Vietnam's most chosen FMCG brand owners and brands 2019

Kantar reveals Vietnam’s most chosen FMCG brand owners and brands 2019

• The top 3 most chosen brand owners Unilever, Vinamilk and Masan Consumer maintained their standing in both Urban 4 cities and Rural Vietnam for the seventh year running.
• Among top 10 most chosen brand owners, Suntory PepsiCo and Calofic are the fastest growing players in Urban 4 cities and Rural respectively
• Within Dairy and Dairy substitutes, Milo from Nestlé is the top riser in Urban 4 cities and achieves a notable increase of CRPs in Rural Vietnam
• Hao Hao and Nam Ngu remain as the most chosen Food brands in Urban 4 cities and Rural respectively

Alongside the publication of the seventh Global Brand Footprint report, we are happy to introduce you the newly launching Asia Brand Footprint report 2019, specifically focusing on Asian markets – China mainland, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

For Vietnam’s rankings, we reveal the top 10 FMCG brand owners and the top 10 FMCG 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 brand owners in Urban 4 Cities and Rural Vietnam revealed by Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint 2019 are:

The top 3 most chosen brand owners Unilever, Vinamilk and Masan Consumer maintain their standing in both Urban 4 cities and Rural Vietnam for the seventh year running. The key factor of their success is to strategically diversify their product portfolio that meets the fast-changing needs of Vietnamese consumers.

Unilever keeps its leading position in Rural where more than 60% of Vietnamese consumers live and secures second place in the Urban ranking.

Vinamilk locks its stronghold in top 1 and 3 ranking in Urban and Rural respectively, partly driven by its strong brands such as Vinamilk, Ong Tho, Ngoi Sao Phuong Nam (Southern Star). Furthermore, the local dairy giant was still able to win more 6.5 million times being bought by rural consumers over the last year.

Among the top 10 most chosen brand owners, Suntory PepsiCo and Calofic are the top risers with the highest growth rate of CRPs in Urban 4 key cities and Rural respectively.

Nestlé continues being the most outstanding performer as the only brand owner sustains a healthy growth in terms of CRPs in both Urban and Rural ranking. Its success is attributable to the continued growth of Milo – its core brand through lots of communication and marketing activities in 2018. 

Coca-Cola Vietnam shows impressive movement, gaining up 2 ranks to enter the top 10 Urban ranking for the first time.

BRAND RANKINGS BY SECTOR

HEALTH AND BEAUTY

One more time, P/S is honored as the number one Health and Beauty brand in terms of CRPs in both Urban 4 cities and Rural Vietnam. Among the top 10 ranking in this sector, there are 5 out of 10 brands belonging to Unilever, demonstrating the leading position of Unilever in personal care market.

Diana made a remarkable achievement in 2018. Diana is not only the fastest growing brand among the top 10 in Urban but also acquires the greatest number of additional households in Rural areas. Moving from number 10 to number 6, the brand enjoys a soaring CRP growth of 26% in Rural Vietnam.

Close-up makes its first entry into the top 10 most chosen Health and Beauty brands in Rural. Among the top 10 rural ranking, Close-up is the second fastest growing brand in terms of CRPs thanks to new product development. Capturing the natural trend, Close-up launched two new toothpaste variants with natural ingredients Close-up Dau Quat & Thao Duoc and Close-up White Attraction Natural Glow, winning over 400 thousand new households in 2018.

Sensodyne – one of the fastest growing brands in Health and Beauty sector in Urban 4 cities - continues to make an impressive performance by posting a robust growth of 41% in terms of CRPs and gaining more than 97 thousand new households last year. Sensodyne’s success firstly thanks to preserving its leading position in sensitivity segment of oral care with added benefits such as tooth sensitivity prevention, teeth whitening. Secondly, besides its stronghold and good momentum in modern trade, the brand has been widening its availability in traditional channels in order to reach more shoppers.

HOME CARE

Unilever reinforces its dominance in Home Care sector with 3 brands Sunlight, Omo, Comfort being bought most often by consumers in both Urban 4 cities and Rural.

Gaining 2 spots, Vim joins the top 10 club for the first time in Urban 4 key cities. Unilever now owns 4 out of 10 most chosen Home Care brands in the urban ranking.

