Vinacafe Bien Hoa stirred up the domestic coffee market when it announced that with 41 percent of the total output in the market, it led the instant coffee market in 2014.

The announcement caused problems for Nielsen Vietnam  because the figure was believed to be released by the market survey firm.

Later, Nielsen Vietnam had to send a press release to local press agencies, affirming that it did not confirm the Number 1 position of Vinacafe Bien Hoa and did not provide any information relating to the announcement.

Two years before, in July 2012, Trung Nguyen, the brand owned by Dang Nguyen Vu, called by foreign press the 'Vietnamese Coffee King', also stated at a press conference that G7, a product of Trung Nguyen, was leading the instant coffee market. 

Trung Nguyen cited Nielsen’s report to prove its Number 1 position.

On the issue, Nielsen stated in a press release that it never provided any document certifying the announcement, and that the information provided by Trung Nguyen was not the official information released by Nielsen. 

The market survey firm then pointed out that Nestle, not Trung Nguyen, was the Number 1 coffee producer in the market at that moment. The second position belonged to Trung Nguyen and the third one to Vinacafe Bien Hoa. 

Meanwhile, Trung Nguyen’s G7 was leading in the 3-in-1 instant coffee market segment. 

In reply, Trung Nguyen affirmed it was still Number 1 in the market.

The events in the media market showed the battle among coffee producers. There are tens of instant coffee producers in the market. 
However, the market is controlled by the three biggest players - Nescafe of Nestle,  Vinacafe Bien Hoa of Masan Group and Trung Nguyen.

Meanwhile, a report of Euromonitor, also a market survey and analysis firm, showed that Nescafe continues to lead the market in terms of value with a high growth rate of 33 percent.

An analyst noted that Nestle, which is now in good condition, does not intend to get involved in the noisy battle of words in the mass media. However, on Nestle’s advert boards, one can see the coffee producer’s statement that it is the Number 1 coffee brand in the world. 

This has been confirmed by Kantar Worldpanel, which, in its 2015 report, showed that, though having fallen by one grade, Nescafe remains widely recognized all over the world. It is, however, ranked below Coca-Cola, Colgate, Maggi and Lifebuoy.

Kantar Worldpanel, ranking most chosen consumer brands through CRP (consumer reach points), found that Nescafe had 7 million CRP, while Trung Nguyen’s G7 had 4.5 million.

TBKTSG