Japanese firm opens $21mn tempura batter plant in Ho Chi Minh City

Showa Sangyo International Vietnam, a unit under Showa Sangyo, on Wednesday announced the establishment of the manufacturing plant located in the Phu My 3 Industrial Park.

The facility, which became operational at the end of the first quarter, spans more than 1.3 hectares and carries a price tag of some $21 million.

Positioned as a strategic tempura batter mix production hub for the region, the plant is expected to serve not only Vietnam’s domestic market but also neighboring ASEAN countries.

Chairman and CEO of Showa Sangyo International Vietnam Maruyama Shinji said Vietnam was selected due to its young population, rapidly expanding middle class, diverse culinary culture, and dynamic food industry, increasingly driven by higher quality expectations.

Vietnam is a key market in the firm’s ASEAN growth strategy, he noted.

Since Showa Sangyo first introduced the world’s tempura batter mix in 1960, the firm has developed grain processing technologies for more than six decades.

The company will focus its Vietnamese operations on producing pre-mixed batters for fried foods such as tempura and karaage, moving toward supplying value-added solutions to the fast-growing food and beverage and food processing industries

The firm also plans to expand into the consumer market in Vietnam, developing packaged products tailored specifically to local tastes and household use.

According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Japan invested some $191.3 million in new projects in the Southeast Asian country during the first quarter, accounting for 1.9 percent of total newly registered foreign investment capital and ranking among Vietnam’s top five investors.

Cumulatively, Japan remains one of Vietnam’s largest foreign investors, ranking third in terms of active projects, behind South Korea and Singapore.

Japanese investors currently hold 5,760 valid projects in Vietnam with total registered capital exceeding $79 billion.

Data from the Japan External Trade Organization indicated that Japan’s agro-forestry-fishery and food exports to Vietnam rose from 29.3 billion yen ($183.5 million) in 2013 to 86.2 billion yen ($540 million) in 2024.

The number of Japanese restaurants in Vietnam has also surged, from around 680 outlets in 2015 to some 2,500 in 2022.