VietNamNet Bridge – Young people in HCM City and Hanoi are eager to have their names or nicknames printed on a Coca Cola can, although they have to pay VND60,000 ($3) for it.

As many customers had asked her about the name printing service on coke cans, Mrs. Hoa, a beverage agent in Binh Thanh District, HCM City, decided to offer this service from early July.

The products are "genuine" and the printing is made by the manufacturer, Hoa said.

She collects VND60,000 per coke can with the name of the buyer while the price for a normal can is only VND10,000. If customers choose the cans available at the shop, the price is VND35,000.

Customers are also requested to follow the rules: the name must not be longer than 13 characters (including space), not carry political messages, not violate habits and customs or advertise other products.

"The prices are high but I receive many orders, which sometimes are nearly 200 a day," Hoa said.

Ms. Xuan in Tan Binh District also offers this service. She said she acted as the agent to collect orders and bring the order to Coca Cola’s name printing points at supermarkets.

"Each printing point works for just a few days so I did not dare receive more orders. Moreover, I have to queue and wait for a whole day so I collect VND60,000 a can," Xuan explained.

She said she had just delivered more than 20 boxes of coke cans with names of customers to the neighboring provinces of Long An, Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

Ms. Hoai Anh, in District 10, only receives orders for printing names on plastic bottles (390ml) for VND30,000/bottle.

Hoai Anh said she has offered this service for half a month. She gets about 50-70 orders per day.

In Hanoi, some people offer this service online. "After the customer orders the desired name, we will search for the cans with the ordered names in the market and deliver it to the customer. The price is from VND20,000 to VND35,000 depending on the name,” said a man named Mr. Tien who provides the service.

Nguyen Khoa My, external relations manager of Coca Cola in Southeast Asia, said the company did not launch the campaign to raise product prices, so the prices of coke cans with names are the same with normal cans.

At present the company provides two kinds of cans with names: The first are cans with the most common personal names, representing about 55% of Vietnam's population and the second are limited cans at supermarkets, which are printed with the names of the customers whose bill totals more than VND35,000.

Mai Ly