-lasting habits even as restrictions are eased. As such, this is no longer the era that we live before 2020, we now enter a “new normal” which is shaped by changes that happen in times of pandemic.

Within The 2021 Special Edition Vietnam Insight Ebook, we would like to share with you key highlights (and lowlights) in 2020 and then how things unfold in 2021 and beyond.

We invite you to have a read through the E-book to get some food for thought and to discover untapped potential for growth in the coming time.

Grab your copy here.

For any questions, don't hesitate to contact us!

1. Economic indicators

With the positive figures in 2020, Vietnam economy is expected to further recover in 2021. In the first month of 2021 there was a strong uplift in domestic demand, export and import.  

2. FMCG overview

FMCG for in-home consumption marked a remarkable year, hitting a robust growth in 2020 amid the pandemic, driven by the increase in volume consumption. Yet, in short-term, consumer demand on groceries is getting back to pre-pandemic level.

Packaged Foods is the most successful sector and is the main driver of the abnormal spike in FMCG market throughout the year of stay-at-home economy.

3. Hot categories

Drinking yogurt with health benefits has been growing over the past few years, especially functional segment. The category growth continues in 2020 given the COVID-19 situation. With consumers’ increasing priority on health, drinking yogurt has potential to further grow in both consumer base and volume consumption.

4. Retail landscape

2020 was a year of double-digit growth for almost all channels in terms of FMCG sales. Beside drug stores and pharmacy providing hygiene and disinfection products, channels that offer a wide range of categories including fresh foods have benefited from the increased consumer demand on essentials and basic needs.

5. Spotlight: Share of Vietnamese’s wallet amid COVID-19

Consumers’ spending cut on out-of-home activities such as transportation, entertainment, holiday/travel and savings at the expenses of Food & Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) is a common behavior of Vietnamese households in the context of the health crisis.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!

Moving on into 2021, we still face many challenges caused by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic yet also there are big bets. Though our belief that COVID-19 outbreak contained in Vietnam, and with vaccination being globally distributed, the continued escalation of the situation globally has resulted in many uncertainties and unpredictable effects on economic and business activities that we might not yet fully observe. As a consequence, this will continue to make consumer daily lives, and their behaviors evolve with more complexity.

In this 2021 Special Edition Vietnam Insight Ebook, we would like to share with you what we have learnt throughout 2020, and then giving perspective and outlook for 2021 and beyond.

The Insight Ebook will be officially launched on 9 March 2021.

Pre-order now!

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

1. Economic indicators

Thanks to well coping with COVID-19 pandemic since the very beginning, Vietnam's economy sustained a positive performance in 2020. GDP growth recorded as the lowest growth rate in the past 10 years, yet is still considered as a success compared to other countries, with a stable CPI and a fast rebound of retail sales of consumer goods.         

2. FMCG overview

FMCG in 2020 showed a stronger growth in both urban 4 key cities and rural, mainly driven by the impact of COVID-19. However, in short term, the growth trend is getting back to pre COVID-19 level.

In general, almost all sectors grow at a faster pace over the past 12 months compared to last year, with Packaged Food sector being the biggest winner. Beverages were hit hard yet successfully managed to regain momentum in Urban 4 key cities, while still struggling to bounce back in Rural.

3. Hot categories

Chili sauce increases significantly for in home consumption thanks to its convenience as a ready-to-consume product. Its growth is driven by the expansion of consumer base and also the increase of in-home volume consumption. How is chili sauce used at home? Is the product being used in more dishes/meals?

4. Retail landscape

Online, minimarket, drug stores keep leading the FMCG growth in Urban areas, while other channels start to slow down and even decline in the last quarter of 2020. Hyper & Super slows down as a result of the reduced need of stockpiling. 

5. Spotlight: Ecommerce enjoyed a dramatic growth across Asia

Online shopping for FMCG products is thriving everywhere. Ecommerce is the fastest growing channel and gaining more ground in total retail landscape across Asia from the largest ecommerce markets to small ones.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Book a discovery conversation with our experts!

1. Economic indicators

Vietnam successfully limits the spread of COVID-19 from recent cases. The economy is in ongoing recovery coupled with well-controlled CPI (under 4%) and healthy growth of retail sales of consumer goods. Yet, there remains uncertainties of the pandemic, it’s crucial to keep an eye on market movements and monitor the impacts.

Export and Import are resilient despite this unstable situation. However, other indicators such as foreign investment and private operational businesses might need a longer time to go back to pre-COVID levels.

2. FMCG overview

FMCG market witnesses a stronger growth in both Urban and Rural compared to last year’s performance however gradually normalizing in short term.

Packaged Foods enjoy an impressive growth especially in Urban areas, continuously driven by cooking aids and convenient foods. Also, Dairy and Personal Care are doing well this year. This could be explained by consumer preference shift to health, hygiene and safety amid the COVID-19.

3. Hot categories

As consumers seek for good-for-health choices, juice milk has been blooming in both Urban and Rural market for in-home consumption over the last eleven months of 2020, thanks in part to nutrients and different flavors the product provides. The category growth is attributable to the expansion of consumer base, especially in rural areas

4. Retail landscape

Emerging channels and big modern retail formats remain an important role in driving FMCG growth in Urban 4 key cities. Modern retail keeps evolving with a significant share increase.

5. Spotlight: Road to rebound for BEER

In the context of COVID-19, BEER has been heavily affected, especially for out of home consumption. However, in-home occasions for Beer have potential to further invest. Tet season and modern trade format could be considered as a significant contribution to total category performance for in-home consumption.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Book a discovery conversation with our experts!

 
Key highlights for this issue:

• FMCG in Asia sustains a positive growth by 3.1% in Q3 2020, yet seeing a slight slowdown compared to 4.8% in Q3 2019, particularly in North Asia and Southeast Asia.
   
• Food sector is leading the FMCG market, achieving an appetizing growth of 5.2% as compared to 3.4% in the same period last year, attributed to more cooking and eating occasions at home during COVID-19 time across almost all markets.
   
• Home care maintains its growth momentum at a growth of 7.6% for this quarter, which could be explained by consumer preference towards hygiene and cleanliness to defend themselves against COVID-19 viruses.
   
• The beverage and personal care sector experience a certain impact by the pandemic. Beverage suffers a decline of 3.0%, mainly driven by China Mainland. Meanwhile, personal care still grows yet at slower pace of 2.6% from 8.4% in Q3 2019, due to the negative performance in the top beauty markets in North Asia like Korea, Taiwan, and China Mainland.  
   
• Online shopping for FMCG products is thriving everywhere. Ecommerce is the fastest growing channel and gaining more ground in total retail landscape across markets from North Asia to Southeast Asia.
   
• Across the region, each market displays a different growth rate in total FMCG and across sectors. This is in line with the impact of COVID-19 had on movement, market trade structures (e.g. role of E-commerce) and the purchasing power of consumers in respective markets [refer to our previous publication on What Now, What Next].

*For more details and breakdown, download the report on the right side of this page.

Do not hesitate to get in touch for a local deep dive with in-depth insight and analysis.

1. Economic indicators

Vietnam’s economy has been affected by the pandemic, slowing down its growth rate compared to previous year. However, it’s on the pattern of recovery in recent months, partly driven by the rebound of retail sales of consumer goods and the stability of CPI.

COVID-19 has a negative impact on FDI and business operations across industries in 2020. While export and import manage to post a positive performance over the last 10 months.

2. FMCG overview

FMCG growth slows down in short term, returning to single digit pace in both Urban 4 cities and Rural. Overall, FMCG market is projected to sustain a healthy growth of 8%-10% for 2020.

Packaged Food sector has a remarkable year, driven by the significant increase of cooking & snacking categories. The other sectors also achieve robust growth in both Urban 4 cities and Rural, except Beverage which is expected to bounce back by exciting the market and consumers with new news and innovations.

3. Hot categories

Packaged bread has thrived during the first 10 months of 2020, thanks to its convenience and nutrition as a meal alternative. The category growth is partly driven by the expansion of consumer base and the increase in volume consumption. There are room for packaged bread to further grow post pandemic by capturing new eating occasions.

4. Retail landscape

All shopping channels both traditional and modern trade perform well. Emerging channel formats such as online and minimarkets continue growing share with a fast pace, which speeds up the development of modern retail.

5. Spotlight: How Tet 2021 will look like?

Tet is the greatest opportunity for FMCG players and retailers as total Tet sales normally double that of a normal month, mainly driven by gifting. However, with the effects of C-19, are there any changes will be observed? Will FMCG spend pick up thanks to more in-home occasions and will online channel further accelerate in the upcoming Tet?

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Book a discovery conversation with our experts!

1. COVID situation

Though the 2nd wave of the outbreak in late July was well contained, concerns about household income and job security remain higher than usual across 4 Key Cities.

2. Economic indicators

Vietnam’s economic performance is getting back to growth in quarter 3 and is expected to continue rebounding in the last quarter of 2020.

3. FMCG overview

In short term, the FMCG market growth returns to its pre-COVID level.

4. Hot categories

Snacking products are doing well amid the pandemic, promising great opportunities by capturing new in-home occasions.

5. Retail landscape

Growth is cooling across all channels. Online channel continues to gain share and is the fastest growing format post MCO.

6. Spotlight

Despite a global pandemic to worry about, the desire to live more sustainably has not disappeared among Vietnamese people, which might affect their purchase behaviors post C19.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Book a discovery conversation with our experts!

2020 has been dominated by COVID-19 and the impact of lockdowns on the economies around the world including Vietnam. Despite this, we still see a growing trend that sustainability is gaining more attention from the FMCG industry due to the growing consumer awareness on environmental issues, as well as their expectations on businesses to operate more sustainably.

This year’s edition of Who Cares, Who Does?, our global study on attitudes and behaviours towards living sustainably and reducing environmental waste, now includes Vietnam meaning for the first time, we can shed some light on Vietnamese consumers beliefs and actions towards this important topic. 

