Nielsen Vietnam says in a Nielsen Quarterly Market Pulse report released on December 6 that the company had taken six super FMCG categories nationwide into consideration: beverage, food, milk base, household care, personal care and cigarette.

 

The report found that beverage enjoyed a hefty increase, at 8.5%, led by an increase of 6.4% in volume. Cigarette also showed positive growth in this quarter, at 5.9%.

 

On the other hand, according to the report, other super categories showed stagnancy. For example, the food sector expanded a mere 4.6% in quarter three from the second quarter with 5.9%. Milk and dairy products had the same fate with growth of 4.2%, down from 7.4% in the previous quarter.

 

The report also showed rural areas continue to be the highly potential target for manufacturers.

 

While urban areas gained 4.7% growth in the third quarter against the year-ago period, rural areas showed stronger growth, 7.6%, mainly led by 7.4% volume growth, and contributed 54% to total FMCG sales.

 

“On the heels of improving consumer confidence in the third quarter, Vietnam’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth reached 6.9% in the year to September, beyond the expectations of the Government,” said Nguyen Anh Dung, head of Retail Measurement Services at Nielsen Vietnam.

 

Dung added this momentum was enhanced by consumers’ optimistic perception of personal finance along with their willingness to spend. However, Vietnam’s FMCG market has turned volatile over the past two years.

 

The volatility which is reflected in super categories has caused a lot of challenges for manufacturers to make sound decisions to fully seize the market growth opportunities and drive a profitable business, he noted.

 

VU YEN

 

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