Vietnam beer market worth $12 bln: Heineken

Vietnam’s beer market retail sales value reached EUR11 billion ($12.07 billion) in 2022, Heineken said in a recent review, adding that it held the leading market position in the country.

In the report, Heineken said Vietnam’s beer market volume hit 46 million hectoliters, up 3.6% against 2021.

The Dutch brewing company lauded the Vietnamese market’s potential, which recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% from 1999-2019. Future growth will be driven by the "low urbanization rate of 36% and the rising middle class toward $4,000 GDP per capita".

Outlining its strategy for the Vietnamese market, the brewer said it would strengthen its leadership in the premium beer sector, expand into mainstream products, and further its reach in the northern region and rural areas.

In terms of volume, from 2016 to 2022, Heineken’s premium products, including Heineken Silver and Tiger, raised its market share to 90% of the premium segment. Meanwhile, its local brands such as Larue, Bivina and Bia Viet more than tripled its market share from 5% to 16%. Heineken data shows premium products account for about 70% of its portfolio.

Geographically, Heineken’s top markets in Vietnam are the Central Highlands, the south-central coastal region, the Mekong Delta and the southern region, with the brand holding over 50% of the volume share there. In the northern and north-central coastal regions, the volume share is less than 30%.

In its sustainability report for 2022, Heineken Vietnam says it has supported 246,000 jobs across the value chain, equivalent to 0.49% of Vietnam’s labor force.

Heineken Vietnam’s value chain contributed VND72.7 trillion ($3.07 billion) to the economy, representing 1.04% of the country’s GDP, higher than the 0.94% posted in 2019 in the pre-pandemic era, according to the company.

In Vietnam, Heineken’s latest factory has opened in Vung Tau with an annual capacity of 11 million hectoliters. The plant is Heineken’s largest Asia Pacific facility.

Heineken now runs six factories across the three main regions in Vietnam: Hanoi in the northern region; Danang and Quang Nam province in the central region, and Ho Chi Minh city, Tien Giang province and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in the southern region.

Heineken plans to pour a further $500 million into Vietnam in the coming years, in addition to the $1 billion so far, the report cites CEO Dolf van den Brink as saying during his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in the Netherlands in December 2022.

A report by leading brokerage house MB Securities in June 2022 showed that Heineken had held the largest portion of Vietnam’s beer market in 2021 at 44.4%, followed by Sabeco with 33.9%, Carlsberg with 8.7%, and Habeco with 7.4%. It noted that Heineken had overtaken Sabeco to become the market leader with nearly 40% of the market share in 2019.

In a review for first quarter of 2023, Danish beer brand Carlsberg says it recorded a growth of 20% in volume, outpacing the market figure of 5%. Carlsberg had a total market share of 8%, thanks to the strong growth of local brand Huda. The brand invested significant money in Vietnam in the fourth quarter of 2022, and has been reaping the rewards ever since, said Carlsberg CEO Cees 't Hart.