We would like to invite you to join our webinar taking place on October 15th when our expert speakers joined by a very special guest and to share with you the main findings and answer your questions to help you understand what consumers expect from your brand around sustainability.

• English session: 10AM (60 minutes, VN time) - RE-WATCH HERE!

              Speaker: Peter Christou (Mr), Expert Solutions

              Worldpanel Division, Kantar Vietnam

              Guest speaker: Anders Gustafsson (Mr), Marketing Director 

              Tetra Pak, Vietnam

• Vietnamese session: 11AM (60 minutes, VN time) - RE-WATCH HERE!

              Speaker: Vo Thi Kim Nhu (Ms), Senior Account Manager

              Worldpanel Division, Kantar Vietnam

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us!  

1. COVID situation

Though the second wave seems to be well contained in infected areas, the situation remains uncertain in the rest of 2020

2. Economic indicators

CPI rises slightly in July, yet still being well-controlled while retail sales of consumer goods start regaining its growth momentum.

3. FMCG overview

The market records double digit growth in the first 7 months yet slowing down post social distancing period. 

4. Hot categories

“Pandemic” categories see a slowdown post lockdown periods while beverage categories are rebounding. 

5. Retail landscape

Retail environment is changing with the expansion of emerging channels and big retail formats, which is more likely the new normal.

6. Spotlight

Online channel – one of emerging channels is gaining popularity among Vietnamese people. Great promising for digital payment to take off!?

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Book a discovery conversation with our experts!

Following up on our 2019 Who Cares, Who Does? report, our global study on attitudes and actions towards living sustainably and reducing environmental waste, this year’s publication provides updated and new insights in this area. The 2020 report is based on the results of a survey covering more than 80,000 respondents from 19 countries across Europe, Latam, US and Asia, and explores how manufacturers and retailers look to meet their environmental commitments and bring more consumers with them.

Join us for a webinar on 16 September when our expert Natalie Babbage, Global LinkQ Director, will share the main findings of the study, to help you understand what consumers expect from your brand around sustainability.

Sign up for the webinar:

Wednesday, 16 September 10:00 BST

Wednesday, 16 September 16:00 BST

1. COVID situation

Vietnam recently suffers increasing numbers of new cases and even some deaths with a potential next wave of COVID in early H2.

2. Economic indicators

GDP slows down in the first half of 2020. Economic recovery remains challenging for the rest of the year with a revised GDP target of 3.8%.

3. FMCG overview

An abnormal upsurge in FMCG spend for in-home consumption, mainly due to the impact of the outbreak.

4. Hot categories

The majority of FMCG categories achieve good performance in H1 2020. “Pandemic” categories enjoy impressive growth.

5. Retail landscape

Street shops still play a key role in generating spending, yet H&S and emerging channels are gaining in importance, especially during C-19 time.

6. Spotlight

Out-of-home spend recovers quickly after social distancing, yet still not returned to pre-COVID levels. Noticeably, COVID-19 has accelerated the growth of delivery services.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Book a discovery conversation with our experts!

This article will be discussing on growth opportunities for value-for-money retail models in Asia region and particularly in Vietnam market.

#1. Growth drivers of discounter stores globally

Globally, discounters have been able to grow sales by +6%, versus only +2% for total channels & they now account for 11% of dollars spent, for FMCG, which is a big increase in share, in a short space of time – in fact growth is coming from everywhere except Asia!

There are two angles to this growth: 

The first one is the number of physical store openings across the world, which has been quite a big driver of their share gain. In the US market, Aldi has added 7% more stores to its estate, while in the UK they opened 70 new stores in 2018 alone.

Finding the land for new stores can be challenging however with an average store size of 500-1000 SQ m, which is still smaller than the average H&S store, owners of discounters are still able to find land to build new stores.

The second key driver of their growth is more shopper driven – globally, shoppers want to have good quality at a good price and this value for money standing is exactly the positioning that discounters have been able to carve out.

In Europe the positioning has developed significantly over the last few years and not only about price. The atmosphere is very different if you visit an Aldi or Lidl. Many stores refreshed and enlarged to make for a very pleasant shopping experience with a strong focus on fresh foods, bakery and frozen areas completely different to 10 or 15 years ago.

In France, Lidl has been on a journey from a hard-discounter to a top retailer. Around 2015 they changed their communication style to shoppers. They began to communicate more heavily, increasing .media spends with a clear message about “the real price of good things” which really resonated with French.

Learnings from Latam and Asia markets [Download on the right side of this page]

#2. The evolution of Discounters: Product assortment and shopper profile

There has been a movement.  

At the beginning it was very much about grocery and household products but now discounters have expanded into all sectors such as fresh foods – fruit and vegetables, meat and bakery and they also provide textiles and other non-food items.

However, there are two key differences between Discounters and Hypermarkets & Supermarkets (H&S).

As such, do discounter retail models only attract low income shoppers?

Generally, when we talk about discounters in France or UK, penetration rate is already quite high, so they are quite mainstream.

That said, overall their profile is less high income than average, skewing to low and medium low-income families. 

In the past discounters would be popular for specific events like Christmas or for top up shopping*  between big trips to Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, however, they feature much more in routine missions now, so it has changed, but the frequency of shopping is still much lower than H&S, which leaves room for improvement.

Discounters are now attracting shoppers of all income groups but what they need to do is to focus on building loyalty. For example, they don’t offer any strong loyalty card program which would help drive loyalty and more frequent trips, as well as more data for the retailer to use!

*Top up shopping: small trips to get a few things which maybe run out – not the main routine trip where buying lots of things

#3. Challenges and opportunities for value for money retail models to succeed in Asia

This is not easy at all. In a lot of Asian markets, the modern trade is still developing like in Vietnam where it accounts for just 20% of the market with such a strong traditional trade. However, as we saw in Latam, particularly Columbia, it is still possible to succeed.

Are shoppers ready to go for an 80% private label assortment when they are so used to buying brands? That will be a big challenge to enter Asia market.

Maybe brands would need to have a bigger focus, at least at the beginning. Brands are a way to attract shoppers, give them some familiarity in an otherwise unfamiliar store setting.

From a logistics side, discounters will want to work with small manufactures who can commit to providing exclusively for their store so they will need to do their homework to find them and that takes time. Some manufacturers won’t want to shift focus from being a brand owner to producing for a retailer.

Aldi launching in Shanghai will certainly be interesting to monitor. They’ve shown they can adapt themselves to local context and excite shoppers with imported products. If this first step is successful, it’s highly likely they will be exploring other markets to enter and emulate.

#4. The potential of Private Label

In Asia, private label is still a relatively small proposition, due in part to lower modern trade development. That is slowly changing, and we are seeing more and more private label offers in store. We can learn from European markets about the driving factors behind the success of private label products.

Private labels were fist launched in the 60’s and 70’s but they were poor products and had really bad quality packaging.

It also started in home care markets which are what we call low involvement categories such as paper products, cleaning products where people care less about the product they use – however today you will see private label on offer in nearly markets and that’s because today private labels offer shoppers both a good price but also good quality.

In Europe they account for around 35% value share with countries like the UK up to and over half of spending, and that’s not just one line of private label. Today you have different tiers of private label from value, to mainstream, to premium, to super premium, organic etc…and they play like brands.

Of course, value came first, but starting in the late 90’s and into 2000’s we started to see all the range splits, and a proper focus on quality by working with better processes to produce goods. In many cases, the branded manufacturers also work with retailers to produce their private label offer!

Interestingly, research from Europanel shows that private label introductions are more likely to cannibalise other private label than branded products. Choice mechanisms can help explain why, for example 'Similarity' - the private label often has the same store name; and 'Compromise' - introductions at the bottom and top of the price hierarchy mean that products in the middle (brands) become more attractive compromise choices.

Today the growth of private label is coming mainly thanks to discounters. In the long term, private label growth tends to impact the middle ground. Hence, the more private label develops, the more the manufacturers of such brands need to build unique characteristics or specific use benefits.

If we bring it back to today in Vietnam, private label is still small, earning about 1% market share within FMCG in Urban 4 key cities (Ho Chi Minh city, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Can Tho), however, it’s on an upward trajectory with key modern trade retailers exploring more and more this profitable strategy.

As of now, 90% of private label spend is coming from home care products and packaged foods – paper products, cleaning products, cooking oil, sauces to name a few. Retailers are playing in the lower price points and with bigger pack sizes, but product quality is able to compete with that of branded offers.

Given the low awareness of private label products among Vietnamese consumers, we are seeing the stronger push for private label from key retailers, especially foreign retailers, not only in hypermarkets & supermarkets format like Emart, Aeon but also in convenient formats like FamilyMart. They offer a wider range of choices and segments, invest in branding through packaging and focussing on product display in key areas to attract consumers. It’s not clear at the moment whether their efforts will truly help private label products to grow in popularity, but there is huge potential for success in the next few years. With the rise of convenience stores, the revitalization of big retail formats toward “retailtainment” and the potential emergence of new retail like discounters, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see private label products growing!?

It won’t be easy at all. There are a few things that retailers may consider to develop private label or run discount stores in Vietnam:

Through this report, Kantar will examine some of the commonly asked questions we have been receiving across the Asia region i.e. the “What Now” comprising of the questions of:

• Global vs Local brands – who won?

In addressing these questions, the report will be showcasing some market examples to help bring to light some key practical actions to consider moving into the post COVID-19 future i.e. “What Next”. 

Download the report on the right side of this page.

If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact us.

• FMCG shopping via ecommerce grew a massive 41%; from 8.8% of value in 2019 to 12.4% in the second quarter of the year.
• The collapse in out-of-home (OOH) spending resulted in Snacking and Non-Alcoholic Beverages spend falling by between 10% and 30% in major markets
• The transfer of OOH eating to in-home increased in-home eating occasions by 21% - generating new category opportunities for brands.
• A new era of ‘Liquid Retail’; where the lines between home delivery, ecommerce, in-home and OOH are fluid and will make FMCG market competition fiercer than ever.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have often been asked, “what learnings can we take from markets in recovery i.e. China and Korea?”. I guess this is a just and fair question to delve into.

