Reveal Vietnam's most chosen FMCG brands 2023

Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam has released its highly anticipated Brand Footprint 2023 report, unveiling the rankings of Vietnam's most chosen FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) brands.

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.