Located in South East Asia, Vietnam’s neighbor countries are China, in the north, and Laos and Cambodia, in the west. It’s population is around 93 million inhabitants. Around 85% of the population is less than 55 years old, so it is considered a quite young compared to most of the western countries.
Talking about the economy, in the last three years the growth has been more than 6% annually and it is expected to continue at this pace until 2019. Despite uncertainties in the global environment, Vietnam’s economy remains strong, mainly because of domestic demand and export oriented manufacturing.
In 1993, over half of the population lived on less than $1.90-a-day. Today, the rate of such extreme poverty has fallen to 3 percent. The proportion of the population living below the national poverty line (GSO-WB Poverty line) reached 13.5 percent in 2014—down from close to 60 percent in 1993. More than 40 million people escaped poverty over the course of two decades. The Vietnamese population today is more educated and healthier than twenty years ago—and these advances are enjoyed across society. Learning outcomes are high, including in primary school. Infant and under-five mortality rates have been significantly reduced in the last twenty years. Stunting also significantly decreased, from 61 percent in 1993 to 23 percent in 2012. Life expectancy at birth is now 76 years, an improvement from 71 years in 1993.(1)
The food supplements industry in Vietnam is growing due to improvement in living standards. The population is now more concern about their health.
International manufacturers continue to dominate the market. Foreign brands tend to be positioned in the premium segment to attract mid-high end consumers, while local brands generally concentrate on the mass market. In addition, foreign players are also more active in non-herbal /traditional products, while local players are more prominent in herbal/traditional dietary supplements. In 2014 around 40% of the market corresponded to imported products. The most popular official retail channels are direct selling and chemists, pharmacies, healthcare & beauty care retail shops and foreign product specialty stores. The main areas of health concern are eye health, digestive health, heart health, mental health, women’s health and children’s health.(2)
Monteloeder has a regional office in Malaysia to be closer to the customers of this area, like Vietnam. We believe that being close to the customers we can understand better their needs and therefore serve them better.
Ignacio Cartagena
Vice President, Sales
Sources:
(1) World Bank
(2) Australian Trade Commision