Whilst there are some very key and strong things other markets can consider; the reality is that, we can’t average Asia.

“What works in ‘A’ market DOES NOT ALWAYS necessarily work in another market”.

For this particular edition, we will examine if at all, if markets are reacting similar/differently to one another – and hopefully this is a good start point for us to hold the right benchmarks on what we could consider doing (and more realistically). We have identified 6 core factors that we believe shaped and impacted how the Asian consumer/shoppers shopped in market. Obviously, these factors are non-exhaustive; but we do see a clear pattern of how these factors come together to help paint a picture.

As the Stay-At-Home Economy flourishes during this time of pandemic (almost all markets); what is happening to the Out of Home (OOH) Economy? We have slotted in a small section which hopefully will help trigger some ideas and thoughts as well.

We hope you will find our latest whitepaper not only informative but interesting as well. Remember, we can only get better at answering your needs if you continue to challenge and put your questions forward.

On the face of it, we are returning to normal, yet are there any changes observed in the way of living? Any new habit, new lifestyle which has been formed as a result of the lockdown? 

The answers might vary by category and by region, which have yet to be fully unfolded. However, based on Kantar’s Worldpanel data, we found that behavioral changes among Vietnamese consumers evolve as the different phases pass. Understanding this will bring us up to date on the current situation and help businesses anticipate future growth strategies, post the pandemic. 

With Kantar webinar series providing you continued updates about COVID-19 impact, particularly on FMCG and retail industry, we would like to invite you to join our upcoming webinar #3 New normal post lockdown: Myth or reality. 

Within this webinar, our speakers will share key findings on:

• Behavioral changes during lockdown period
• What happened to out of home F&B market?
• New normal: Myth or reality?

This is a collation of the 10 slides which we found was most impactful and relevant to brands and retailers. More than ever we believe behavioural evidence has a greater role to play to help us see what's happening clearly and to develop growth strategies and responses to them. We have focussed on insights that truly reveal what happens to people’s personal care and home care, food and beverages routines amid the pandemic, as a way to predict what consequences to expect in future behaviour.

In this particular edition, we have included a feature on:

• Korea: How did shoppers/consumers behave during the Swine Flu, MERs outbreak and how different is it compared to COVID-19?
• Taiwan: Being an ‘exemplary’ country on tackling COVID-19; how did FMCG fair?
• Philippines: With a distinct ‘Rich and Poor’ divide in the market, how are these SECs coping?
• Role of promotion for categories on the path to recovery in China. Be reminded on assessing the right depth, frequency, lever!
• E-commerce versus Brick and Mortar channel in lockdown – who is winning on the longer run in Indonesia?
• Our Beauty panel in China – with personal care being one of the more severely impacted categories – how is it recovering post lock down?
• Plus our other favorite key slides and updates on Out-of-Home purchasing in Vietnam.

DOWNLOAD NOW on the right side of this page. Stay tuned for the next episodes.

As always, get in touch to let us know about the areas that you would like us to feature and explore into.

Consumer spend on FMCG products in Rural areas shows a slowdown in the 1^st two months of 2020, mostly driven by the period starting from 1^st February when the Prime Minister declared the official epidemic in Vietnam.

There is a profound impact across FMCG sectors, resulting in dynamic movements within each sector. Although growth has been posted in almost all sectors, the Covid-19 spread poses challenges for many categories, especially Beverages which have been heavily affected.

On the other hand, we also witness the spikes in demand of “pandemic” categories such as hand wash, instant noodles, etc. as rural consumers want to stockpile goods as well. 

Download the full analysis in both English and Vietnamese on the right side of this page.

Get in touch to discuss on your business questions to find the best approach.

Notes to editors:

*The analysis is based on Worldpanel data, household panel in Rural Vietnam, total FMCG excluding Gift for in-home consumption.

Covid-19 data period: 4 weeks ending 23 February 2020 versus 4 weeks ending 3 March 2019.

For Vietnam, where it’s been more than one month since the first official announcement on 1^st February, it enters  the 2^nd phase of COVID-19 outbreak since the most recent, 17^th case. Hopes for 2020 were that the country would maintain and continue the strong GDP growth of 7.02% in 2019, however it is now less likely with the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first two months of 2020, CPI increased by 5.91%, the highest rate over the past seven years! As a result, domestic demand on consumer goods posted a weaker performance than the same period last year with an increase of 9.8% compared to 14.4% in 2019, the lowest growth rate since 2014, according to The General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

Within fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, the widespread COVID-19 is disrupting FMCG businesses but not all categories and retailers will see a negative impact. Kantar is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on FMCG categories across different shopping channels to shed light on how consumers’ behaviors are changing, to help  brands and retailers to respond to them in this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) time.

1.    More stocking up and less socializing

Based on Worldpanel data, Vietnam’s FMCG market growth shows a slowdown in the first two months of 2020 despite 2019’s optimistic picture. Dairy, Packaged Foods and Personal Care sectors have managed to sustain growth while Beverages has suffered a decline despite this being high season (Lunar New Year aka Tet). It’s possibly explained by the lower numbers of parties and celebrations as Vietnamese people avoided socializing and gathering in a bid to reduce their exposure amid the widespread COVID-19.

In order to deep dive into the impact of COVID-19, which started from the week right after Tet Eve (the 1^st day of Lunar New Year), we have realigned the reporting period based on the lunar calendar to make the data really comparable. By looking at consumer purchase behaviors in the 4 weeks after Tet 2020 (post Tet period) compared to the same period last year – 4 weeks after Tet 2019, we are now able to see how COVID-19 has initially affected Vietnamese consumers’ FMCG spend and purchase behaviors.

*Blue line: Data period 4 weeks ending 23 Feb 2020 vs 4 weeks ending 3 Mar 2019

Vietnamese consumers in Urban 4 key cities show a tendency to stock up three groups of categories. Firstly, they spend more on categories that offer personal and family hygiene in order to remain clean and kill germs. Hand wash, bar soap, household cleaning products are all seeing double- and even triple-digit rise. Secondly, convenient foods and cooking aids also surge during the outbreak, probably due to the fear and anxiety amid the increasing number of confirmed cases as well as the extended home stay of children who haven’t been at school. Frozen food, canned food, instant noodle and cooking oil are a few categories enjoying impressive growth. The other group of categories that consumers seek for during this time is immune-boosting and nutrition products, especially for seniors and kids who are at higher risk. Therefore, specialty milk powder and drinking yogurt are more favored to stay healthy.

On the other hand, consumers are cutting down celebratory categories from their basket during the spread of coronavirus. Beverages including both alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic categories suffer the most in this period. Beer and carbonated soft drinks are, in particular, experiencing a sharp decline.

2.    Channel movements

There are changes not only in consumers’ basket but also in their channel choice during the virus outbreak. Online shopping prevails and booms significantly thanks to the increasing number of transactions as forecasted previously. We witness more people shopping online than usual, accelerating the growth of online FMCG spend to a triple digit rate in just one month since the official announcement in Vietnam. This trend is expected to continue in the coming months especially when there has been advice  from  local authorities to shop online in order to avoid the crowds and physical contact.

With the surge in demand for protection masks and hand sanitizers among Vietnamese these days, it’s no surprise to see the robust growth of consumer spend in pharmacies and drugstores including Medicare and Guardian. More purchases of hygiene products were made in these channels as consumers’ priority for now is to protect and enhance their safety.

As the number of affected people swells, this results in panic buying among Vietnamese in some areas, especially where there have been confirmed cases. It drives demand for stock-up, leading to the notable growth of major modern retail formats including hypermarket, supermarket and minimarket which offer hygiene, product variety, and lots of epidemic supporting programs such as home-delivery, stable-price masks and hand sanitizer, farmer supporting sales, etc. Within big retail format, Big C – one of key retailers achieved the strongest performance, driven by increasing both footfall and spend per trip in its stores. MM Mega market (cash-and-carry retail model) also picks up during this time despite its downturn in recent years.

Meanwhile, shopping places most commonly used for daily needs are losing traffic as shoppers preferring “less physical contact” have fewer shopping trips but with a bigger trip size. As such, street shops – key shopping channel, and convenience stores are seeing a short-term impact caused by the COVID-19.

Food for thought

The unexpected virus outbreak remains on-going with more people affected. Economic activities and business operations have been continuously disrupted. Below is some food for thought to stay safe and strong during challenging times and to be well-prepared in the post pandemic period.

The VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) situation has been escalating very quickly in the last two months, posing challenges for all of us. In order to understand how this context may impact purchase behaviors and how brands may be able to mitigate associated risks, we are continuing to closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 pandemic across FMCG categories and retailers, on a monthly basic.

Contact us to discuss on what we can support you to deal with the crisis.

Notes to editors:

*The analysis is based on Worldpanel data, household panel in Urban Vietnam 4 key cities (Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho), total FMCG excluding Gift for in-home consumption.

Data period: 4 weeks ending 23 February 2020 versus 4 weeks ending 3 March 2019.

Almost half (48%) of consumers in the region are ‘hugely concerned’ about the impact of COVID-19 on their day-to-day lives. Understandably, people living in countries with the highest number of cases are feeling most vulnerable to the virus, with 75% in Korea and 60% in Japan saying that they are concerned, and their lives have been disrupted. The level of trust in the way the government is handling the crisis is very low in Korea (39%) and Japan (9%). In Singapore, where only 33% are concerned, 78% say that they trust in the government’s approach to handling the crisis.

Kantar analysis covering the stock price evolution of over 100 consumer goods companies across Asia shows that only a small group of corporations managed to improve their value since COVID-19 started spreading uncertainty across the region. Consumers and markets are waking up to the economic threat posed by COVID-19, as attested by global stock markets including Asia sinking even deeper.

