Vietnamese businesses are strengthening their presence in Southeast Europe through active participation at Interfood & Drink 2025, the region’s largest international food and beverage fair, held from November 12–15 at the Inter Expo Centre in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Việt Nam has a strong presence at the exhibition with 23 participating companies, including 18 firms from HCM City showcasing their products at the Việt Nam Pavilion.
A survey by Việt Nam Report from July - August this year shows that 62.5 per cent of businesses expect the F&B industry to grow by 5-10 per cent this year.
The latest shutdown reduced the number of stores operating in the country to approximately 304,700, down four per cent year-on-year, according to a report published by the iPOS.vn platform, which specialises in researching the Vietnamese market.
Findings showed that the F&B industry reached a revenue of VNĐ590 trillion (US$23.65 billion) in 2023, a rise of 11.47 per cent against 2022, in which dine-in accounted for more than 91 per cent.
Rapid expansion of foreign food and beverage (F&B) chains in Viet Nam was making the domestic market more robust despite the trend of tightening spendings in a global downturn.
According to experts, though economic difficulties would continue in 2023, there remained untapped business opportunities for small firms and cooperatives in the F&B industry.
The HCM City government has set up a Food and Beverage Association to explore, preserve and develop Vietnamese cuisine and showcase it both domestically and to the outside world.
The Netherlands is Viet Nam''s second-largest trading partner in the EU martker after Germany. It is also considered one of the gateways for Vietnamese goods to penetrate this vast market.
Two major driving forces behind the food and beverage sector growth are the recovery of domestic consumption and the shift from traditional to modern channels shaped by the young.