Vietnam’s push for new nutritional labeling mandates underscores a growing consumer trend toward health consciousness post-COVID-19 pandemic. With majority of Vietnamese consumers influenced by health labeling, the initiative aims to align food and drink companies with international standards, boost transparency, and enhance public health. As the government drives compliance, consumers stand to benefit from informed choices and improved product transparency in the market, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData 2023 Q4 Consumer Survey* reveals that 71% of consumers in Vietnam admitted their product choices are always/often influenced by health labeling information displayed on product packaging. This underscores their conscientious approach to understanding the contents of the products they consume, as evidenced by their commitment to reading labels.
Parthasaradhi Reddy, Consumer Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Health & Wellness has firmly held its position as the most influential trend since the beginning of 2021, prompted undoubtedly by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a renewed focus on health, making on-pack nutritional information most influential in their decision making.”
Given the influence of access to health label information, Vietnam urged food companies in 2023 to transition to new nutritional labeling regulations and comply with international standards to improve public health in the country. The government’s decision also aims to boost consumer confidence and safety in local food and drinks brands/companies as they see the new regulation as a measure of transparency.
Tim Hill, Key Account Director, GlobalData Singapore, adds: “The government’s decision follows the recent findings by the Ministry of Health’s Department of Preventive Medicine that nearly 60% of food and drinks companies in the country already display nutritional information on labels, while all brands involved in exports of food/drinks comply with nutritional labeling, indicating the feasibility to do the same for products sold within Vietnam.”
Reddy continues: “Implementing the new product nutritional label regulations is widely seen as a step in the right direction to help consumers make informed decisions when buying a food or drinks.”
This reflects in the survey where 62% of Vietnamese respondents* said they prefer to choose a product based on its impact on health/wellbeing.”
Reportedly, Vietnam aims to have at least 40% of domestic food and drinks producers to transition to the new pack labeling requirement within two years. By end of 2025, the government estimates that all domestic companies will display content and value of “energy”, “fat”, “protein”, “carbohydrate”, and “sodium” on-pack along with any allergens or health warnings to address any risks from ingredients in packaging food and drinks.
Hill concludes: “Consumers greatly value nutritional information as many of them find it confusing to know what food and drinks are healthy for them as attested by 55% of Vietnamese respondents, given the widespread choices of food and drinks on the supermarket shelf^. Therefore this initiative by the Vietnamese government is vital for consumer health and safety.”
*GlobalData 2023 Q4 Consumer Survey – Vietnam, published in December 2023, 500 respondents
^GlobalData 2023 Q1 Consumer Survey – Vietnam, published in April 2023, 500 respondents