Travel less, eat in and stream content more

The study shows how people are adjusting their lifestyles to reduce the risk from COVID-19. The industry that has been hardest hit by the outbreak is travel, with 59% of people saying that they have decided to travel less to stay safe. This is followed by 52% saying that they are less likely to eat out, and the same number (52%) saying that they are avoiding socialising outside of the house. Instead, people are choosing to stay in, with 42% streaming more content, 33% hosting get-togethers at home and 30% ordering in food. 

Purchase behaviours have also shifted as the threat from the virus has grown. The most apparent development has been the rise in ‘panic purchases’ in many countries, with around one in three (30%) saying that they worry about running out of essentials and buy more than usual, leaving shelves empty. This is highest in Japan where 64% of people admit to this behaviour. 

Surge in shopping online, hygiene and health categories

The study also reveals a 32% increase in online shopping across these markets over the past two months as people avoid crowded supermarkets or use e-commerce channels to get their hands on items that are out of stock in physical stores. Koreans have the highest increase in online shopping (41%). Online grocery platforms and food delivery services saw the highest increase, resulting in many providers having to adjust their strategies to deal with the demand. In contrast, shopping in retail outlets has been reduced by 35% over the same period. 

Predictably, categories associated with hygiene and health have seen the biggest rise in purchases, with 48% of people saying they are buying more personal hygiene items such as face masks and hand sanitiser, 45% buying more health and nutritional items such as vitamins to improve immunity, and 40% reporting that they are spending more on home cleaning products. On the other hand, people are spending less on alcoholic beverage (30%), a trend also seen during the SARS epidemic. In addition, fewer people are buying luxury items (27%) and meat and seafood (21%).

The study also highlights how COVID-19 is resulting in consumers with a heightened focus on products and services that are ‘safe to use’, especially when it comes to the Food and Beverage category and Consumer Goods. In addition, they are looking for brands that have enhanced health and wellbeing benefits to help build a strong defence against the virus. There is also demand for the insurance sector to create more products geared at covering health and wellness in times of crisis. 

*This is based on an online survey of 3,000 consumers between the ages of 18 and 60 across six countries in the region: Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Japan and Thailand. Fieldwork was conducted between 25 and 27 February 2020. Kantar’s panel data and social media analysis over the period between 18 Dec and 27 February 2020 complements the survey. 

Contact us to get the latest updates of Covid-19 impact on Vietnam FMCG and retail market.

There's no doubt that the current epidemic outbreak has deeply influenced consumers' daily life and in addition to the impact on food and transportation, it's estimated that changes will also be witnessed in consumers' purchase behavior across personal care and beauty products.

According to Kantar Worldpanel’s beauty panel, prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, the overall traffic of personal care sector has been relatively stable. During the year, March, mid-year, and the end of the year usually gain the most obvious traffic growth driven by promotion activities from online retailers.

Among all the subcategories, skin care has won the most traffic, while color cosmetics has gained the biggest year on year growth up to January 24th 2020.

How will personal care and beauty categories perform after the outbreak of Covid-19? 

We have the following predictions:

01.Short-term influence on hair care

During SARS outbreak in 2003 there was no official quarantine policy from government so most consumers still maintained their regular pace of daily work and life, but when they came back home, they cared more about their daily personal care routine. This boosted certain cleansing categories such as hair shampoo and body wash.

But during the recent epidemic situation of Covid-19, under the strict (semi) quarantine suggestions and policy, consumers have been staying at home for most of the time (even as long as 14 days) without going out and working from home has been widely accepted by many companies.

In this unique scenario consumers have decreased their hair washing frequency and "no hair wash" has been a popular hash tag in social media. For example, in Sina Weibo, the topic of “number of days without a hair wash” has over 65,000 discussions and over 379 million page views. 

We can foresee that in a short period, the related categories, such as hair shampoo, conditioner, will see a drop in purchasing. But in the medium to long term, with the relief of epidemic situation and people returning to work the hair care category will soon start to pick up.

02.Big impact on Color cosmetics and fragrance

While consumers are still using body wash and hair shampoo at some frequency, color cosmetics seems to be less relevant as most females are staying-indoors and the biggest influence should appear in the two weeks after China Lunar New year. 

We estimate that during the current outbreak or even some time after the outbreak finishes, the recovery of color cosmetics will be relatively slow as the protection on face will last for some time.

In spite of the huge impact, there are some encouraging signals when you consider the new life style and work style among young generations. 

The increasing popularity of video conferencing, video dating, selfies and livestreaming on Social networks mean many young consumers will still wear makeup, and some sophisticated females even invented "face mask makeup styles" which focus more on eye makeup. In Sina Weibo, "the must-haves for face mask makeup" topic has gained more than 14,000 discussions and over 8.9 million page views up to February 20th.

For fragrance, due to less socializing out of the home during the epidemic outbreak combined with the increased usage of disinfectant fluid /spray, the number of fragrance usage occasions will reduce significantly.

03.Rising awareness for body cleansing, skin care will also win more attention

Led by hand wash / sanitizer, body cleansing is surely a hero category during the epidemic outbreak. In addition, due to long periods of staying at home, the lack of exercise, and the wearing of face masks, the facial skin status will also be influenced including the problem as skin dullness, roughness due to friction, sensitivity, which will need more care. And with the increasing frequency of washing hands, there will be an increased need for hand cream. 

These factors will drive the rebound of the skin care category, especially those products with the benefits of keeping skin healthy

04.The next rising star: Environment friendly products

According to a survey on sustainability by Kantar Worldpanel in 2019, more than half of Chinese consumers pay close attention on "sustainability", which is mainly out of their concern on health. 

As the outbreak of Covid-19 is somewhat considered as the revenge from the nature, in the future, we expect consumers will show more care towards Mother Nature. This alongside the continuing education from media and brands abut sustainability means that products with environmental friendly elements will gain more preference among consumers which will likely inspire the beauty industry to integrate sustainability into brand strategy, and focus more on products with "nature" and "healthy" concepts.

Though we predict that personal care and beauty categories will be impacted greatly during the epidemic outbreak, with the increasing of health awareness among consumers, and the recovery of normal daily life and going-out frequency, different categories will start to pick up at different times.

It’s estimated that hair care will bounce back relatively quick, and then skin care; while for color cosmetics, it might take some time until consumers feel it is safe to remove their face mask.

Kantar Worldpanel will closely monitor the impact on personal care and beauty categories from Covid-19 outbreak in the first half year of 2020, and provide up-to-date information on how these categories are starting to pick up.

Contact us to get the latest updates of Covid-19 impact on Vietnam FMCG and retail market.

Kantar, the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company, announces today the introduction of their three new sales and marketing tools built on Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) algorithms and workflows developed in Kantar’s Brand Growth Lab in Singapore. The Lab, an advanced analytics hub, is dedicated to discovering new ways to leverage big data to drive strategic decision-making for business. The three new solutions are all designed to help Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands find sustainable growth in South East Asia. The Solutions are:

• Kantar Brand Growth Accelerator:  an engine for inquiry to discover growth opportunities and facilitate organizations alignment to monetize them.

• Kantar Demand Forecasting Simulator is a demand forecasting tool integrating multiple data sources and building multi-variate models using advanced algorithms to better estimate future demand.

• Kantar Promotions Simulator is a new methodology for modelling CRM effectiveness, helping to understand which touchpoints and mechanics deliver sales, including which combinations of offerings will provide the biggest sales uplift.

“The demand for household paper increased significantly

during the SARS outbreak.

Consumers were willing to choose higher quality, more expensive products." 

According to the data during the SARS period in 2003, the increased time consumers spent at home would inevitably drive a significant increase in demand for household necessities. Household paper products also benefited from this. The growth rate of paper products in the 2nd quarter, the period most affected by SARS, was higher compared to the other quarters, especially for facial tissue.

Meanwhile, during the epidemic, consumers were willing to choose higher quality products at a higher price due to safety and health considerations. We found that the price index of facial tissue purchased by consumers during the epidemic outbreak was 15% higher than the average for the whole year.

“Impact of Covid-19 on the Future

Household Paper Market in 2020”

Since 2003, the consumption of household paper products in China has seen significant development both in terms of quantity and quality. Furthermore, compared to 17 years ago, the consumer perceptions and the category structure was very different. We believed that the household paper category in the epidemic and post-epidemic era will usher in new opportunities.

In the short term, the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020 will result in a strong demand for paper products, especially for the wet tissue products with the functions of disinfection and speed clean sterilization. In addition, as consumers have spent more time on cooking and eating at home, kitchen towel and wet tissues will also perform well.

New usage occasions for the category have also arisen as a result of the epidemic; for example, placing a disposable tissue in the office/residential elevator to ensure the hygiene of the elevator buttons. In Hong Kong some savvy consumers also use tissue to make reusable masks (though this could not extend the lifespan of mask).

In the long term, we predict the following trends in the household paper category:

1. With the improvement of national health awareness, health, environmental protection and the pursuit of safety, food-grade paper products will become more and more popular and consumers are more willing to pay for better quality products. Antiseptic wet tissue will see rapid growth and unbleached tissue, with no bleach and free additive as the main selling points, will continue to perform well.

Brands can launch higher-quality products and communicate with the interest of health, environmental protection and safety to meet the upgraded needs of consumers.

2. As consumers’ lives become more refined and sophisticated, their demand for different scenarios of household paper will be higher and higher. They will use kitchen towel in the kitchen; use wet toilet tissue in the bathroom, take mini-tissue and antiseptic wipes to go out; use soft-pack tissue for office desk or home table, use cotton towels for beauty care or makeup.

Brand owners could communicate and interact with consumers by connecting with different usage scenarios and drive the rapid development of new market segments.

3. Consumers are more likely to choose comprehensive e-commerce and offline retail channels supported by O2O to purchase household paper. In 2019, before the epidemic, the new Omni-channel retail mode “Wu-Mart+Dmall” enabled Wu-Mart’s O2O delivery proportion to reach 13.8% value share of the business, far exceeding the 5.5% share for the overall modern trade channel, which also helped its household paper category to achieve a rapid growth of 8% under the stagnant environment of modern trade.

