Specialty Food Could Be Gold Mine For Foreign Investors

Many foreign-invested enterprises have successfully developed products made of pure Vietnamese materials.

Many foreign-invested enterprises have successfully developed products made of pure Vietnamese materials.

Foreign investors, for example, have poured money into making fish sauce, the traditional staple in Vietnamese cuisine.

The fish sauce market has always competitive with manufacturers from Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet, the two most famous fish sauce production areas. In 2002 Unilever entered the market.

The multinational group jumped on the bandwagon more than 10 years ago when setting up a 6 million liter per annum fish sauce bottling workshop on Phu Quoc Island. Just after one year of operation, it churned out 7,500 liters of fish sauce which was exported to Australia.

Peanut, potato war

Many foreign-invested enterprises have successfully developed products made of pure Vietnamese materials.

Like fish sauce, Vietnamese peanuts are also attractive in the eyes of foreign investors, including PepsiCo and Liwayway from the Philippines.

Vietnamese enterprises were the pioneers in introducing peanuts, coconut  extract and potato products to consumers, but foreign invested enterprises have received the biggest benefits from the products.

In 2006, Pepsi Co marketed Poca peanut snacks. Just a short time later, Liwayway joined the market with Oishi snacks and peanuts.

Peanuts and other materials grown on Vietnamese land have been fully exploited by foreign enterprises to make profits and compete directly with Vietnamese enterprises. 

In 2008, PepsiCo injected another $30 million into a project in Lam Dong province which provides materials to make potato snacks. 

The product reportedly saw a 3 percent growth rate just five years later, which was double the drinks’ growth rate.

Da Lat Arabica coffee

Most recently, the news about Da Lat coffee available at Starbucks’ global chain appeared on the first page of print newspapers in Vietnam.

Vietnamese take pride in their delicious coffee which is favored all over the world. However, the specialty coffee could only reach world consumers through a US café chain. 

This indicates that Vietnamese businesses have not been successful in developing Vietnamese specialty food and bringing it to the world.

Starbucks now collects Da Lat coffee grown in Cau Dat area and sells the coffee under the name Starbucks Reserve Vietnam Da Lat. 

Starbucks said the Vietnamese coffee would be sold at more than 21,500 shops in 56 countries. 

The price for one kilo of roasted Da Lat coffee at Starbucks stores is $50.

While Da Lat’s arabica coffee is well-known for its quality, the total number of hectares devoted to coffee fields, which have existed in Cau Dat for 140 years, is shrinking.

Khoa Le

Source: Vietnamnet.vn