Dairy giant Vinamilk looks to milk new growth cycle
Vietnamese dairy giant Vinamilk is poised to transform itself and reverse the slowdown it has experienced in recent years despite continued domination of the domestic market.
The most recognized brand in Vietnam has adopted a new logo and is planning product diversification suited to new customer needs, said CEO Mai Kieu Lien.
After nearly half a century on the market, Vinamilk, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as VNM, is a familiar name across the length and breadth of the nation.

Ong Tho condensed milk is one of Vinamilk's key brands. Photo courtesy of the company.
Several of its products have enjoyed market shares as high as 70-80%. With a wide range of products including condensed milk, fresh milk, powdered milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese and weaning foods, Vinamilk caters to many population segments including infants, the elderly and pregnant women.
Its products reach every corner of the country through 230,000 points of sale. People can easily find its products in any grocery store, supermarket or convenience store.
The company has also become a global brand to reckon with. According to world leading brand valuation firm Brand Finance, the Vinamilk brand was valued at $3 billion in 2023, ranking second among the top five most sustainable milk brands globally and sixth in the world’s top 10 most valuable brands.
Birth of a giant
Formed in 1976 with a takeover of Thong Nhat milk, Truong Tho milk and Dielac powdered milk factories, the company has grown strongly to operate 16 factories in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the U.S., as also 15 farms.
Since its listing in 2006, Vinamilk has been a blue chip with great influence on the market. It has regularly paid huge dividends, at around 40% over the last five years, or trillions of Vietnam dong (VND1 trillion = $41.2 million) each year.
However, the Vietnamese dairy giant has run into a problem that large enterprises face after reaching a certain growth level – peak revenue and reduced business efficiency.
After a long period of continuous growth (2003 to 2018), the national milk brand saw profit stagnate in 2019 and begin to decline after with revenue hovering around VND60 trillion ($2.47 billion) in the 2020-2022 period.
Its profit per share (EPS) dropped to VND4,000-5,000 ($0.21) and the VNM ticker began sliding since the end of 2017.
However, Vinamilk has built a solid financial foundation despite deducting most of its profit every year as dividend. Its total assets value at the end of Q3/2023 was VND55 trillion ($2.27 billion), of which VND26 trillion was in cash and deposits. Debt was just VND7 billion ($288.3 million), mainly short-term loans.
Caution and determination
Vinamilk has been looking for opportunities to regain its growth momentum for several years now and has targeted this year as a turning point.
“2023 is the year marking significant changes in Vinamilk,” said CEO Mai Kieu Lien, adding that the brand entered the year with caution and determination to transform itself. The transformation was needed for the firm to build on past successes and bring into full play its potential in the “new era,” she added.
In July, the company changed its long-standing logo to “inject a new, more youthful energy” while preserving the cultural heritage of a 47-year-old brand.
"This is the first step for the firm to modernize and create momentum for acceleration in the future," Lien said.
She said Vinamilk will focus on optimizing operating costs so that it can reinvest in expanding its distribution channels and strengthening its brand. The company will also introduce new, high quality products that meet consumer needs.
Growth factors
Vinamilk's leadership has said that they are very confident about the dairy industry's potential, because per-capita milk consumption is still very low in Vietnam compared to the regional and world averages.
According to Research and Markets, Vietnam’s average milk consumption was just 27 liters per person per year, compared to 35 liters in Thailand and 45 liters in Singapore.
Each year, about 1.5 million children are born in Vietnam and this, coupled with the trend of people paying more attention to health, will form a driving force for the dairy industry in the coming years, senior industry executives have said.
For its part, Vinamilk has said it will analyze needs afresh and explore different customer segments. In the first nine months of 2023, it launched and/or resumed 11 products and opened 11 new Vietnamese Milk Dream stores, increasing the total number to 657.
At present, Vinamilk's products are present in 59 countries and territories. It is actively approaching new markets in South America, the Caribbean, West and South Africa. Besides the U.S. as a large market, China is an attractive market that the dairy giant is targeting.
The firm has signed memoranda of understanding with two major importers and distributors of milk and agricultural products in China. As scheduled, the first batch of durian-flavored yogurt hit shelves in China at the end of November and early December.
Earlier, its "Ong Tho" condensed milk began selling at Guangbai - a large supermarket chain in Guangzhou with more than 17 supermarkets.
Besides the main dairy business, the company has actively tapped business opportunities in new markets through mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures or venture investments.
Currently, Vinamilk is developing a VND3 trillion ($123.6 million) cattle complex with Japanese partner Sojitz Corporation in Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province to produce and supply beef.
Lien said work on the project, a 51%-49% joint venture between Vinamilk subsidiary Vilico and Sojitz, kicked off in March and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024. Once operational, it can generate revenues of VND3 trillion and profits of VND500 billion ($20.6 million) per year.