During this epidemic, driven by the convenience, consumers are more likely to choose shopping in community supermarkets/CVS, O2O platforms and integrated e-commerce platforms. It is believed that in the post-epidemic era, household paper will become a necessity on the O2O platforms, and increasing the investment on these mobile APPs to enhance brand exposure and offer more usage tips can gain a winning advantage.

4. Key players in the market will further differentiate their brands from the competition, and the concentration of top mega brands may be strengthened. In 2019, the top four groups (Vinda, Hengan, Gold Hongye, Guangdong Zhongshun Group) in household paper category, together account for about 51% of the market, and the other 49% was occupied by regional brands and local brands.

After this epidemic, the consumption tendency of some mass consumers may become more rational and they will consider to purchase lower cost products again. Meanwhile, middle-class consumers would be more willing to purchase products that can satisfy the requirements of healthy life quality, and the demand of some subcategories will develop rapidly, thus accelerating the premiumisation trend.

This change in behaviour may eliminate a number of weak small brands in the market if they are not quick enough to adapt to the changing consumer needs. Mega brands, however, which can rely on abundant production lines and superior marketing resources may see a greater benefit if they have a well-balanced portfolio which fits with well within the new environment.

Contact us to get the latest updates of Covid-19 impact on Vietnam FMCG and retail market.

In China, Kantar also conducted a nationwide consumer survey on Chinese consumers’ changing behavior and attitude during the outbreak, and with our continuously tracking consumer panel, we are now able to assess the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on FMCG Market during China New Year 2020, find out more on below articles:

• Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on China FMCG Market during Lunar New Year
• Measuring the impact of the coronavirus on China’s consumption

In Vietnam, we could probably see the same patterns. Here are our thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on Vietnamese consumer behaviors in both the long and short term.  

In the short term:

• The spread of coronavirus becomes a global health emergency, leading to an increased health consciousness among Vietnamese consumers. In order to stay safe and protect themselves, they would prefer “less physical contacts” with the crowd in their daily activities. As such, shopping traffic could be reduced with a bigger basket size on each trip, which might impact on the retail sales and FMCG sales in short-term.

• Spending on eating and drinking out (F&B) and other activities outside the home would be cut down during the coronavirus outbreak, however, FMCG for in-home consumption is expected to sustain growth. The consumption of household cleaners and personal hygiene would also pick up due to the increase of self-protection, including handwash, hand sanitizer, and wet tissue and probably hand cream/lotion as a result of washing hands more often.

• Healthy foods like fruits, fruit juices that help increase immunity are projected to see an upward trend. Consumers might also have a tendency to stock instant foods such as instant noodles, sausages, snacks, etc, especially in areas where there are infection cases found. 

• In terms of retail, smaller, clean and proximity shopping places like street shops, minimarkets and convenience stores would be temporarily favored against wet market or larger super/hypermarket. Furthermore, this situation is significantly increasing the number of transactions for online shopping and home delivery.

• On the other hand, due to the delays in shipments of import and export activities caused by the coronavirus outbreak, there are challenges for suppliers and traders to produce, distribute and stock goods. It’s more likely to result in an uplift in price which might demotivate consumer spending during the fight against the Covid-19.

In the middle-long term:

The impact of this outbreak in 2020 might also accelerate the trends that we already observed in 2019.

• Firstly, it could raise further the health and hygiene consciousness among Vietnamese consumers, which would drive the further development of hygiene products for personal care and home care including bar soap, handwash, hand sanitizer, cleaning household products, tissue, etc. These products are currently small in terms of both consumer base and consumption, but are expected to become more popular afterwards as more and more consumers now start to get used to purchase these items with a higher level of volume consumption.

• Secondly, in 2020, we expect to see an increased share of ecommerce. Thanks to its convenience and advantage of “less physical contact”, online to offline (OTO) and ecommerce delivery model fits well with consumers’ needs during this time. The online shopping platforms and delivery services are predicted to witness a growth acceleration in both shopper base and incremental spend by (1) attracting new shoppers who have never shopped online before (three fourth of Vietnamese households have not purchased any FMCG products online in 4 key cities, according to our consumer panel data updated to FY 2019) and (2) increasing/upgrading spending from existing online shoppers.

• Lastly, with emerging channels growing in popularity as mentioned above, including minimarkets, convenience stores and ecommerce, there will be a continuing shift from traditional shopping behaviors to omni-channel and multi-channel shopping, reinforcing the rising omnichannel trend in retail and FMCG market in the coming time.

In an earlier report analysing the impact to the FMCG market by SARS last week, Kantar Worldpanel already shared key findings based on historical data from 17 years ago. However, as many analysts suggested, the scale and scope of the Chinese economy in 2003 was substantially behind the level in 2020, and therefore the impact of COVID-19 is believed to be much stronger than the impact of SARS.   This impact will definitely be felt by the FMCG market but not all categories and retailers will see a negative impact.

Chinese New Year (CNY) is one of the most important sales peaks for many brands and retailers. The date of Chinese New Year is not exactly the same every year so we have realigned the reporting period based on lunar calendar to make the data comparable. Since Chinese New Year in 2019 was one week later than 2020, we re-adjusted the data period by week and after comparing consumers purchases two weeks before CNY and two weeks after Chinese New Year, we are now in a position to assess the impact.

 1.    Pre-CNY Sales Stronger Yet Considerable Decline Observed After the Virus Outbreak

The total sales two weeks before CNY grew by 15%, substantially higher than the full year FMCG growth rate of 5.3% in 2019. However, after the Wuhan lockdown was announced on January 23rd, panic started to gather. As the Chinese government appealed to everyone to avoid family and friends gatherings and all social activities (including the suspension of cinemas and entertainment facilities across major cities), the sales of the CNY week dropped by 24% on a like-for-like basis and then by 41% in the subsequent week, as people were asked to stay at home. Based on our preliminary estimation, total FMCG sales went down by 12% over the 4 weeks period compared with 2019. 

The drop of FMCG market was partly due to the decline of shoppers by 2%, but more severely impacted by the drop of spend per trip by 10% as shoppers reduced number of categories they purchased. There are two main reasons behind the changes: consumers reduced their new year celebration gathering, hence there was a lower demand of categories that were normally purchased for CNY gifts. In the meantime, consumers had to relocate their budget to critical health and protective categories, i.e. face masks, disinfectant products and fresh foods.

2.   Mixed Performance by Categories Amid the Epidemic

The sharp drop of consumer spend is a bad news to many categories, especially those relying heavily on CNY sales. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks saw their sales fall by more than 40% during the 2 weeks after CNY as most consumers cancelled their family gathering. In China, top choices for gifting occasions include liquid milk, confectionary and biscuits, all of which faced considerable challenges during CNY this year. On the contrary, categories like instant noodles, frozen foods and quick soup witnessed soaring demand as consumers flocked to supermarkets to stock up and spend more time cooking at home. Moreover, seasoning products, butter and cheese also enjoyed significant growth as consumers opted to cook more indulgent meals at home.

Non-food categories are typically less seasonal during the CNY period, however some of them were experiencing astonishing growth as anxious shoppers, desperate to protect themselves from infection, have stripped stores of hand sanitisers and disinfectants. Meanwhile, tissues and wipes gained more popularity as they were used for hand cleansing when consumers are out of home. Those categories are expected to maintain their growth momentum even in the post-epidemic era as Chinese consumers continue their sanitising habits.

“When did you wash your hair last time?” this is a top topic on social media during the period. As consumers stayed at home every day, their personal care routine tended to change. The sales of haircare products, including shampoo and conditioner, saw decline and the situation is even worse for colorant and styling products. Due to the fact people were not going out to meet friends or to the office, categories with strong social functions such as make up and fragrance also experienced disappointing sales.

3.    Offline Stores saw Considerable Shopper Loss while Small Formats and Digital Commerce Enjoyed Growth

Hypermarkets and Supermarkets all faced severe challenges of reduced footfall during the Covid-19 spread, with penetration dropping by 15% and 12% respectively.   During the festive period, gifting occasions also dropped significantly, with categories relying on nice gift packs for family/friend visits being hit particularly hard. As many consumers cancelled their overseas travel plans, purchases from other countries and duty free also saw a significant drop.

The epidemic did bring more demand to a handful of other retail channels. Small supermarkets, mainly those located in residential communities, reported strong growth during the CNY period, as they were closer to shoppers and stocked essential fresh foods and daily necessities. Ecommerce giant like Alibaba, JD and Pinduoduo, are also adapting their strategy proactively in terms of logistics and home delivery. Moreover, emerging channels riding on the popularity of Wechat enjoyed soaring demand as consumers spent far more time on social media for news and entertainment during this period.

New retail players, led by Hema, recorded stronger growth during CNY period, thanks to more shoppers and more visits as consumers opted to use delivery for their daily foods. With rapid store expansion, Hema almost doubled its footprint compared to CNY in 2019. Meanwhile, it’s the first retailer to accept redundant workers from restaurants and catering services as part-time workers for sorting and delivering merchandise. The move is a win-win solution for both industries to survive through this difficult period. Innovative solutions such as ‘contactless delivery’ was also invented to avoid physical contact between shoppers and delivery workers. Omni-channel penetration with O2O delivery is expected to be more accepted post the crisis.

The battle against COVID-19 is still on and the challenges to FMCG industry is yet to be fully observed. The wide spread epidemic will have a profound impact on FMCG categories in Q1 and possibly in Q2. Kantar Worldpanel will launch a monthly category tracker to help brands and retailers closely monitor the impact.

How about this year given the rising challenges presented by the coronavirus outbreak? A recent survey conducted by Kantar Worldpanel shows that over 60% of consumers in Tianjin have canceled their traditional family reunion dinner for the New Year as most people choose to stay at home to help limit the spread of the virus. This would inevitably generatea significant impact on catering and the out-of-home beverage market. Many beverage manufacturers would also face severe challenges in production and sales during the first quarter.

To learn from past experience, Kantar Worldpanel reviewed the beverage purchase behavior during the SARS epidemic in 2003, to try and help brand owners find a way through this tough time.

