Vietnam’s most chosen brands by sector 2018

2018's Top 10 FMCG brands by sector were bought by the most consumers the most often in Vietnam

Kantar Worldpanel reveals Vietnam’s Top 10 most chosen FMCG brands by sector 2018

Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint 2018

Kantar Worldpanel’s sixth annual Brand Footprint report is published today, revealing the top 10 FMCG brand owners and the top 10 brands in Health & Beauty, Homecare, Food, Beverages, Dairy and Dairy Substitutes being bought by the most consumers, the most often in Urban 4 Cities (Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Can Tho) and Rural Vietnam.

Brand Footprint is set apart from other brand rankings by providing information on real consumer behaviour rather than attitude. Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) form the basis of the ranking. An innovative metric that measures how many households around the world are buying a brand (penetration) and how often (frequency), it provides a true representation of shopper choice.

The top 10 brands in Urban 4 Cities and Rural Vietnam by sector revealed by Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint 2018 are:

HEALTH AND BEAUTY

Among the Top 10 ranking, Unilever owns 6 brands in Urban 4 cities and 5 brands in Rural with its presence in almost 100% households. The global FMCG giant seeks to place its brands on top of consumers’ minds, driven by lots of local executions and communications that cater to different demographics.

The brand owner Unicharm also enjoys a good performance, especially in Rural areas. Bobby - a Unicharm’s baby diaper brand enters the Top 10 ranking for the first time in Urban 4 cities and posts an impressive CRP growth of 37% in Rural. With Baby Diaper contributing nearly ¼ of the FMCG online spending, Bobby’s push for distribution through digital platforms can tap into this lucrative shopper base.  Meanwhile, Diana – another brand of Unicharm moves up to number 2 and leads the CRP growth among the Top 10 in Urban 4 cities. The brand is also developing well in Rural, growing by 15% in terms of CRPs and attracting half a million incremental rural shoppers.  

The top riser Sensodyne – although not in the Top 10 – is heating up the Health & Beauty market in Urban 4 cities by posting a double-digit growth in terms of CRPs (+27%) last year. This GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)-owned brand has successfully penetrated Urban Vietnam market since 2015, targeting a niche segment. The oral care brand is a pioneer taking good care of consumers’ tooth sensitivity and preserves its leading position though many players jump in this segment. Its products have found their way into the bathrooms of 14% of urban households, recruiting 60,000 incremental households in 2017. 

HOME CARE

Unilever continues its reign in the Home Care sector with three brands Sunlight, Omo, and Comfort stay in the Top 3 in both Urban 4 cities and Rural. Sunlight, in the lead for 2 years in a row, has reached over 2/3 of Vietnamese households and could be able to attract more consumers in Rural areas where is challenging to overtake many home-grown competitors.

As the top recruiter in Home Care winning over 110 thousand new shoppers, Lix – a local detergent brand improves its ranking in Urban 4 cities with a CRP growth of 16%. The brand growth is largely attributable to its new launch of liquid format at affordable price, which brings value-for-money offers to urban consumers.

In Rural, the number one in terms of shopper recruitment is Việt Nhật – a brand of paper products. By gaining nearly 1.2 million additional households, Việt Nhật jumps up 5 spots to appear in the Top 10 for the first time and hits a soaring growth of 128% in CRPs.

Thanks to higher living standards and the rising awareness of hygiene and cleanliness, household categories had a strong development and grew faster than the total FMCG market in 2017. Home Care brands offering convenience with competitive pricing can seize this trend to step into more Vietnamese households.

FOOD

The number one spot in Urban 4 cities belongs to Hảo Hảo, which grows by 10% in terms of CRPs, making its way into the kitchen of an additional 65,000 households in 2017. The debut of Hảo Hảo Handy (cup noodle), a new pack type of Hảo Hảo, taps into the rising need for convenience and contributes an important part to the brand’s success.

Nam Ngu, Masan Consumer’s fish sauce brand, remains the most chosen Food brand in Rural and stays in 2^nd place in the Urban ranking. Its products were chosen more than 130 million times by nearly 80% of rural households and 16 million times by over 2/3 of urban households. Plus Chin-su, Tam Thái Tử and Kokomi, the local FMCG giant - Masan Consumer strengthens its dominant position in the Food ranking.

