Golden Gate, the buffet and hot pot chain, has closed 34 restaurants because of revenue decreases.

Food chains close shops in social distancing

Ngo Minh Vu, the manager of Hachiban Ramen, said their workers have taken unpaid leave. Basta Hiro has informed workers about temporary unemployment.

According to Dcorp R-Keeper Vietnam, there are 540,000 eateries in Vietnam, including 430,000 small ones and 7,000 fast food shops, 22,000 coffee shops and bars and over 80,000 facilities belonging to large F&B chains.

The spread of coronavirus, the social distancing policy and the freezing of the tourism industry all have patalyzed the F&B sector.

Statista reported that the revenue of the Vietnam’s F&B market in 2019 reached $200 billion, up by 34.3 percent over 2018.

However, with Covid-19, the prospect of the F&B sector turns out to be unclear. As the government has applied social distancing policy, many shops have to ‘close and wait’.

Mai Truong Giang, the owner of Otoké Chicken and Chewy Junior brands, complained on his Facebook that he had to close restaurants after taking big losses.

Vo Duy Phu, business and marketing director of The Coffee House, noted that after two months of being hit by Covid-19, about 60 percent of F&B businesses decided to ‘let things run their course’.

However, many others have been struggling to exist. Hoang Quoc Khanh from Golden Gate said the business has launched G-Delivery, providing service at clients’ homes and lending cookers for free.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Pizza 4P’s was so popular that clients had to book tables several days in advance. However, as clients cannot come, the chain has to change its policy and deliver food.

According to Nielsen, Covid-19 has changed consumers’ habits. About 81 percent of polled people confirmed they refuse public gatherings and nearly half of Vietnamese have changed eating habits: they are restricting eating out, storing more food and shopping at online markets.

The changes offer great opportunities to businesses to promote their digital media strategy and make a stronger mark on the online market, according to Mohit Agrawal of Nielsen.

F&B chains will have to change their business models to exist. However, according to Nguyen Hoang Van, CEO of Cua Ngon Huong Vi Dat Mui Restaurant, this is also a great opportunity for businesses to reconsider their administrative model and find optimal solutions to exist.

Nguyen Ha Linh, CEO of Thai Koh Yam, is optimistic about the prospect, saying that now is the time for F&B chains to train workers, upgrade service quality, and lease retail premises that they could not find in the past.

Linh Ha 

VN food companies make innovative products from excess farm produce

Vietnamese food inspired on COVID-19 has been praised by international media.

Quinoa crab soup- healthy comfort food

Quinoa, originated from South Africa is packed with protein, fiber and various vitamins and minerals. The combination of quinoa and crab meat in soup helps create a nutrient and mouthwatering dish.