Category Strategy: Packaged water and sweet drinks “fight” against epidemic together

Although the out-of-home beverage market would inevitably be affected by the epidemic, the demand for in-home consumption was strong. Dairy (as mentioned in our article last week) and packaged water are well placed to meet consumers’ demands during times of significant health concerns.

Kantar Worldpanel revealed that during the outbreak period of SARS in 2003, the demand for packaged water grew rapidly, especially in Beijing. Due to many families stocking up during that period, the purchase volume of packaged water increased by 21% in the three months of March to May in 2003.

This year, many doctors and health experts suggest that people should drink more water to enhance their immunity. Therefore, the search volume of the key words "drinking water" +"immunity” has greatly increased on Baidu.

17 years ago, phone ordering water to home was still the mainstream. We have observed that during SARS, the pack size of the packaged water stocked was still dominated by above 5 liters of barreled water, accounting for 90%. Now, there are more options of pack size and more diversified usage occasions for packaged water.

In recent years, the penetration rate of packaged water (5 liters and below) has reached 86% within the in-home market. It is possible that those who do not have a drinking fountain or those who did not have the habits of consuming packaged water at home before may start to choose packaging water less than 5L during the coronavirus epidemic. This could be an opportunity for manufacturers to increase production of packaged water and proactively expand their sales network to provide convenience for consumers and stimulate purchase.

In terms of sweet drinks, such as carbonated soft drink or fruit juice, they either declined or witnessed a slow down in sales during the outbreak of SARS. Although sweet drinks seem to be less relevant to defend against an epidemic fight, opportunities do still exist if manufacturers and retailers can break conventional thinking.

According to cross-category analysis, Kantar Worldpanel found that during the SARS period, consumers did not curb their desire for snacks. To some extent, sweet drinks and snacks are similar, both are attributed as 'indulgent' and 'joyful', which can bring happiness, alleviate boredom and help relieve anxiety during the epidemic. In the past two weeks 'quarantining' in the house as led to many netizens making bubble tea themselves in order to satisfy their craving for it.

Opportunities for sweet drink brands exist if they can communicate with consumers about diversified in-home drinking moments such as joyful and relaxing moments via short video and other social media during the epidemic.

Channel  Strategy: Ride on the trend of e-commerce and new retail to seize the opportunity resulting from increased demand for home delivery

Due to higher logistic transportation costs the e-commerce channel is still not a large channel for packaged beverages with only 8% of the annual sales coming from e-commerce during 2019. For most beverage manufacturers, e-commerce is more like a platform for brand building and consumer communication. The epidemic this year affected a wider area than SARS, with restrictions for residents to go out to limit the spread of the virus. This combined with the obvious health and safety concerns means many families will prefer to purchase via e-commerce or home delivery service platforms until the epidemic subsides. Many consumers will only consider a trip to their local supermarket or convenience store when the e-commerce platform runs out of stock.

Many beverage manufacturers are facing the issue that the products they have distributed to offline channels before Spring Festival may now be overstocked. They could seize the opportunity to leverage home delivery service platforms or fresh food e-commerce. On one hand, this way could help activate their inventory, on the other hand, they could create more specific usage occasions to help recruit new buyers. Packaged water can be bundled with fresh food to remind consumers to use packaged water when cooking or snaking brands can promote 'happy snack sets' to help reduce anxiety and create new occasions.

In addition, many enterprises have resumed work with employees returning to the office this week. Generally, some white-collar consumers used to go to restaurants or fast food stores around the company for lunch. Now for safety reasons, many companies suggest employees not to have meals together, hence self-made meals and food delivery will continue to be in high demand until the epidemic is over. Many large catering enterprises consider food delivery service is essential to recover their business during this tough period. Beverage players could also seize the opportunity by cooperating with catering businesses.

Note: Beverage includes packaged water, liquid beverage, on premise beverage; does not includes alcohol.

In China, dairy products are widely recognized as having health benefits, and during the outbreak shoppers put more of them into their shopping baskets, resulting in some supermarkets selling out.

The proportion of liquid dairy products in domestic food shopping baskets in 15 cities in China increased by 2.5% during the SARS period 17 years ago, which fully reflected that consumers increased their dairy products purchase during the epidemic period to improve their immunity, although China's dairy products were still at the primary stage of development in 2003.

In the past 17years, China's dairy industry has undergone significant development with many new sub brands, formats and flavours now available. Products which communicate more on inner heath and immune strengthening will do particularly well during the Coronavirus outbreak.

High-quality Protein

At present, 3.6g milk protein content has become the standard of high-end milk which  has always been an important category leading the growth of dairy products.

According to the research of Kantar Worldpanel, the average compound growth rate of high-end white milk in 2017-2019 reached 10.5% (versus overall liquid milk growth of 2.7%). Meanwhile, some high-quality protein products that are easier to absorb, such as a2b casein, are booming.

Active Probiotics

Active probiotics play an important role in low-temperature yoghurt, which is popular among consumers, especially high-income groups. According to Kantar Worldpanel, the average compound growth rate of healthy functional yoghurt in high-income families (family income greater than 12,000 RMB per month) in 2017-2019 reached 11.6%.

After the outbreak of novel coronavirus, CCTV news broad cast a German study thatlactobacillus can 'activate' the human immune system. This may reignite the development engine for the active probiotics category. Of course,what needs to be emphasized here is that there is no doubt dairy products contain many beneficial ingredients for the body, including probiotics. 

As consumers, they need to carefully screen and judge the nutritional value offood based on their own personal requirements, while dairy enterprises are deemed to shoulder more obligations on guiding consumers on how to be healthy.

Good products can stand the test of time and consumers. We hope that Chinese consumers will scientifically supplement nutrition, fight against the epidemic together and wait for the spring blossoms.

Low Temperature Fresh Milk

Low temperature fresh milk, because of its low-temperature sterilization process, retains the living bacteria and trace elements beneficial to human body, while maintaining the pure natural fresh taste.

According to the research of  Kantar Worldpanel, the penetration rate increased by more than 3% in 2017-2019, which is equivalent to 5.5 million new urban households. 

Furthermore, through selecting better quality milk source and improving the processing technology, the manufacturers are striving to provide even higher quality of healthy elements and better taste.

Low Sugar/Fat 

Fat and sugar are a key focus of people's health management and in recent years how to reduce the intake of these components has become more important. Within Dairy low sugar and low fat products are performing particularly well.

The research of Kantar Worldpanel shows that in the yoghurt and active lactobacillus beverages, the amount of low sugar / sugar free products increased by more than 20% in 2019, and the penetration rate increased by more than 5%, far higher than the category growth rate.

In normal temperature milk, the amount of low-fat defatted products increased by more than 10%, and the penetration rateincreased by 11%, which was also far higher than the category growth rate.

Plant-based Dairy Products

For the recent years, plant-based products began to come into people’s view,  from the expanding business of soymilk drinks to the recent rise of plant-based yoghurt, these products are gradually becoming a viable diary replacement for many consumers, especially for vegetarians and vegans.

The nutritional value of plant-based dairy products lies in ‘not containing certain substances’, such as some allergens, lactose, cholesterol,saturated fat, etc. Many Asians are lactose intolerance and plant-based products do not cause the same negative effects on their body. 

The major features labeled by the products are that they are suitable for people with diseases, obesity, and lactose intolerance. 

Under the novel coronavirus outbreak plant-based products are likely to see significant growth, further helping todrive the industry.

On all accounts, the people all over the country are now fighting the epidemic and it is hoped that normal life and market order are restored as soon as possible. 

For the brands in the dairy industry, those who can grasp the latest changes of consumers' needs and develop and focus investment on healthy products that meet these needs will accelerate growth and drive the industry forward.

Along with the continued economic development and the advancement of new technology, changes continue to happen at a faster rate, bringing both new challenges and new opportunities to the growth in 2020 and beyond.

In such a context, finding out the real factors which influence consumer’s attitude and purchase behavior are our priorities more than ever, and successful brands and retailers will be the ones who dig deeper and truly understand how their consumers and shoppers are changing.

Within the fifth edition of Kantar’s annual Vietnam Insight Handbook, we proudly to provide you the facts, the figures, comprehensive insights and forethoughts, into all the most important consumer and shopper trends in Vietnam, based on Worldpanel Division data. It is our hope that this handbook will continue supporting your business growth, bringing value to your stakeholders, customers, and the wider community.

Key themes and more, will be explored further in this book, get your copy today by clicking the link on the right side.

And get in touch to discuss and identify growth opportunities for your brand.

CMM already covers traditional media, including TV, as well as Facebook other digital media platforms. The addition of YouTube means the service now tracks approximately 90% of all advertising and 80%¹ of the digital advertising seen by the typical consumer each day. This represents the most complete read of advertising effectiveness in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.

Kantar’s CMM service assesses how an individual’s probability of buying changes after exposure to different influences including advertising. All information is collected with panellists’ explicit permission and in a privacy-safe environment. Working at an individual level, and evaluating each different form of media, Kantar cross-references advertisers’ ad ‘flight’ plans to measure the effectiveness of every £/€/$ spent on each media.

Kerry Corke, Global Media Director at Worldpanel Division, Kantar said: “Accounting for exposures on widely used digital platforms such as YouTube is vital for advertisers who use CMM results to improve the relevance and impact of their communications. Digital advertising has grown significantly in recent years, in some cases overtaking traditional channels in terms of advertising spend. We are constantly adapting our tools to reflect trends and the addition of YouTube is the latest in a continuing stream of planned developments.”

YouTube viewing data is captured through a combination of passive-metering of panellist exposures and dynamic statistical techniques to extrapolate to the appropriate demographic group. All media exposures reported are linked directly with corresponding panellist purchasing behaviour to understand advertising impact on sales and buyer recruitment.

The expanded CMM service is available from today in Argentina, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Mexico, UK and Vietnam.

Notes to editors

CMM is available in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Peru, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Mexico, UK and Vietnam. Degrees of digital coverage vary by market.