In Home Care sector, paper products have been developing fast in recent years, especially in Rural areas thanks to the rising need of hygiene among Vietnamese consumers. As a result, in Urban, the number one in terms of shopper recruitment is a local brand of paper products - Ha Noi (Tien Hieu) whereas other two brands of paper products Thanh Ha and Viet Nhat are the fastest growing brands in CRPs in Rural.

FOOD

Hao Hao and Nam Ngu are the most chosen Food brands one more time in Urban 4 cities and Rural respectively. In addition to their strong brand awareness and nationwide distribution network, these brands keep engaging consumers by capturing the latest trends. While Hao Hao strengthens its convenient pack type (cup noodle) by launching new flavors, Nam Ngu introduced a new product – “Nam Ngu Phu Quoc” fish sauce that targets the growing premium segment.

In Urban 4 cities, Cholimex is a star in terms of CRP growth among the top 10. By climbing 5 ranks, the brand registers its name in the top 10 urban ranking for the first time. Its growth is mainly driven by building a wide product range of sauces and spices with several new launches.

Chin-su makes an impressive performance in 2018. The brand is the fastest growing brand in Rural with a CRP growth of 23% and also sustains a strong growth of 10% in Urban 4 key cities. The key driver of its success is the rapid expansion of its chili sauce, tomato sauce and oyster sauce.

BEVERAGES

Coca-Cola remains as the most chosen brand in Beverage sector, being chosen 10 million times by 70% of households in Urban 4 cities. Moreover, the world’s most chosen brand is widening significantly its reach in Rural Vietnam, leading to double-digit growth in terms of CRPs in 2018.

In terms of CRPs, Nescafé maintains its leading position in coffee market and preserves its 2^nd place in Rural as well as its 3^rd place in Urban 4 cities among the Top 10 beverage ranking. Its products were chosen by nearly one-third of households in both Urban 4 cities and Rural Vietnam last year.

Jumping up 2 spots, Aquafina from Suntory PepsiCo is a newcomer with the highest CRP growth of 24% among the top 10 urban ranking. Aquafina invests strongly in increasing its brand awareness among young Vietnamese by sponsoring several attractive events such as Vietnam International Fashion Week, Vietnam’s Next Top Model.

Saigon (Beer) is the top recruiter in Rural for the 2^nd year, acquiring more than 700 thousand new households. Thereby, the brand secures its leading position in the rural ranking and reaches the highest growth rate of 18% in terms of CRPs among the top 10 most chosen beverage brands.

DAIRY AND DAIRY SUBSTITUTES

Vinamilk continues to shine as the leader among the top 10 ranking in Dairy and Dairy substitutes with its CRP leaving other brands behind in both Urban 4 cities and Rural. The brand strengthens its footprint by the increased investment in social media marketing and the constant innovation with new and exciting offerings such as Oc Cho soy drink, ADM Chuoi liquid milk, Nep Cam cup yogurt, etc. to the market.

Another spotlight is Milo from Nestle. Milo is not only among the top 10 most chosen brands in Urban 4 key cities, but it has also been expanding its presence broadly in rural Vietnam. The brand records a notable increase of 19% in terms of CRPs by developing a strong connection with consumers through substantial communication and marketing activities, especially among Vietnamese moms and younger generations.

Zott Monte and Grow Plus+ are new entrants among the top 10 brands in Urban and Rural respectively. Zott Monte is a Zott’s cream dessert brand while Grow Plus+ from NutiFood is a local brand of ready-to-drink growing up milk. These two categories mostly targeting to kids have been growing very fast in Vietnam market thanks to its convenience and nutrition benefits.

* CRPs: Consumer Reach Points 

Follow links on the right side of this page to download the full report, press release and explore the most chosen FMCG brands in other Asian markets here!

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Brand Footprint: the study
Kantar’s annual Brand Footprint study is based on research from 72% of the global population; a total of one billion households in 49 countries across five continents—covering 85% of the global GDP. As part of the study, Worldpanel tracks more than 21,400 brands across beverages, food, dairy, health and beauty and homecare.

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 (consumer choice), 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, please visit www.kantarworldpanel.com/brandfootprint

Methodology and scope
This year’s ranking analysed more than 21,400 brands and 72% of the global population in 49 countries across five continents, in the 12 months to November 2018.

Credits
The Brand Footprint publication is a Kantar initiative, and the ranking is created in collaboration with GfK in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa and Sweden, with IRI in the US, with Intage in Japan and with CTR in China and Sri Lanka, with GfK in Germany, Russia, Italy and South Africa, and with IRI in the US.