Vietnam food & beverage market could grow to $31 bln in 2023

Vietnam’s food & beverage market could grow 18.26% from $25.97 billion in 2022 to $30.71 billion in 2023, according to a report by iPOS.vn, a provider of restaurant management solutions.

As a top player in the country with over 100,000 customers and more than 20 branches, iPOS.vn pointed out the F&B market rebounded strongly in 2022, even exceeding the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

The sector's revenue fell from $24.6 billion in pre-pandemic 2019 to $21.88 billion in 2020, $18.63 billion in 2021, and VND609 trillion ($25.97 billion) in 2022.

The report attributed the recovery to the country’s post-Covid-19 reopening and stimulation package, motivating people to spend more.

The software provider forecast the figures could further jump to VND720.3 trillion ($30.71 billion) in 2023, $33.85 billion in 2024, $36.95 billion in 2025, and $40 billion in 2026, with stable growth of 8-10% annually over the three years.

iPOS.vn quoted a report by market researcher Euromonitor as saying that the number of F&B outlets in Vietnam rose 15% from 294,204 in 2016 to 338,604 in 2022.

The southern region accounted for the biggest portion with 57.48%, followed by the north with 24.79% and the central region with 17.73%. The three economic hubs of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Danang were the biggest players with 39.78%, 14.48% and 4.8% of all restaurants.

However, dining out has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, the report showed. Revenue in the segment dropped from $16.11 billion in 2019 to $12.01 billion in 2020, then recovered to $12.27 billion in 2021, and $14.24 billion in 2022.

Food deliveries recorded stable growth before, during, and after the pandemic, from $428.86 million in 2019, to $592.73 million in 2020, $948.62 million in 2021, and $1.28 billion in 2022, exceeding the $1-billion remark.

According to iPOS.vn, 95% of the sector’s revenue went to individual restaurants (brands with fewer than 10 outlets), while branded outlets with at least 10 units accounted for only 5%.