To find out more Kantar’s wider capabilities in Media including audience measurement and brand tracking visit here.

The impact of this outbreak has some similarities to SARS in 2003. Kantar Worldpanel China reviewed our consumer purchase data in China 15 cities back in 2002-2003 to shed light on how consumer behaviour changes might bring new challenges and opportunities for manufacturers and retailers.

The impact on the FMCG market

The first SARS case was discovered in Guangdong province in December 2002 and the first reported case outside of Guangdong happened in Beijing in March 2003. However, the major increase of infection happened in April and May 2003 and the spread of virus was contained by June.

The impact on the FMCG market during the first half of 2003 was significant especially during April and May where we observed a sharp slowdown. However, by June the market had recovered returning to similar growth rates seen at the beginning of the year. 

Categories In High Demand During SARS

The dine-out market was heavily impacted during SARS as consumers opted to dine at home instead. Culinary and instant food categories showed a noticeable sales increase in the 12-weeks ending May 2003. During this period, consumers also increased their purchase of Household Cleaning and Personal Cleaning products. 

Handwash was a very small category in China back in 2002. This category has become more and more popular since 2003 as consumers started to purchase more handwash during SARS. Kantar Worldpanel will continue to monitor and report the latest development of categories impacted by the novel coronavirus in 2020Q1. 

The impact on retailers

With the continuous spread of SARS, consumers chose to stock up mainly from the (neighbourhood) supermarkets back in 2003. Supermarkets and Convenience Stores showed a significant increase in sales during the 12-weeks ending May 2003.

2003 was the year when E-commerce started emerging in China. In May 10 2003 Taobao was launched, followed by 17 years of continuous growth, along with many other EC platforms.

With the high transmissibility of new coronavirus coinciding with the massive migration during Chinese New Year, the government’s public measures have also evolved in 2020 since SARS, when home quarantine was less mandatory in 2003. In 2020, we expect to see a large switch of shoppers spend to omni-channel purchasing and an increased share of EC retailers during this past Chinese New Year. The “No Physical Contact” new OTO/EC delivery model fits very well with consumers’ needs when advised to stay at home.

Devoted in understanding consumer behaviour, Kantar Worldpanel will continue to monitor 2020 coronavirus’ impact on consumers’ FMCG purchasing and we expect to see some differences this year compared to 2003 as the market and policies have both evolved. We look forward to sharing more points of view and updates with you in the coming months.

Note: *From Ding Xiangyuan

The Future of Convenience Stores in Taiwan and the Philippines
 
Global FMCG value share by channel indicates Convenience Stores (CVS) now account for only 4.2% with a healthy growth of 2.5%, and it’s forecasted that there will be not much change by 2025 in terms of value contribution.
 
However, we see a huge potential of growth for CVS across Asian markets. In our latest Asia Consumer Insights report we put the spotlight on Taiwan and the Philippines jointly with other topics:

• Q3 2019 Asia FMCG Overview
  • Asia FMCG maintains a stable growth of 4.7% in Q3 2019.
  • All key sectors observe positive performance with non-food sector continuously growing ahead of total FMCG market.

• The spotlight of the quarter
  • The difference in the development level of CVS retail format between Taiwan and the Philippines.
  • Identifying challenges and opportunities for future growth of CVS in Asia to acquire new shoppers.

Our latest figures show a healthy growth of Beauty market across Asia. The surge in the consumption of beauty products is driven by emerging beauty trends, presenting significant opportunities for both cosmetic brands and retailers.

Within this report, we reveal how the Beauty market is evolving in Vietnam beside top beauty trends in Asia, and furthermore, what could shake up the beauty market in the coming time.

Download full reports in both English and Vietnamese on the right side of this page to discover more and stay relevant.

Key Indicators

Vietnam economy shows an optimistic outlook in 11 months of 2019, achieving a well-controlled result of CPI growth together with a robust growth of retail sales of consumer goods. The economic growth is projected to hit a solid growth of 7% and is more likely to surpass 2019’s target.

FMCG Growth

In long term, FMCG market is getting its momentum back, thanks to the increase of volume consumption. Remarkably, Rural market returns to the double digit growth in short term, promising to post a stronger performance in 2019 than forecasted.

In yearly trend, a healthy growth is observed across all key FMCG sectors. Personal Care continues outperforming in Urban market (4 key cities) while Dairy surges impressively in Rural and is leading the market growth.

In short term, Beverage is the second growth driver in Rural market beside Dairy, however, the sector still needs more efforts to uplift volume consumption in Urban market (4 key cities) where there is a fiercer competition. The other sectors sustain positive growth in both areas.

Hot Category

Home Care sector witnesses a continued development in both Urban and Rural market with an outstanding achievement of Bathroom and Toilet Cleaner. The category enjoys a double digit growth in both value and volume consumption by adding new consumers into its consumer base. In spite of its good results, there is still room for further expansion.

Retail Landscape

Online, minimarkets and convenience stores maintain its important role in driving the FMCG growth in Urban 4 key cities. In Rural, wet market continues losing share to more modern channels such as specialty stores and supermarkets.

Spotlight of the month

Different brand choices for out of home consumption reflecting a low brand loyalty!

Looking at Energy drink, for example, which is highly popular for drinking out, there is a lower level of brand loyalty for out of home drinking occasions, compared to in home occasions. It requires more efforts from beverage brands to continually win at point of sale.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Kantar, the world’s leading data, insights, and consulting company, announced today that key drivers of growth in the Asia beauty market are natural ingredients that help consumers achieve good skin health, makeup that helps people obtain a natural look, and skincare products aimed at male shoppers. The Beauty Trends in Asia report highlights the key drivers behind the +8% growth in beauty product sales between 2017-18 compared to +4% for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) as a whole, while sales of personal care products in the region continue to outperform the total FMCG market.

“Asian people believe health is almost twice as important to their happiness as having more money,” says Ashley Kang, Head of Beauty Sector at Worldpanel Division, Kantar. “They see what they put on their skin as a health supplement – and this has changed the products and benefits they desire. They are extremely knowledgeable too, so brands must be transparent in their communications. The wellness trend is also encouraging certain emerging formats to thrive.”

Derma-care is becoming mainstream

New sophisticated formats in skincare and makeup that provide derma-care properties are rising in popularity. Derma brands have reached almost 45% penetration in Korea, a massive influx from just over 25% in 2017. Their second highest reach is Taiwan at 40%, an increase from 37.6% in 2017.

Derma products contain sophisticated ingredients that deliver a high level of efficacy in treating specific skin issues, such as eczema, but are increasingly used to solve more general problems, such as sensitive skin and pollution protection. With consumer brands launching their own ranges, derma-care is increasingly more mainstream, when it was once a niche segment and a domain of brands with a heritage in pharmaceuticals. Developments in retail and distribution are helping to increase the footprint of these products outside drugstores.

The natural look is driving the launch of new ranges and variants

The most sought after look in Asia right now is a natural glow. Being well-hydrated is a prerequisite for this look, which has helped drive sales of serums that promise intense hydration. Penetration of serums is highest in Korea at 61%, rising from 58% in 2017. In China, penetration has increased from 18% in 2017 to nearly 26% today.

This ‘effortless’ natural look can require significant work. The specific makeup products that help people achieve the right translucent effect include liquid foundation, BB creams, and primer/concealer – all of which are soaring in popularity.

Kantar predicts that makeup that provides skincare or medicinal benefits will be a key growth area for the future. Various crossover products have already emerged between the skincare and makeup segments, such as toner cream that instantly brightens the skin. Positioning these products closer to skincare can be an effective strategy in China, where there remains a perception that the pigments in makeup could be harmful.

Men-only skincare is a major growth opportunity

The number of men using skincare products is also growing steadily across Asia, particularly in China, South Korea, and Thailand. They are buying in more categories as they add more steps to their beauty regime. However, most are still not buying products that have been created specifically for men. Products targeted at men contribute 10% of the total value sales for beauty in the region, but this segment is growing slower than unisex skincare brands.

“Men in their twenties are most likely to buy men-only skincare products, but as they get older they begin to use whatever products they find on the bathroom shelf,” continues Kang. “There is a substantial growth opportunity here for brands that can shift spend from unisex products to men-only variants, and prevent men from ‘lapsing’ as they get older, particularly for products promising oil control, anti-aging, whitening, and sunscreen benefits.”

Consumers crave products that are ‘just for me’

Shoppers in Asia believe that if a product is tailored to them, it will be more effective – and it also helps them to feel special. Customisation is rapidly gaining momentum in both skincare and makeup. Computer-aided diagnosis enables skincare brands to assess an individual’s skin and formulate a product that provides the benefits specific to that individual. Makeup with customised colours, textures, and finishes is also growing in popularity.

Notes to editor:
The data and insights from this report come from the Worldpanel division’s Beauty Panel in Asia. This unique Beauty Panel tracks the usage and shopper behaviour concerning beauty products.

Combining 17 years expertise in continuously tracking what Vietnamese consumers buy for their family consumption at home, with both our new Out-of-Home panel launched in September 2018, and the latest 2019 update of the Drink Usage Study, Kantar proudly present to you our 360 degree approach in understanding Vietnamese consumers.

This holistic solution not only provides understanding into both purchase and usage behaviors but also the differences between In and Out of home, all based on Worldpanel data. It will help manufacturers and retailers define opportunity gaps to bring incremental growth into their portfolio.

Our report Winning Beverage sector: 360-Degree View of the Consumer Journey from Purchase to Usage for In & Out-of-Home consumption explores some key insights on how Vietnamese consumers, particularly those living in Ho Chi Minh City - the emerging Mega-city and soon to be the 1st Smart City of Vietnam, shop for and consume Non-Alcoholic Beverages.

In the webinar taking place on 19 November 2019, our speaker Trang Pham, Insight Director of Kantar’s Worldpanel Division Vietnam, presented main findings that will help your business navigate the Non-Alcoholic Beverage sector in Vietnam.

