Social distancing and compulsory lockdowns are throwing a wrench in beverage chains’ market expansion plans this year adding insult to injury for these already unhealthy firms.

Highlands Coffee has been expanding its chain at a lightening speed, while Trung Nguyen has opened E-Coffee and Cong is exporting products.

Starbucks was the only foreign café chain to make it into the Top 5 in Vietnam, according to Euromonitor.

Highlands Coffee, Vinacafe and Passio all have been selling coffee in vending machines and at new coffee stalls in places with heavy traffic.

For the last half month, visitors to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at Dong Khoi Street located near the Metropolitan building in the central district 1 of HCMC can see only closed green doors.

 As plastic reduction is becoming an essential trend to save the environment, beverage companies, which still depend on tremendous amounts of plastic materials, cannot opt out of the trend.