Masan Group sets sights on branded meat

The subsidiary, Masan Nutri-Science (MNS), Masan Group’s animal nutrition division, established in 2015, will now be known as Masan MEATLife (MML).

This is the first step in the group’s new strategy of switching from agricultural products to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), like providing branded packaged meat, a Masan representative told VnExpress.

The company wants to be the top producer in this market within the year, the representative added.

MML chairman Danny Le said pork was the largest segment in the F&B industry with a market value of more than $10 billion, 2.5 times the size of the dairy market.

However, MML will have to face a major competitor in the packaged pork industry – CP Vietnam, which belongs to Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, one of the largest agriculture conglomerates in the world.

With over 25 years in the country, CP Vietnam has a complete value chain, from animal husbandry to food processing and retail. It has transitioned from livestock farming five years ago, unlike MML which is only doing so this year.

CP Vietnam’s revenue last year was VND60 trillion ($2.58 billion), four times that of MML, which was just over VND14 trillion ($602 million).

Revenue from CP Vietnam’s processed foods, including pork, came to VND40 trillion ($1.72 billion) last year.

MML currently generates most of its revenue from animal feed products, but began providing packaged meat from December 2018. It expects the segment to bring revenues of VND500 billion – VND1 trillion ($21.49 million - $42.98 million) in 2019.

By 2022, MML expects branded meat products to contribute 50-70 percent of its revenue, as consumers move to meat products guaranteed by brands, it said in a statement.

Masan Group also plans to make the company go public later in 2019 on UPCoM, an exchange for unlisted public companies that allows them to sell shares without having to list on Vietnam’s main exchanges.