Rewatch the webinar and download full reports in both English and Vietnamese on the right side of this page.

Our upcoming publication Beauty Trends in Asia looks at how the overall perception of beauty is in transformational mode with the changing lifestyle of Asians. It also showcases a unique segment on the increasing importance of male grooming and top recommendations for beauty brands to win new customers.

Join us for this webinar and listen to Kantar’s beauty expert, Ashley Kang, as she shares key findings from the publication.

The webinar will take place on 27^th November 2019 at two special times.

SIGN UP here:

• 11 am (Singapore time)
• 5 pm (Singapore time)

Launched today, major trends uncovered by the study reveal:

Digital is delivering for the takeaway sector

• Delivery and take-away are rapidly growing their OOH share. Across the UK, France and Spain they now account for 12.3% of total outside the home spend.
• This growth is being heavily influenced by the introduction of new technology for food deliveries, which is significantly increasing spend per meal.
• As a result, the gap between price of home cooked and takeaway meals is widening. France is the starkest example, where price increases from €4.70 per meal when food is prepared at home to €17.70 when ordered for home delivery or take-away; UK €4.20 to €16.20 and Spain €4.00 to €15.30.

Speciality coffee culture is booming

• Appetite for hot drinks on the go shows no sign of abating, with the UK (44%) and Spain (43%) leading the way in percentage of wallet share.
• Coffee represents 80% of spend globally within the hot drinks category, with the UK accounting for 51% of that value.
• People are moving to more expensive, newer coffee offers which have a higher price index; in the UK, 19% of consumed coffee is a speciality drink in 2019 compared to 7% in 2017, with flat whites accounting for 7% of consumption.

Maria Josep Martínez, Global Director Out-of-Home and Usage Foods, Worldpanel Division, Kantar, commented “Continued economic uncertainty appears to be having a minimal impact on consumer wallets, with customers willing to spend their money in takeaway and food delivery rather than cooking at home. While this is actually adding value for the entire OOH market, this clearly remains a threat to traditional retailers who must consider different strategies for capturing OOH growth in 2020 and beyond. For those willing to take on the challenge, the rewards will be significant.”

Data for ‘Winning food & drink occasions Out-of-Home’ report was gathered using Kantar’s unique mobile app which records every snack and non-alcoholic drink bought for consumption outside the home—whether that’s on the go, at the place of purchase, in the workplace, or otherwise. To create a comprehensive view of the OOH market, the study looked not only at what products are purchased – and where – but when the purchase was made and whether it was for sharing or for individual consumption. Information for the report covered ten markets globally: Brazil, China, France, Indonesia, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, the UK and Vietnam.

Download our new publication, watch the webinar or contact our experts through the buttons at the right of this page and discover what brands can do to grow out-of-home.

Combining 17 years expertise in continuously tracking what Vietnamese consumers buy for their family consumption at home, with both our new Out-of-Home panel launched in September 2018, and the latest 2019 update of the Drink Usage Study, Kantar proudly present to you our 360 degree approach in understanding Vietnamese consumers.

This holistic solution not only provides understanding into both purchase and usage behaviors but also the differences between In and Out of home, all based on Worldpanel data. It will help manufacturers and retailers define opportunity gaps to bring incremental growth into their portfolio.

Our upcoming report Winning Beverage sector: 360-Degree View of the Consumer Journey from Purchase to Usage for In & Out-of-Home consumption explores some key insights on how Vietnamese consumers, particularly those living in Ho Chi Minh City - the emerging Mega-city and soon to be the 1st Smart City of Vietnam, shop for and consume Non-Alcoholic Beverages.

In this webinar taking place on 19 November 2019, our speaker Trang Pham, Insight Director of Kantar’s Worldpanel Division Vietnam, will share with you findings that will help your business navigate the Non-Alcoholic Beverage sector in Vietnam.

REWATCH THE WEBINAR!

*Stay tuned for the white paper report on 26th November.

Globally, people turn their attention to what they eat every day. Not surprisingly, Food Safety and Health remains Vietnamese consumers’ top concerns, according to our latest study conducted in September 2019.

This trend is reflected in every aspect of their lives. Indeed, almost 80% of total Vietnamese households living in Urban (4 key cities) claim that they exercise regularly for better health and are willing to pay a higher price for healthier foods. Furthermore, we are also seeing the changes of Vietnamese consumers towards healthier lifestyles which include eating and drinking habits. 

In this new episode of Fun Facts Corner series, let’s explore how Vietnamese consumers’ diet is changing today, any differences among different cities in order to find growth opportunities for F&B players by capturing these changes.

Download now infographics in both English and Vietnamese on the right side of this page.

Don't miss out on the Fun Facts Corner series with Worldpanel Division Vietnam!

Key Indicators

In the 3rd quarter of 2019, Vietnam’s economy continues to uphold positive figures, noting a robust growth in GDP. CPI is still curbed at a low level, recording the lowest 9-month average increase in the past 3 years. The retail sales of consumer goods maintains double-digit growth.

FMCG Growth

In long term, FMCG market growth in both Urban 4 cities and Rural shows an impressive movement, nearly twice the pace of last year, thanks to the increased volume. In short term, Rural market speeds up, hitting a new record of 10% growth - the highest growth rate over the past 4 years.

Beside the solid performance of Personal Care in both Urban 4 cities and Rural areas, Dairy has been also catching up in the third quarter, especially in Rural. Beverages post a double-digit growth in Rural, however, still struggles to grow in Urban 4 cities.

Hot Category

Coupled with the positive performance of Dairy, Drinking Yogurt has recovered in Urban 4 cities and is accelerating growth in Rural, mainly by winning back consumers. This category still has room to tap into in order to both expand consumer base and increase volume consumption.

Retail Landscape

Online, minimarkets & convenience stores continue leading the FMCG growth and growing in importance in Urban 4 key cities. In Rural, healthy growth is observed across all channels.

Spotlight of the month

 1.  What do consumers drink most often in a week?

About two third of drinking occasions in a week is for bottle water, tea and coffee. Besides, unbranded juices (fruit/vegetable) is ranked #4 among non-alcoholic beverages that consumers drink every week.

 2.  Different drinking habits among different age groups

The younger consumers are, the fewer occasions they drink yet the more choices of non alcoholic beverages they have. 

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Sign up for the webinar:

• 10 am UK time
• 4 pm UK time

In this Asia Consumer Insights edition we focus in these two Muslim majority markets jointly with other topics:

• Q2 2019 Asia FMCG Overview
  • Asia FMCG achieved a healthy growth by +4.8% in Q2 2019, slightly stronger than Q2 2018.
  • Non-food sector, including both home care and personal care, continues to lead the FMCG market growth in Asia.
    
    
•  The spotlight of the quarter
  • FMCG performance during Ramadan creates a sizeable uplift among Indonesians, while a soft decline in Malaysia.
  • Uncovering major similarities and differences between Indonesia and Malaysia to optimise strategies in order to win consumers in Ramadan.

Download our quarterly paper and get a full picture of the key FMCG performance indicators, consumer insights, trends and opportunities across Asia.

Key Indicators

Vietnam’s economy maintains a bright outlook with a low CPI rate under 3%. Domestic demand also shows a continued growth, reflecting a stability of consumer spending in 2019.

FMCG Growth

In long term, FMCG market speeds up in both Urban 4 cities and Rural areas. In short term, the market growth is driven by the increase in both volume consumption and the paid price with a slight slowdown in Urban 4 cities but a good momentum in Rural.

Personal Care keeps riding the growth wave in both Urban 4 cities and Rural. Dairy recovers in Urban market while achieving a strong growth in Rural. Noticeably, Beverages suffer a negative performance in Urban 4 cities.

Hot Category

Instant Coffee remains a healthy growth despite the decline of Beverage sector in Urban 4 key cities. Its growth is driven by the increased volume consumption. Meanwhile, Beer performs well in Rural, enjoying a double digit growth mostly thanks to the up-trading trend.

Retail Landscape

Emerging channels such as mini stores, specialty stores, online continue leading the FMCG growth in Urban 4 cities. In Rural, modernized street shops, specialty stores and hyper & supermarkets have expanded and recruited new shoppers while wet market shrinks.

Spotlight of the month – The important role of emerging channels in the fast-changing retail environment

Despite less than one fifth of FMCG spend allocated in emerging channels: online, mini stores, specialty stores; two third of total incremental spend come from these channels. It is expected to continue evolving fast and driving the future growth with new formats developing, aided by the advancement of new technology.

Urban 4 cities include Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Follow links on the right side of this page to download full reports and press releases in both English and Vietnamese.

Vietnam is not exceptional as more Vietnamese consumers visit more types of stores to shop FMCG, emphasizing that an Omnichannel strategy is essential to win in today’s retail environment. Aided by the advancement of new technology, this will continue evolving fast with new formats developing, to meet the fast-changing consumers’ needs and preferences.

Our report Winning Omnichannel – How to grow in today’s retail environment explores how Omnichannel looks like in Vietnam market and what it means to brands and retailers in order to leverage growth.

In the webinar taking place on 25th September 2019, our speakers shared the main findings that help your business navigate the new retail environment. 

REWATCH THE WEBINAR

• English session
• Vietnamese session

Vietnam is not exceptional as more Vietnamese consumers visit more types of stores to shop FMCG, emphasizing that an Omnichannel strategy is essential to win in today’s retail environment. Aided by the advancement of new technology, this will continue evolving fast with new formats developing, to meet the fast-changing consumers’ needs and preferences.

Our upcoming report Winning Omnichannel – How to grow in today’s retail environment explores how Omnichannel looks like in Vietnam market and what it means to brands and retailers in order to leverage growth.

In this webinar taking place on 25th September 2019, our speakers will share with you the main findings that help your business navigate the new retail environment.

The agenda includes:

• Key trends from the global retail dynamics
• The new retail environment in Urban Vietnam
• Big bets for 2020's

SIGN UP NOW

• English session: 9:30 AM (VN time)
• Vietnamese session: 10:30 AM (VN time)