Vietnamese consumers spend more, demand greater food transparency

According to Vietnam Report’s 2025-26 food and beverage industry report, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue reached about VND7 quadrillion ($265 billion) in 2025, up 9.2 percent year-on-year.

Excluding price factors, real growth was 6.7 percent.

The momentum continued in the first six months of 2026, when retail sales and consumer service revenue rose 12.9 percent year on year to around VND3.89 quadrillion ($147 billion). In real terms, growth stood at 7.3 percent.

Rising consumption is creating more room for food and beverage companies to expand, although higher prices are also putting pressure on household budgets.

Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) increased 3.31 percent in 2025, with food prices rising 3.61 percent. In the first half of 2026, CPI climbed 4.38 percent year-on-year, while food prices rose 4.7 percent.

Against this backdrop, consumers are paying closer attention not only to affordability but also to where products come from and whether they are safe.

A survey found that 60.1 percent of food and beverage consumers considered product origin and provenance when making purchases, the highest share among surveyed factors.

Product quality and health safety followed at 59.2 percent, while 52.9 percent cited affordable prices.

Another 48.4 percent valued product variety and the ability to meet their needs, while 26 percent considered distribution systems and sales networks.

The findings suggest that while price remains an important consideration, transparency over origin, quality, and safety is becoming increasingly important to Vietnamese consumers.

Vietnam Report said consumers expect companies to provide clearer information on ingredients, sourcing, quality certifications, testing results, production processes, and safety controls.

They also increasingly want convenient traceability tools, such as QR codes, that allow them to verify product information themselves.

For businesses, traceability is therefore becoming more than a compliance requirement, increasingly serving as a way to strengthen consumer trust and differentiate brands.

According to Statista, Vietnam’s food market was worth about $96.7 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $104.2 billion in 2026.

Mordor Intelligence, meanwhile, valued Vietnam’s foodservice market at $24.77 billion in 2025 and expects it to grow to $27.38 billion in 2026 and $45.21 billion by 2031, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of about 10.55 percent.