VietNamNet Bridge - A survey has found that Vietnamese youth spend VND13 trillion a month on snacks. 

Uyen Phuong from HCMC recently bought a snack dish called banh trang tron (mixed rice paper) in a plastic bag. “It is affordable and safe for people’s health,” Phuong said about the product offered by Sai Gon Food.

Sai Gon Food is a well-known name in the convenient food industry. It is also a supplier of ready-made food to the 7-Eleven convenience store system. 

“The nosh market is extremely attractive in terms of revenue and profit,” said Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy CEO of Sai Gon Food.

A study by Decision Lab conducted recently found that youth pay VND13 trillion a month for noshes.

Vissan, a big meat supplier, last October inaugurated tens of snack dish shops. Vissan’s deputy CEO Phan Van Dung said that the snacks are not inferior to processed and ready-made products.

A representative of Vinh Thanh Dat Food confirmed that noshes attract customers thanks to convenience, good taste and reasonable prices.

An analyst commented that in the snack market, foreign giants are not rivals to Vietnamese producers, because consumers prefer traditional dishes.

Phap Luat Of HCMC quoted experts as saying that McDonald’s and Burger King could not prosper in Vietnam because their products don’t fit Vietnamese tastes.

Burger King, with 16,000 shops, and McDonald’s, with 36,000 shops worldwide, cannot do well in Vietnam, citing two reasons. The prices set by the two giants are twice as much as Vietnamese dishes and the products are less competitive than Vietnamese street food.

CNBC said that Burger King, with 16,000 shops, and McDonald’s, with 36,000 shops worldwide, cannot do well in Vietnam, citing two reasons. The prices set by the two giants are twice as much as Vietnamese dishes and the products are less competitive than Vietnamese street food.

Nguyen Phi Van, founder of World Franchise Associates, also said that snacks can easily attract customers and bring high profits.

Vietnamese producers can succeed in the field because they have an understanding about Vietnamese tastes. 

The director of Tan Viet Sinh Foods, Nguyen Xuan Vu, said that producers need to design dishes suited to locals, and become more flexible to satisfy rapidly changing tastes.

Traditional dishes made by prestigious brands are direct rivals to street food shops. Vietnamese believe that food corporations, under strict control of management agencies, will have to provide safe products. 

Vietnamese consumers now have high requirements on food safety, especially after management agencies discovered unsafe food made of expired materials.

In related news, to tackle food safety issues in Vietnam, a national information database with real-time updates will be set up and consumers will be able to easily share information on products or producers that violate food safety regulations.