Vietnam Nutrition Food (NutiFood) and Japanese beverage group Asahi Group Foods last week announced the establishment of a joint-venture in a bid to bring nutritional products for children with Japanese standard to the Vietnamese market, local media reported.  

At the ceremony, Shoyama Katsuo, Asahi Group Foods’ president, said the group’s products, particularly the baby food brand Wakodo, have been available in over 70 countries, including Vietnam, but this is the first time that Asahi joins hands with a foreign company in the field of consumer product. 

According to Katsuo, establishing a joint venture in a new market would have more advantages than setting up a new company, as local partner has the expertise and specific know-how that fit the target market. 

Katsuo added that Vietnam has become an important market for the group, especially in nutritional products for children. 

Currently, Vietnam’s birth rate is much higher than that of Japan, with 1.6 million children born every year, nearly double that of Japan, indicating a huge potential market for children’s nutritional products. 

Moreover, the country’s economy is on the rise with growing income, leading to a higher demand on high quality products for children and pregnant women, he added. 

Asahi Group Foods specializes in food supplements, baby products, freeze-dried food, confectionery and other products with revenue of over US$20 billion in 2017, while Nutifood is one of Vietnam’s leading company producing dairy products and nutritious organic foods.  

Hanoitimes