Although not in the Top 10, One One is the rising star. The brand makes an impressive movement by climbing 8 ranks with a robust CRP growth of 52% in Rural while increasing its CRPs by 32% in Urban 4 cities. The rice cracker brand is widening its market penetration, adding 145 thousand urban households and more than a million rural households to its consumer base last year. In addition, there are many other brands such as Orion and Poca in Urban 4 cities, Cosy and Solite in Rural that are shining among the top growing brands. The acceleration of these brands signals an interesting time ahead for Snacking market.

Along with new players, new products, new variants, Food sector seems to be the most innovative sector. The market had nearly 2,000 new SKUs last year and is expected to become more dynamic in the future. 

BEVERAGES 

Coca-Cola remains in the lead in Urban 4 cities. The international brand sustains a healthy growth of 12% in CRPs through several advertising campaigns. Meanwhile, Saigon, chosen over 40 million times by rural consumers, claims the number one spot. Saigon achieves strong CRP growth of 19% by winning more than 700 thousand new rural shoppers and becomes the top recruiter within Beverage sector.

La Vie from Nestlé is a newcomer to the Urban ranking with a CRP growth of 19%. The brand gains 2 spots to number 8 in the Top 10 and becomes the most chosen bottle water brand in Urban 4 cities. 

In 3^rd place, Tiger is the fastest growing brand in Urban 4 cities with a CRP increase of 31% by recruiting over 100 thousand additional households. Tiger, as an affordable premium brand, is able to ride the uptrading wave in the beer market. It also pushes a lot of social activities and activations like “Tiger Uncage” that target millennials to capture this rising consumer base.

In Rural, MacCoffee climbs 4 spots to register its name in the Top 10 club for the first time, with a remarkable growth of 46%. The Singaporean brand, by rebranding as Cà Phê Phố in Vietnam, becomes more approachable to Vietnamese consumers, and gains more than 115 thousand incremental households. 

DAIRY AND DAIRY SUBSTITUTES

Most of the Dairy and Dairy Substitutes playing field belongs to Vietnamese brands, which contribute more than 55% of the market value. With high CRPs, Vinamilk shines bright as the most chosen Dairy brand in both Urban 4 cities and Rural, leaving other brands far behind in terms of CRPs.    

As one of the few foreign brands in the Top 10, Milo has a great 2017, posting CRP growth of 19% in Urban 4 cities and 10% in Rural. Thanks to the investment in innovative marketing campaigns, the brand is getting more consumers’ attention and has moved them towards its products. Last year, Milo launched a media campaign “Active Vietnam” which got great achievements, influencing thousands of parents to take action with Milo, and winning the prestigious APAC Effie Awards for the most outstanding marketing communication.

Moving up 2 spots to breach the Top 10 ranking, Ensure enjoys a double-digit CRP growth in Urban 4 cities. The Abbott-owned dairy brand was chosen more than 3 million times and has reached one fifth of urban households in 2017. As a nutritional offer for adult people – a potential target group in nutrition market – Ensure is posting healthy movement, especially in gifting occasions.

Among the Top 10, Nuti is the fastest growing brand with a fantastic CRP increase of 51% in Rural where Dairy products are still underdeveloped. With its reasonable price range, the milk brand with its powder and liquid format has expanded into nearly one third of rural households during only 2 years after launch, winning 1.2 million new households last year. Nuti is successful not only in capturing the need for nutrition, but also in promoting brand awareness with numerous sponsorships, and corporate social responsibility with charity programs in Rural areas.

TOP 10 MOST CHOSEN BRAND OWNERS 2018

* CRPs: Consumer Reach Points  

Brand Footprint Methodology and Scope

Kantar Worldpanel’s annual Brand Footprint study is based on research from 73 per cent of the global population; a total of one billion households in 43 countries across five continents—covering 75 per cent of the global GDP. As part of the study, Kantar Worldpanel tracks more than 18,000 brands around the world across Beverages, Food, Dairy, Health and Beauty and Home Care. This year’s ranking analysed more than 18,000 brands in the 12 months to November 2017. 

It is set apart from other brand rankings by providing information on real consumer behaviour rather than attitude. Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) form the basis of the ranking. An innovative metric that measures how many households around the world are buying a brand (penetration) and how often (frequency), it provides a true representation of shopper choice.

To access the full global, regional, country and sector rankings and a complete index of the brands included in the Global Top 50, please visit www.kantarworldpanel.com/brandfootprint.

Credits
The Brand Footprint publication is a Kantar Worldpanel initiative, and the ranking is created in collaboration with IMRB in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with GfK in Germany, Russia, Italy and South Africa, and with IRI in the US.

*Follow links on the right side of this page to download the full report and press release.