Vinamilk has targeted VND63.38 trillion ($2.7 billion) in consolidated revenues this year, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%; and VND8.62 trillion ($367 million) in after-tax profit, unchanged from the previous year, said CEO Lien.
On the HoSE, VNM closed Wednesday at VND68,200 ($2.81) per share.
- Read More
Vietnam's agri major Hoang Anh Gia Lai fined for bond information disclosure failure
Vietnam's agri major Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC has been fined VND92.5 million ($3,528) for failing to disclose bond-related information as required by law.
Companies - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 4:31 pm GMT+7
Northern Vietnam province accelerates $2.2 bln LNG-to-power project
Quang Ninh province will hand over 4.9 hectares of reclaimed land to the Quang Ninh LNG-fuelled power plant project before August 11, local authorities stated at a meeting on Wednesday.
Energy - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 4:17 pm GMT+7
Vietnam's seafood firms ride profit wave ahead of US tariff hike
Vietnam’s seafood companies reported surging profits in Q2/2025, driven by importers ramping up purchases ahead of new U.S. reciprocal tariffs.
Economy - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 2:21 pm GMT+7
Le Anh Tuan appointed new CEO of Dragon Capital Vietfund Management JSC
Dragon Capital Group, Vietnam's largest asset manager, has appointed Le Anh Tuan as CEO of its arm Dragon Capital Vietfund Management Joint Stock Company (DCVFM), starting from October 1, 2025.
Companies - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 2:01 pm GMT+7
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand expand local currency transaction network
Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia, and Bank of Thailand have added new Appointed Cross Currency Dealer (ACCD) participating banks to broaden services for bilateral transactions in local currencies across the three nations, Bank Indonesia said in a statement on Tuesday.
Southeast Asia - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 12:48 pm GMT+7
ASEAN to sign MoU on regional power grid implementation
ASEAN member states are set to sign an MoU on the implementation of the ASEAN Power Grid during the bloc’s Energy Ministers’ Meeting this October.
Southeast Asia - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 12:43 pm GMT+7
Vietnam overtakes Thailand to become world's second-largest rice exporter
Vietnam has outranked Thailand as the world’s second-largest rice exporter in the first half of 2025, Thai PBS reported on August 3, citing the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
Companies - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 12:41 pm GMT+7
Vietnam posts trade surplus of $10.18 bln in 7 months
Vietnam’s export earnings grew by 14.8% to $262.44 billion in the first seven months of this year, while its import turnover rose by 17.9% to $252.26 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $10.18 billion.
Economy - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 12:19 pm GMT+7
Malaysia pledges big purchases, investments with US
Malaysia has agreed to buy and invest over $240 billion (MYR1.02 trillion) in the U.S. to help reduce the trade gap between the two countries.
Southeast Asia - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 12:08 pm GMT+7
Vietnam's leading property developer Novaland to issue 152 mln shares to settle $229 mln debt
Novaland, a major real estate developer in Vietnam, plans to issue nearly 152 million new shares to swap more than VND6 trillion ($228.8 million) worth of bond principal.
Companies - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 10:11 am GMT+7
Vietnam's FDI capital disbursement hits five-year record high despite US tariff turmoil
Disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in Vietnam reached $13.6 billion in Jan-July, up 8.4% year-on-year, despite U.S. tariff concerns.
Economy - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 9:57 am GMT+7
Malaysia steps up efforts to explore nuclear energy potential
Malaysia’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang on Wednesday reaffirmed his ministry’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) in exploring the potential of nuclear energy.
Southeast Asia - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 8:10 am GMT+7
Indonesia's economy grows faster than expected
Indonesia's economy expanded by 5.12% year-on-year in Q2/2025, up from 4.87% in the previous quarter, exceeding the forecasts of many economic organizations, which had previously projected a rate of less than 5%, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
Southeast Asia - Thu, August 7, 2025 | 8:07 am GMT+7
Philippine energy group eyes investment in Vietnam’s power sector
AboitizPower wants to invest in Vietnam’s electricity industry, especially in transmission infrastructure, said Danel Aboitiz, executive director of the corporation.
Energy - Wed, August 6, 2025 | 11:11 pm GMT+7
Vietnam seeks 8.3-8.5% economic expansion for 2025
The Government has requested the State Bank of Vietnam to proactively adjust the credit growth aim for this year in line with a GDP expansion target of 8.3-8.5%.
Economy - Wed, August 6, 2025 | 10:41 pm GMT+7
Japanese investment in Vietnam shifts toward service, trade, and technology: bank exec
Japanese investment in Vietnam is seeing a notable shift, with sharp increases in the services, trade, and technology sectors, while investment in manufacturing has slowed, said Abe Ryota, a senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).
Economy - Wed, August 6, 2025 | 4:06 pm GMT+7