We consumed a lot of snacks last year.
Market research firm Statista recently came up with a year-end report on Vietnam’s snack market in 2017, reports VnExpress. According to the report, last year, Vietnamese spent US$354 million (about VND8 trillion) on munchies like chips and other starch-based crisps.
This is a significant number for a country of Vietnam’s size, but it’s still modest compared to the world’s larger markets. The US topped the list, followed by Japan, China and India. Revenue for snacks in the US was 170 times that of Vietnam.
Statista’s research scope looked into three main types of snacks: flour-based snacks, potato-based snacks and nut-based snacks. The first group was overwhelmingly preferred by locals with 58% market share. On average, each Vietnamese spent VND85,000 last year on snacks and consumed about 700 grams of these munchies. This amount is expected to increase to 740 grams in the next four years.
This off-meal food is often frowned upon by nutritionists for being a source of excessive sodium, oil and empty carbs. However, it seems like Vietnam is starting to wean off their snack addiction in recent years thanks to growing awareness of a healthy lifestyle and diet. The report noted that from 2011 to 2015, the market’s yearly growth rates were consistently two digits, but next year’s projected growth will not exceed 5.5%.
Nonetheless, at this rate, the snack market will likely hit US$455 million by 2021. Apart from made-in-Vietnam brands such as Oishi and Poca, an increase in affluence lately has also introduced local snacks connoisseurs to expensive imported snacks from South Korea, Japan or Thailand, whose price could reach VND100,000-140,000 per packet.
Last November, another report shared that Vietnam was also a top consumer of instant noodles last year, with 4.92 billion packets. The result put the Southeast Asian country at the 4th position of the world’s major instant noodles consumer, just behind China, Indonesia and Japan.
[Photo via Hai Duong TV]
