Plant-based drinks, including milk and soy milk with rice, nuts, grains or seeds added, have become a new trend in Vietnam, according to the latest monitor report from market research firm Kantar Worldpanel.

Primary students drink soy milk and other types of milk 

The firm notes in the report that the consumer price index dipped in December and achieved the target of staying under 4% for the entire year. The domestic demand for consumer goods maintained its momentum, posting double-digit growth.

Overall, Vietnam retained macroeconomic stability with growth of 7.1% in 2018, which was higher than expected and marked the highest growth rate since 2011.

While the rural market is the growth engine of the fast moving consumer goods sector, showing positive movements, the picture in four key cities – Hanoi, the central coastal city of Danang, HCMC and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho – is quite the opposite, with negative growth in volume consumption, according to the report.

Dairy and packaged foods have posted healthy growth in rural areas, mainly driven by convenient categories that are expanding their consumer base and raising the volume of consumption. Meanwhile, the volume of consumption of the entire food sector in major cities is underperforming.

Plant-based drinks are starting a new trend. Despite the decline of the dairy sector in key cities, this segment enjoys a fast growth rate. Thanks to new product launches that are performing very well compared with the category average, plant-based drinks are penetrating much further and are promising to accelerate still further with more players ready to jump in.

While the urban market is experiencing flat growth, modern trade achieved robust growth of 22%. Its growth is continuously driven by the fast development of minimarkets and convenience stores and the unstoppable expansion of the online channel.

In the rural market, upgraded street shops with a larger space and a wider range of products continue luring more new shoppers.

Different age groups have different channel choices for out-of-home purchases. While convenience stores have become an emerging store of choice for Generation Z, those born from 1997 to 2012; millennials, as people born between 1981 and 1996, favor coffee and tea shops that offer them a greater variety of drinks.

Meanwhile, deliveries ordered over the phone or online are another a new way for the working-age group to order drinks to consume away from home, according to the report.

SGT